Tempting prince charming.., p.23
Tempting Prince Charming: Ever After - Book 2, page 23
“Veronica, I don’t want you to pay me back. I’m giving this place to you. This is your home. Your stepmother should never have been allowed to sell it. It wasn’t fair to you or Lyra. So I did what I had to do to stop her from hurting you.”
He reached for one of her hands once again, but she stepped back. Despair twisted inside him, poisoning what last hope he had left.
“Do you expect me to repay you some other way?” she asked, a coldness filling her voice. She didn’t want him to even touch her and yet she’d asked that?
Now he felt betrayed. “Is that who you think I am? After all the time we’ve spent together you just…” He curled his hands into fists, needing to expend the pained energy that made him want to rage at the idea that he would demand that of her. He drew in a deep breath to help calm himself.
Veronica slowly shook her head. “You really don’t get it, do you? I know why you bought the place, even if you don’t. You bought it for the same reason Annette wanted to sell it, because it gives you a hold over me.”
Thad began to protest, but Veronica raised her hand. “I know you don’t see it that way. You probably see yourself as the big damn hero in all this. And maybe I really should just be grateful. But here’s the thing…it’s not just about the house. Once I figured out what you were doing, I realized something. This is how you handle all your problems. You throw money at them until they go away. You get flustered if you pay too much, or pat yourself on the back if you manage to get a bargain, but at the end of the day, you always get what you want, don’t you?”
Thad still didn’t understand. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“So did I. I was confused at first about why I was so upset by all this, but now I think I understand. I only know half of you, Thad. The half whose success made him GQ’s Gentleman of the Year. The half who has absolutely loved everything about spending time with me and Lyra. And I can admit it now, I love that man.”
That gave Thad some hope, if it wasn’t for the but waiting in the wings.
“But I don’t know the other side of you. The side that is going to have to deal with the realities outside your bubble. You think you’ve seen family life at its worst because you’ve dealt with one flu and a fall down a slide, but that’s nothing compared to what you’d be in for. And I’m not sure if you can deal with it.”
“I’m worried…No, I’m terrified you’d try to treat those problems like you treat all the others, by buying your way out of them. I’m terrified you’ll be the sort of man who soothes a child’s tantrum by giving her whatever she wants or sends her off to boarding school if she becomes too much to handle. I’m terrified you’ll think every argument can be fixed with something from Tiffany’s. I’m terrified that you’re so used to getting what you want you won’t know how to handle it when you don’t. I used to live in your world, Thad. Maybe not in the penthouse suite, but close enough to see it. Before I met Parker, I knew boys who thought that way, always so charming when things were going well, but as soon as someone said no to them, things got ugly.”
“But I’m not like that.” Thad instantly realized he’d said exactly what she’d expect him to say.
“How do I know? How can I? If I let myself go any deeper into your world, I’m afraid there will be no way out. And what happens if I don’t see the other Thad until after that? Maybe if it was just me, I could risk it, but with Lyra?” She shook her head. “I just can’t… It’s too much to ask. I’m sorry.”
There was silence between them for a while as Thad tried to process everything she’d said. The worst of it was that he could see her point. He’d never faced a problem he couldn’t solve with money… until now.
Veronica tried to hand the folder back. “You should probably keep this. We’re already looking for another place to live.”
Thad took a deep breath and stood as straight as he could. “Please accept this from me. I promise I won’t ask anything else of you ever again.” God, he wanted so badly to touch her. If he could just hold her…
She lowered her gaze to the papers again. “No strings attached?”
“Not one,” he promised, his voice rough with emotion. “You know me. You know I’d never ask anything for this.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she nodded.
Thad stepped back. He had to clear his throat again. “I’m not a romantic, not when it comes to words, anyway.” He chuckled dryly, hiding a deep well of pain. “I’m the fool, not you. I shouldn’t have kept Annette’s plotting and scheming from you. That was my fault. I know you want this to end, and I understand why. You’re right. I’m used to getting what I want, which is what makes this so damn hard… because I want you. I love you.” The words were stated calmly, sincerely, and with a bittersweet melancholy. “I will always love you. But you’re right. This isn’t a situation that can be fixed with a checkbook. Maybe it can’t be fixed. But if you change your mind, you can call me, text me, or come over. Whatever you wish. I am yours, Veronica, no matter what.”
He turned away and clenched his hands at his sides so he wouldn’t be tempted to reach out to her one last time. It would only break his heart to see her pull away again.
He’d made a mess of everything. He’d been blind to what Veronica was really worried about, and what that was, essentially, was him. At that moment, he hated Annette Becker and her selfish cruelty for forcing him into this situation, but truth be told, she’d simply made him reveal his true self.
Zelda saw his face as he left the stairwell and turned pale. “What happened?”
“It’s over,” was all he said as he walked toward the front door.
Zelda rushed after him, stopping him at the door. “Wait, what?”
“She ended it.”
He was done. He’d never thought he’d had the strength to open his heart again after his first attempt at love, but Veronica had showed him what love could really be like. Now, all that strength was gone. There would be no trying again because there was a Veronica-shaped void where his heart used to be.
“But why? You guys were always so happy.” Zelda blocked his path.
He gently gripped her shoulders and moved her aside. “I suppose that was part of the problem. She never learned to trust me, and I didn’t prove her wrong.” He opened the door and left Zelda staring after him.
Simon met him on the curb, his face grim. “Where to, sir?”
“The Klimpton hotel,” he replied. He had every intention of drinking himself into oblivion at the Vol. 39 bar.
Veronica stared at the bottom of the stairs. Flashes of harsh chills swept through her over and over until suddenly she couldn’t breathe. She sank to the ground, clutching the folder he’d given her, and tried to stop the panic from taking over.
She’d done the right thing hadn’t she? She’d protected her daughter, protected herself. They couldn’t tie their lives to a man who saw money as the solution to every problem and didn’t talk to her about anything. There was no trust in a relationship like that. She’d done the only thing she could to handle this.
What she didn’t know was how to handle what came next. The emptiness, the bleak hole left inside her chest. She wanted to go after him, to tell him she’d changed her mind, but she couldn’t. The weight of the folder in her hands grew heavier as she realized she’d gotten what she’d always wanted: her home, now hers forever.
But at what cost…
The door at the bottom of the stairs opened again. Her heart gave a brief leap of hope.
“Thad?”
It wasn’t Thad. Zelda came up the stairs, her face strained. “Ronnie, breathe, okay?” She sat down beside Veronica and put an arm around her shoulders.
“I feel like I’m having a heart attack,” Veronica whispered.
“It’s an anxiety attack. Just breathe from deep within your belly. Slowly.”
Veronica got her breathing back under control and let her head hang between her knees.
“What did he do?” Zelda finally asked. “All he said was that you didn’t trust him and that he didn’t prove you wrong.”
“He’s the buyer.” She could barely speak.
“What buyer?”
“The house. The coffee shop.”
“He’s the one?”
“Yes.”
“Shit. But…what are these papers?” Zelda touched the folder Veroncia still clutched to her chest.
“The deed to the house. He gave it to me.”
“Wait… that’s good news, isn’t it?”
She shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She needed to think about what she was going to do now. Stay here and owe him for the house, even though he said she didn’t, or leave as she’d planned and give him back the paperwork.
Zelda seemed to read her thoughts. “What do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know. Lyra will be crushed,” Veronica said. She would be crushed too, but she didn’t have to tell Zelda that; it was written all over her face.
Her friend hugged her. “Hey. Just give it a week. You don’t have to think about it right now.” Zelda’s voice soothed her as she rubbed Veronica’s back, but Veronica felt like she was sliding out of control down a hill, and she was terrified of where she’d land.
She wanted to chase after Thad and tell him she loved him, but the truth was she didn’t know if she could trust him. What if he only thought he loved her? What if the feelings he thought he had were, in reality, guilt related?
He saw himself as the Prince Charming in her little story, as the hero who saves the damsel in distress. But that couldn’t be the foundation of a relationship. She closed her eyes to fight off fresh tears.
Somewhere in that Cinderella suite in Disney World, that antique grandfather clock had struck midnight. The glittering coach had crumbled away while her ball gown turned back to rags. A silly metaphor, she knew, but she could feel every second of that beautiful dream of her life fade away as she sat with her friend in the quiet stairwell.
19
That first week following the breakup was hell. He’d thought after a few days, she would have been convinced of his sincerity and called him, but that hope had sunk into dread as the week went on. The more days that passed, the more he’d given up.
Now he hoped to get Veronica out of his head, to learn to love and let go. He’d gone to the office as though nothing had happened, buried himself in work, staying until past midnight most nights and barely venturing away from his desk or apartment except when necessary.
But that Saturday night his doorbell had rung, and all of his plans were torn to shreds again.
“Sir, I hate to disturb you,” Winston said through the door. “But you’ve received an overnighted package.”
Thad dragged himself to the door and accepted the package with a nod to the anxious butler. He took it into the kitchen, where he dug around in his utensil drawer for a box cutter.
The package revealed a blue box about the size of a shoebox with a cream-colored envelope taped to the top. He slid out the letter and found a note written on expensive card stock with a golden coach logo at the top.
* * *
Dear Mr. Worthington,
We hope you and your guests enjoyed your stay at Cinderella’s Castle. As a part of being our special guest this week, we always provide a silver slipper for the princesses of the suite. Enclosed is one for Veronica and one for Lyra. Thank you for being a part of our magical world.
Remember, the clock never strikes midnight as long as you believe in magic.
Sincerely,
Candace
* * *
Thad opened the lid of the pale blue box. There, nestled within velvet blue cloth, were two glass slippers. One for Veronica and one for her daughter.
He didn’t touch them, not at first. An hour later, he sat by the fire drinking scotch and holding Veronica’s slipper in one hand. It was made of Swarovski crystal, but had a clear gel insert to bring comfort and the bottom of the slipper had a soft clear rubber sole. It could actually be worn. The firelight sparkled over the surface of the shoe, making it glitter so bright it cast flashes of rainbow light across the living room.
Everything came flooding back. The hours he’d spent at the brownstone with Veronica and Lyra, the Friday night boardgames, the Disney movies, the popcorn fights, and singing Lyra to bed before joining Veronica in hers. The dozens of small intimacies in a world he’d never imagined he’d become a part of.
All gone.
He put the glass slipper back in its box and closed the lid before tucking the package away at the topmost part of his closet, out of sight, and turned off the light.
“Mommy, is Mr. Thad coming over tonight?”
Veronica froze at the stove where she’d been boiling macaroni and cheese noodles. She’d lost count of how many times Lyra had asked her that. It had been a hellish week since returning from Orlando.
“Honey, I don’t think he’s going to be able to come over for a while.” Veronica didn’t know how to tell her child she’d broken up with Thad.
Lyra came to the kitchen and stood beside Veronica, her tiny hands reaching for the countertop edge. She looked up into Veronica’s face.
“Mommy, are you mad at me?” She had such a soft wounded and worried look that it made Veronica put aside the large spoon she’d been using to stir the pasta cooking in the pot.
Veronica knelt and cupped her daughter’s cheeks. “Mad at you, baby? I’m not mad. Why would you think that?”
Lyra gave a slight shrug. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t let Mr. Thad come over, ’cuz I made you mad.”
An awful tightness squeezed Veronica’s chest. “You’ve done nothing wrong. Thad and I aren’t dating anymore, honey. It’s just…difficult. I know you liked Thad, and so did I, but he wasn’t quite right for mommy. Do you understand?” She knew asking that of a four-year-old was impossible. There was no way for Lyra to really understand. How could she, when she barely understood it herself?
“Why don’t you put on a movie for us while I get the mac and cheese finished?” she asked.
Lyra looked at her a long moment before she turned away and headed for the TV, allowing Veronica to refocus on cooking their dinner.
Later, as they watched The Little Mermaid, and the evil sea witch destroyed the mermaid’s life when the prince nearly drowned in the sea, something bubbled up inside her. She couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears streamed down her face and she sniffed while wiping them away. Lyra cuddled against her and turned to look up at her.
“Mommy? Why are you crying?”
The question had a thousand answers, but they all came back to the same problem. She’d fallen in love… but she had to let him go.
“I’ve just had a long day, baby.” She tried to dispel her tears and force a smile. Things would get better with time. They had to.
By the second week, Thad stopped shaving. He didn’t come into the office except to conduct meetings. He let his best deals lapse and he paid too much for properties on others even though his father and Jared did their best to help. But he just didn’t care anymore. It was as though that part of his life along with everything else had lost its appeal.
He barely ate. He ran himself to exhaustion on his treadmill and stayed alone in the penthouse every night. He ignored most of the calls from his friends and parents. He just didn’t want to face reality anymore. The beautiful luster that cast a glamour upon his life before this, was gone.
But Thad couldn’t keep all his friends away. Angelo and Jared soon found a way to force their themselves into his penthouse, and he’d reluctantly let them stay and do their best to cheer him up.
“You can’t keep doing this to yourself,” Angelo said.
“Why not? I can do what a please. I have the power to do whatever the hell I want,” Thad muttered. Veronica’s accusations were still fresh in his mind.
“Oh, come on.” Jared growled. “You’re not an idiot. It was one girl. She was great, but it didn’t work out. It happens. You get back out there. You don’t hide in your room like a coward.”
Thad, who’d been carrying a nearly empty whiskey bottle, spun and glowered at his friends. “Coward? You, of all people, call me a coward? This is your fault. You never should have bet me to ask her out.”
“I wasn’t trying to fix you up with Mrs. Right,” said Jared. “She seemed like a nice girl and I thought you’d have a good time together. I also thought you’d end up dating other women after her, not latch onto her as your one true love. This feels like Victoria all over again.”
“Shut the hell up,” Thad snapped.
Angelo and Jared shared a look that only made Thad angrier. He slammed the bottle down on the counter and walked toward the tall windows of his living room overlooking the glittering Chicago skyline.
“Look, maybe it’s not over,” Angelo said more quietly as they joined Thad at the window.
“You didn’t see her face, Angelo. It’s over. A man can’t come back from that. And the worst part is, she’s not wrong. She’s better off without me. They both are…” The anger at his friends had deflated almost instantly. He was just…empty. So damned empty. It was as though he had no will left to fight for anything.
Angelo put a hand on his shoulder. “Have a little faith in love…and yourself. It will get better.”
Soon he was alone again in his penthouse. By the time he’d summoned the will to really talk to them, they were long gone. He walked into his darkened bedroom and reached for his e-reader on the nightstand.
When he turned it on, the first page of The Golden Compass greeted him in the dark. The first page few chapters were filled with the name Lyra. He eased down on his bed, stretching out before he started to read.
Perhaps it was foolish to bury himself in a book, but this series had meant everything to Veronica, so much so that she’d named her daughter after the main character.
