Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
I looked at the reception desk, where a young woman stood smiling at me. I had no idea what to say. I may have grunted.
“Hutton?”
When I heard my name, I spun around and saw Felicity’s sister Winnie standing there.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Can I talk to you?” I strode toward her. “Please?”
She looked nervous. “Um, okay. Let’s go to my office.”
I followed her into an office off the lobby. “Thanks,” I said as she sat down behind her desk. “I appreciate this.”
“Of course.” She gestured to the chairs across from her. “Please have a seat.”
But I was too worked up to sit. “I need your help,” I blurted.
“Okay.” Her fingers kneaded together. Two lines appeared between her brows.
“I’m looking for Felicity. Do you know where she might be?”
“Do I know where she might be?” she repeated.
“Yes.”
“Um.” She looked off to one side. “I can’t say.”
“Winnie, please. I need to talk to her. It’s important.”
A high-pitched whimper escaped her, and she began to rock back and forth. “But I promised.”
“Okay. Okay.” I sat down in one of the chairs. “I know she probably told you not to say anything to anyone. But did she specifically mention me?”
“No,” she admitted, still not meeting my eyes. “But she said not to tell anyone. And I can’t let her down.”
“I understand.” I took a breath. “But this is sort of an emergency.”
She looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes and no. I will be if I can talk to Felicity. There’s something I have to tell her.”
Winnie continued to rock back and forth, murmuring to herself. “I can keep a secret. I can keep a secret.”
“I’ll give you a billion dollars.” I was only half-kidding.
She reached over to her tape dispenser, ripped off a piece and put it over her mouth.
I blinked at her. “Is that necessary?”
She nodded, ripped off two more pieces and taped her mouth shut.
“Okay.” I held up my hands. “I get it. You don’t want to betray her, and I appreciate that. But . . .” I closed my eyes and exhaled. “I’ve never been in love before, and I’m not handling it very well.”
She made a little squeak of surprise, or maybe sympathy. Her blue eyes were bright.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m scared every word out of my mouth will be wrong. I’m scared she won’t believe me when I tell her how much she means to me. I’m scared that I blew my chance to be with the only girl who has ever made me feel like I’m okay.”
Winnie squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. Then she peeled off the tape. “You didn’t. You can win her back. But maybe it should be something more than words.”
“Like what? Tell me,” I begged. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
She thought for a moment. “You know, Felicity has always been a little different from Millie and me,” Winnie said. “Smarter and quieter and not into the same kinds of things we were. She was never overly obsessed with clothes or makeup or boys. When we played Cinderella as kids, I was the princess, Millie was the fairy godmother or the evil stepmother, depending on her mood, and you know what Felicity always wanted to be?”
“What?”
“Merlin the wizard.”
It made me smile, despite everything.
“We’d be like, ‘There’s no wizard in this story! Can’t you be the prince?’ And she’d be all, ‘No! The prince sucks! What does he do to deserve her, ask her to dance? Kiss her? He never knows a thing about her, not even her name!’”
“I mean, she’s not wrong,” I said.
“So she put Merlin the wizard into Cinderella. And somehow, in the end, it was always Merlin’s magic that really saved the day.” Winnie laughed. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, Felicity doesn’t need a prince. She doesn’t need to be rescued. But . . .” She shrugged. “Every girl wants to feel like a princess sometimes.”
“I understand.” I paused. “No, I don’t.”
Winnie laughed gently. “You know her, Hutton. I think you can figure this out.”
Something came to me. “Can you get a message to her?”
Winnie nodded.
“Do you have a piece of paper I could use? And a pen?”
She took a sheet of paper from her printer and slid it across the desk for me along with a pen.
Using our code, I wrote the only words I knew she couldn’t ignore. I need you. Please be there for me. Then I folded the paper and handed it to Winnie. “You’re a good sister.”
She smiled. “Thank you. My family is everything to me.”
Outside, I took a few deep breaths and turned my face to the sky, praying for inspiration to strike me. Why hadn’t I watched more romantic movies in my life? There were never any big romantic gestures in science fiction. A jet went by overhead, leaving a white trail against the bright blue.