An American Cinderella

“Okay,” I whispered. I knew I shouldn’t let him get close to me. He had an international job and being with a seller of secrets couldn’t be good for his business. But I was selfish and the idea of someone caring about me was too much to pass up.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he promised.

I sat in the dark on my couch for seven minutes before I heard him knock on my door.

“Aria?” he called out.

I scrambled to my feet and threw open the door. The bright hallway lights nearly blinded me after the darkness of my apartment.

Henry stood there, my knight in shining armor. He had a brown paper bag that smelled amazing, a bottle of wine, and a smile.

I wanted the smile most of all.

I kissed him, and he shuffled into the my apartment to set the food and wine on my table so he could properly kiss me back.

I melted into him, losing myself to his kisses and gentle caresses. His fingers splayed out on my back, strong and steadying. Everything else in my world felt out of control, but he was solid. He was safe.

I pressed my head into his shoulder, letting him hold me.

“You’re shaking like a leaf,” he murmured, pulling back. “And you’ve been crying. What happened?”

He smoothed the hair away from my face and I leaned my cheek into his palm. “It’s been a crappy day since you left.”

“Then I guess I won’t leave you this time,” he replied. My heart fluttered and I looked up. His blue eyes were warm and dark. They reminded me of the ocean on a calm summer night.

“My stepmother is a horrible person,” I blurted out. “She’s vindictive and is going to ruin everything.”

“Is she why you are upset?” he asked. There was a protective growl in his voice.

I nodded.

“You want to talk about it?” he asked. “No judgment.”

I wanted to. I wanted to tell him everything. But then, he would be caught up in all this nonsense. I couldn’t do that to him. I shook my head no.

“She’s just a terrible person. I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s nothing I can’t figure out,” I told him. “I just want it to go away. I’m just panicking a little right now.”

He nodded and smoothed my hair. “Well, can you do anything about it right this minute?”

I frowned and looked up at him. “Not really.”

“Then, it’s not something you can fix right now,” he said gently. “What you can fix is that you haven’t eaten and you need a shower. You stink.”

He made a face that made me laugh. It felt good to laugh.

“How’d you get so smart?” I asked him as he hugged me close again.

“My dad,” he said softly. “Whenever I would get overwhelmed with things, he would ask me what I could fix right this minute. If it couldn’t be fixed right now, then he said I had enough time to calm down and figure it out.”

“I like that. It’s doable.” My stomach grumbled loud enough that both of us looked down at it.

“It’s easier to calm down when you aren’t hungry,” he said with a smile. With one more squeeze, he let me go and went over to the table and began pulling the food out of the bag.

“That smells wonderful.” I took a deep breath in and sat down at the small table as he smiled at me.

“Mashed potatoes, meatloaf, green beans with bacon, rolls, and of course, some chocolate cake,” he explained, spreading out the feast. The food completely covered my small table as he handed me a plastic fork. “And no plates.”

I chuckled and opened up the container of mashed potatoes. “Thank you, Henry.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he replied, picking up a fork of his own.

Chapter 16

Henry was absolutely right. I did feel better with some food in my stomach. Things looked a little less bleak when I wasn’t hungry. I began to feel like there might be a chance I could figure something out. It wasn’t the end of the world.

Henry kept the conversation light. He told me about his travels to different parts of the world. He made me laugh with funny stories about his military days and the trouble they would get into because there was nothing else to do on base. He kept me laughing and smiling as we ate, my thoughts far from my own troubles.