An American Cinderella

I started walking, thinking that if nothing else, I could clean up there and get my act together. Plus, I knew all the buses and trains to get home from there.

I walked along the sidewalk in my beautiful gown, trying to ignore the stares. I knew it wasn’t every day that a woman in a blue ball gown walked the streets of downtown. Someone snapped my picture, but I did my best not to turn and look. I just kept walking like it was normal to wear floor-length satin and tulle in the city.

I will admit I nearly jogged the last little bit to the heavy wooden door. I knew that I would be safe if I could just get in there. I could use the phone and maybe see if Jaqui had left a spare outfit at the office. I knew I at least had a jacket in the building, which would be better than nothing.

The warmth of the building after the cold spring evening was like a comforting hug. I sagged against the inside of the door, taking a deep breath. I was safe here.

“Aria? Is that you?” Gus’s deep voice surprised me from behind the desk. I startled back up to standing.

“Gus? What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Just finishing up my overtime shift,” he explained. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

My lower lip trembled and my “big girl” face cracked. I shook my head, my throat too full of tears to say a word.

Gus was at my side in a heartbeat, pulling me into a bear hug. I cried into his chest, my shoulders shaking. He simply held me, letting me cry it out into him.

“I’m okay now,” I whispered after a few minutes. I didn’t pull my head back from his chest and he didn’t make me move.

“Tell me what happened,” Gus said. “And then I’ll go murder him.”

I shook my head. “No, no murder. He’s a prince.”

“I’m sure he’s a great guy, but I won’t stand for him making you cry like this,” Gus replied, his voice firm. “I promised your father that I would take care of you like one of my own daughters, and nobody hurts my daughters.”

I loved the protective edge to his voice and the fact he considered me one of his own. It was nice to have someone want to protect me from the world, even if it was the world that needed protecting from me.

“No, that’s not it.” I pulled back so I could look at him. “Henry really is a prince. He’s the second in line to the crown of Paradisa. I just found out.”

“Oh.” Gus’s eyes widened and he tipped his head. “That explains why he had clearance to come visit you up in the building. I just thought he knew somebody.” He frowned and focused on me again. “If he’s a prince, why are you crying?”

“I can’t be with him or I’ll ruin him.” I let out a shaky sigh. “You know what my stepmother will do.”

I didn’t have to say more than that. Gus knew the power my stepmother wielded. He knew the kind of person she was. He knew that she would use me every which way if I had any connection to the prince. He didn’t even need to know that she was using me now.

Gus’s eyes narrowed and he let out a string of curses calling my stepmother every name in the book. In all the years I had known him, I had never heard him use any kind of language. He was always a big teddy-bear to me. To hear him call my stepmother words that would get an NC-17 rating was like seeing a children’s TV character pop out of costume.

But, it fit with how I felt. It was a while before he stopped.

“I’m so sorry, Aria,” he said after he had finished, pulling me into a hug. “You don’t deserve this.”

“What am I going to do?” I asked, leaning into his strength once more. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Gus took a deep breath in. “What do you think you should do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you,” I said into his chest. “You’re supposed to be older and wiser.”

Gus chuckled, but didn’t say anything for a moment.

“I love him, Gus,” I said softly. “That’s why I don’t want to hurt him.”

He sighed. “You’re exhausted and it’s the middle of the night. Let me take you home,” he said. “We’ll come up with something tomorrow when our brains are fresh.”