The Prince and the Player

“You’re afraid of them.”

“I am not,” she says, jerking as my light hits another closer in our path.

I hear Cal sneaking up behind us, and suddenly Zee screams.

“Oh—OH!” It’s so loud, I nearly drop the flashlight. “Oh! Ow!”

She tugs my arm on the way down, and now she’s sitting on the sand, holding her foot, a pained look on her face.

“Are you okay?” I’m trying not to laugh.

“No…” She’s not crying, and I shine the light all around looking for whatever caused her injury.

“Did you trip over something?”

“Are you bleeding?” Cal is on his knees beside her.

“No,” she wails louder. “I’m such an idiot! I stepped on a crab, and when I jumped to get off of it, I twisted my ankle.”

We both lift her under the arms, helping her scoot back out of the surf.

“Do you think you can walk on it?” I ask.

She nods. “I’ve hurt this ankle before. I think it’ll be okay.”

Cal takes the light from me and shines it on her foot. “It’s swollen. You’ll have to spend the night.”

“What!” Zee cries, trying to rise. “Oh!” She instantly drops to sitting again.

“You’re staying the night. We have plenty of rooms and we can have a doctor here first thing in the morning to check you out.”

“I’m not spending the night. I don’t need a doctor!”

“No more arguments. Rowan?” My brother looks up at me. I’ve been frowning the entire time, unsure what to make of this.

“He’s probably right. Better safe than sorry, and we’ve got more than enough room.”

“But what about my s… sleepwear? Ava won’t know what to think.”

I feel pretty sure she wasn’t about to say sleepwear, but I let it pass. “I’m sure we can find something for you to sleep in, either something of Mother’s or—”

“Good heavens! Not a muumuu. I have T-shirts and things she can borrow.”

Zee sits for a moment blinking back and forth between us, until at last she sighs. “As long as I can call Ava and let her know what’s happening. She’s probably already asleep, but I don’t want her to worry.”

I consider offering to make that call, but I don’t. “Of course. We’ll carry you back to the house.”

We pull her up and start walking with her between us, one arm over each of our shoulders. She’s quite a bit shorter than us, especially with her shoes off, and with every hop, she jerks our necks down.

“This isn’t going to work,” I growl, stepping forward and sweeping her into my arms. She lets out a little noise, but I start walking, holding her firmly against my chest. “Trust me, this is far more comfortable.”

Cal seems a bit miffed, but he doesn’t say anything. He follows behind us on the path.

“Now I really feel like Cinderella,” Zee says softly, putting one hand on my shoulder.

She’s warm in my arms, and I study her in the moonlight. Is Reggie right? Could this girl truly solve all my problems? She’s energetic and fun, and she loves to laugh. She loves the ocean. All are traits I look for in a woman. She’s light and free-spirited, and I’m just noticing in this light… she’s beautiful.

Her cheeks are flushed from running on the beach, and her hair hangs in messy waves around her soft shoulders. Her lips are full and pink, and something about her reminds me of Ava. Ava. It all goes back to Ava.