I let go, and as if it were attached to a string, my lantern went straight up. Sophia’s rose faster than mine, and mine quicker than some of the people around me, as ours had more hot air inside. The night sky instantly became a rising sea of four hundred flickering, glowing lanterns, floating among the stars, and the crowd gasped in awe.
I nearly did as well.
It wasn’t a word I’d used before, but nothing else would suffice. No other word did it justice.
Magic.
Magic she’d created, and as I looked around at my guests, their heads lifted and their mouths hung open with astonishment, I lost the ability to breathe. I’d done fireworks before. Loud, colorful shows to impress people, but they were quickly forgotten. This silent display was a once-in-a-lifetime memory. People rushed to pull out their phones so they could take pictures and video, and pride swelled inside me.
From this moment on, when Cape Hill thought of me, perhaps this memory Sophia had offered, would be the first thing that came to their minds, and not my troubled past.
I turned my head and set my gaze on her, ignoring that she may have been taking video and I was now interrupting. The urge to explain to her how pleased she’d made me was too strong to suppress, and I was desperate to do it in a place where I could express myself freely.
“Talk a walk with me.” My voice was thick with desire.
“Now?” she whispered.
“Yes. Right now.”
I wouldn’t accept any other answer, but thankfully, she gave me the one I needed.
“All right.”
SIXTEEN
MACALISTER
GUESTS WERE STILL MURMURING TO EACH OTHER in wonderment as I led Sophia to the edge of the garden and the mouth of the hedge maze. Everyone was too busy staring at the surreal landscape in the sky to notice us, and even if they did, it was likely they’d think nothing of it. Just a business discussion between an employer and his assistant.
There was a security guard stationed at the entrance of the maze, an unfortunate necessity after Royce’s wedding. That evening, guests had ducked behind the velvet rope drawn across it to signify it was off-limits, and one woman had emerged at the end of the reception drunk and soaking wet, announcing she’d had the brilliant idea to cool off in the water fountain at the maze’s center.
“No one comes in,” I said to the man standing watch, who nodded back his understanding.
I moved at a fast clip, my shoes crunching on the pebbled path, and Sophia did her best to keep up as we disappeared between the eight-foot-tall walls of evergreen, but quickly lagged behind.
“Wait,” she said as I turned the corner. “This dress isn’t made for your long strides.”
No, I thought. It was made to drive me crazy.
I slowed my pace, and we wove through the passageways lit only by the subdued ground lighting. The maze had been planted by my mother and as it had grown, so had the required maintenance, but it was worth it. I shared my mother’s love for games, and as she’d passed away when I was young, this was my greatest connection to her.
We bypassed the turns that would lead us toward the statues or decorative urns placed at dead ends. I could solve this maze with my eyes closed and knew all its secrets, but Sophia didn’t, and she stuck close to my side, letting me guide her.
Rocks skittered with her steps, and when she took a corner too sharply, her ankle unexpectedly went under her, and as she stumbled, I was there with a steady hand. Although my grasp on her arm only seemed to make her more unstable, and pleasure snaked its way through my system. I loved how responsive she was to me.
We made the final turn, and the hedges parted, revealing the circular space and the round, tall fountain bubbling in the true center of the maze. Each of its tiers were lit in amber light, making the falling waterdrops shine and sparkle.
Had she made it to the center before? She looked around, taking it all in, before lifting her gaze to the sky, where the lanterns continued to float and slowly drift out toward the sea.
“Did you like it?” Her shoulders were tight, like her whole life hinged on my answer.
I couldn’t overstate it. “Yes. It was spectacular.”
Out came her breath in a rush of relief, and she pressed a hand to her stomach. “You have no idea how anxious I was all day. The wind shifted this afternoon, and they were telling me it was too risky to launch, but then it changed again when the sun went down.”
It hadn’t been an easy feat to pull off, but she’d executed it flawlessly and given me all the credit. Just like the bachelor auction, if she’d told me beforehand, I would have said no.