Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 4)

“So in Cinderella, it’s all about the girl falling in love with Prince Charming, right?” A mischievous smile lurked at the corner of his lips.

She could hardly concentrate with how good he looked right then. She swallowed. “Yes.”

“And the prince falls in love, loses the girl, and has to find her.”

Again she answered, although her voice dropped in volume. “Yes.” She studied her hands, clasped in her lap.

Brody reached for her hands and pulled them up between them. “Well, this may be the easiest quest ever then, because this prince has already found you.” He placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.

Her heart slammed against her chest at the simple gesture that was so packed with emotion.

“And I don’t plan on letting you go anytime soon,” he added.

She smiled weakly. “It’s never that easy.”

“I wouldn’t expect it to be. Otherwise the other Grimms before you would have beaten this.”

“We could get hurt. You could get hurt.”

Brody tightened his grip on her hands, cupping them between his. “I’ve seen you play sports. You need all the help you can get. Maybe Nix could make up another batch of that foul smelling fix-it-all? Then we’ll be good.”

Mina pulled her hand out of his to playfully punch his shoulder. He lurched forward and she missed.

He laughed. “See, you probably couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.”

“Probably not, but I’ve got to try.”

Brody mellowed. “As long as you let me, I’ll be here to help you.”

“As long as you remember me.”

“True, but keep in mind that’s not something I can control. Still, there’s something between us that—no matter what—keeps pulling us together. So if I forget or get put under a spell, you’ll just have to remind me how awesome you are.”

>“Uh huh,” Mina answered, slightly intimidated by the elegant girls in front of her.

“What about the other girl? What’s her name?” Daphne asked, tapping her lip with a perfectly manicured nail.

“Nan. Yes, we both attend classes with Brody.” She automatically thought of her own best friend.

“No, not her.” Daphne rolled her eyes, flipped a magazine open and pointed to an old photo of Brody and Savannah. “Is she still with Brody?”

“Savannah? No, they aren’t together anymore.” Mina wanted to claw the snarky Daphne for that jab.

Lara and Daphne started to pick up their notebooks, magazines, and seating charts for the ball.

“So are you coming to the ball?” Lara asked casually. Almost too casually.

“Why, yes, I promised Brody I would.” This was starting to sound familiar.

“Really?” Daphne swung her cross-bag over her shoulder. She eyed Mina’s clothes and ripped jeans. “As a server? I know the club was a bit short-handed for the event.”

“No. As his date,” she said between clenched teeth.

Brody returned with two glasses of iced tea. Daphne reached for one, but Brody turned and handed it to Mina instead. The gesture was so unexpected, she almost let the glass slip through her fingers. Thankfully, she caught it, as well as the look of hatred that shot her way. Brody took a long swig of his own glass of iced tea.

Right then, the old grandfather clock in the corner started to chime, and it didn’t ring the two tones it should have. It continued—another ten chimes.

Lara’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Twelve?”