Princess Next Door

“He’s not said that he loves me,” she said, biting her lip and feeling the guilt.

“Have you told him you love him?” Tammy asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what to say. I want to just blurt it out, but then I start to panic. What if he doesn’t feel the same way, and this was only supposed to be some fun?” She rubbed her eyes, and groaned. “Ugh! I can’t handle this.”

Tammy giggled. “You think you’re the only woman on the planet that has been in this position?”

“No, of course I don’t. I just don’t know what to do, and everything is moving so fast. He’ll have tour dates and other dates, and I’m worried. What if he doesn’t love me, and he just wants me to come along for a bit of convenience?”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You’re not that, Wynter.”

She ran fingers through her hair.

She’d not even put it up for her coffee date with Tammy. They’d only been able to say a few words in passing over the phone, and she didn’t have anyone else to talk to.

“Have your parents been to see you?” Tammy asked.

“No. Why?”

“They stopped by the house last night. They asked some questions about you and Zane.”

Wynter sighed. “What did you tell them?”

“Marshall told them if they wanted any information on their daughter, they were to go and ask. He doesn’t play with gossip, Wynter.”

She leaned her head back, looking up at the ceiling.

“If they came around, you know they wouldn’t like Zane.”

“I don’t care what they like, Tammy. I’ve spent way too long caring about what they like.” She rubbed the side that had her ink, and she smiled. This was her life now, not theirs. She hadn’t once missed her parents, and it probably made her sound like a bitch, but she didn’t care.

Zane was part of her life, and there was no way that she’d give him up. She loved him more than anything else in the world.

Her nerves were getting to her. The feelings she had for Zane were not little or insignificant. They were everything.

Tammy chuckled. “You know you could just tell him. Just go up to him and say, ‘Zane, I love you.’”

“Can we just do that? I thought it was supposed to be something special. A dinner? A declaration?”

Tammy took hold of her hand. “Just relax. Be yourself, and let the words flow from you. Tell Zane how you really feel. What it means to you. If you don’t, you could lose him.”

They finished off their coffee, and on the way out of the shop she picked up a chocolate chip muffin for Zane. She knew they were his favorite. She’d walked all the way to the coffee shop, so she began the walk back to her home.

Zane was due back later today, and she wanted to tell him how she felt.

It was important to her for him to know that she’d fallen in love with him. She’d tried to put her finger on when exactly she’d fallen for him, and each time, she came back to that first night when he was at her front door.

He’d looked cocky, and so confident and sure of himself. She’d been at her limit, and still he didn’t lose his temper but he got his house under control, bringing the party to a close.

Glancing around the neighborhood, she felt happier. Regardless of what Zane said to her, or how he felt, she knew this was what she wanted.

She wanted Zane.

She loved him.

Making her way toward the end of her street, she came to a stop when she saw her parents, along with Carey, standing in her driveway. She spotted Zane in her doorway and from the noise along with the neighbors being nosy, she knew she’d missed something. Rushing across the street, she walked straight past Carey and moved in front of her parents to stand by Zane’s side.

She was surprised to see them on her doorstep trying to cause a scene.

“Who is this man?” her father asked.

“What is he doing inside your house?” her mother asked, staring down at him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Wynter asked.

“Watch your language, Wynter. We taught you better than that.”

Just like that, Wynter felt the sting of her mother’s words, and she realized after seeing them right now, why she hadn’t missed them at all. She didn’t want the constant insults about her language, or the way she looked, or how she should perfect herself.

Not once since she moved had she thought about them, or cared what they were doing, what they were getting up to.

Her life had been perfect.

With Zane.

“Now, I knew my parents leaving you some money would be ridiculous, and look what you’re doing. Allowing strangers into your home,” her mother said.

“He’s my boyfriend,” she said, making both of her parents pause.