“Iris is totally going to love you.” Zahra wags her finger at Lana before breaking out into a laugh.
“Look what I found!” Cami rushes back over to us, balancing two different tiaras on her head, holding three princess dresses in her arms, and wearing two different plastic heels on her feet.
“You can only pick one outfit.” Lana plucks the dresses out of her hands and holds them up for her to choose.
I’m quick to steal them out of Lana’s hands and pass them over to Zahra, who is going to do Cami’s makeover. “We’ll take them all. Have the store send everything Cami wants up to our room.”
Lana shoots me a look. “You’re spoiling her.”
“And I’m loving every second of it.” My smile widens.
She rolls her eyes. “You can’t buy her everything she wants.”
“Why not?” Cami grins as she not-so-sneakily adds a third pair of costume heels to the growing pile in Zahra’s arm.
“Camila.” Lana puts her hands on her hips.
“Mommy.” Cami matches her mother’s stance, earning laughs from everyone but Lana.
Cami catches something out of the corner of her eye and takes off toward the costume jewelry area, dragging Zahra behind her. Rowan busies himself behind the check-in desk, leaving Lana and me alone.
Lana lets out a long sigh as she watches Cami from across the room.
I wrap my arms around her from behind and tug her body against mine. “I plan on spoiling you just as much later,” I whisper in her ear. “All night long if you want me to.”
She shivers. “Is that a promise?”
“Depends on if you’re going to let me treat Cami to whatever she wants today.”
She pouts. “You’re not fighting fair.”
“I’d rather not fight at all.” I tuck her hair behind her ear before brushing my fingers down the slope of her neck. “Especially when I could fuck you instead.” I kiss the sensitive spot below her ear before letting her go.
We only have a minute to spare before Cami and Zahra come back to drag Lana away. She gives me one last look over her shoulder before Zahra tugs her in the direction of the beauty salon, leaving me standing all by myself.
Lana lifts Cami into one of the chairs while Zahra holds up the different dresses against Cami’s torso. I laugh at the two extra ones the sneaky girl added to the selection.
Rowan walks up next to me. “So, you’re dating each other again?”
“Yes.”
His cheek hollows from how hard he gnaws on it.
I give him a once-over. “Spit it out.”
He releases a heavy breath. “I’m worried about you.”
My head tilts. “Why?”
“I know she’s the reason you went back to drinking the last time.”
My muscles turn to stone beneath my shirt. “I’m not going to fault her for my issues, and you shouldn’t either. If I chose to relapse, it’s on me, not her.”
“I don’t fault her, but I can’t help being worried either way about the two of you potentially getting back together. You were never the same after you went back to Lake Wisteria two years ago.”
My hands tighten into fists. I never spoke about going there in the first place, so Rowan had to find out from someone. “Who told you?”
His eyes dart toward the salon chair where Zahra stands behind Cami, curling her hair. “Declan.”
“He knew?”
His Adam’s apple bobs from his thick swallow. “You know how he is.”
“An overprotective ass with no concept of privacy?”
“It comes from a good place.”
“Does it? Because it feels pretty damn invasive and oppressive from my point of view.” All my life, Declan has done the same thing.
He sighs. “At the time, Declan was desperate to figure out what was wrong because he wanted to fix it for you.”
I scoff.
“Why do you think he had a buyer set up to purchase the house?” Rowan’s question comes out of nowhere.
“Because he didn’t believe that I could sell the lake house.”
“No. He wanted to save you from any pain you would experience by having to go back to Lake Wisteria after the last time. It was his way of trying to help you.”
My lips part.
“It’s the same reason he threatened the trust Mom left you and forced you into rehab the first time.” Rowan shakes his head with a sigh. “If you stopped for a second to ask him why he does things, rather than assume the worst about him, you’d both spend a lot less time fighting.”
“He’s still an asshole who says stupid shit.”
“Of course he is. But I also know he is working on apologizing, which he never used to do before he married Iris. So maybe you should give him a chance to learn from his mistakes instead of ignoring him out of spite.”
I take a deep breath. “He told you something?”
“Not in so many words. You know Declan isn’t the type to open up and gush about his feelings.”
Damn. He must be really affected if he talked to Rowan of all people.
I sigh. “Fine. I’ll give him a call after this weekend.”
Rowan winces. “About that…”
Fuck. Rowan was the suckiest secret keeper, right after Lana.
“You told him I was here, didn’t you?”
“Surprise?”
My eyes roll. “When is he coming?”
“Tomorrow night. Zahra and Iris are planning an early birthday dinner for you.”
Shit.
Cami walks out of the Magic Wand Salon with a contagious smile on her face. She looks adorable with her glittered-covered blond curls and her purple princess dress, with the shiny material shifting colors depending on how much sunlight peeks through the clouds.
“Thank you from both of us.” Lana plants a kiss on my cheek before taking off after Cami, who wobbles toward the castle in her plastic heels.
“Will they be joining us for dinner tomorrow?” Rowan tips his chin in their direction.
The three of us.
I really like the sound of that.
“I need to check with Alana and see how she feels first. She might not be up for something like that.” Not that I would blame her. My family is a bit much, especially when we are all together.
“Shoot us a text either way,” Rowan says before he and Zahra walk away.
It’s easy to find Cami and Lana in the crowd with how the rhinestones on Cami’s tiara glitter under the bright sun. Her plastic heels click and clack against the cobbled road leading up to Princess Cara’s castle. Lana clutches Cami’s sneakers in her other hand, ready to replace the heels once Cami’s feet hurt.
I pull out my phone and snap a photo of Cami and Lana holding hands before walking up to them. Cami doesn’t hesitate as she grabs on to mine, and the three of us take off to the first activity I have planned.
In the middle of the park, hidden away within the rose bushes and tall hedges, is a small table occupied by none other than Princess Marianna herself. While her dress is the same shade and style as Cami’s, her hair is similar to Lana’s dark strands.
Even when next to the Dreamland princess herself, my girl looks like a million bucks, especially with the smile on her face.
My girl.
The term never sounded more right than in this moment.