Chapter 131

Amber’s POV

Alice seemed to have some hesitation about meeting Roman again, and I couldn’t really blame her. I still had my own reluctance. But he had been there for us when no one else was, and he had been a good friend. Even with the things that had happened…

But, I didn’t know. Roman’s behavior toward me, I could forgive. But I distinctly remember that confrontation in the parking lot outside of one of the events in Julian’s pack, when Roman had made Alice cry.

Dealing with Roman on my own right now was stressful enough. Could I really expose Alice to that too, after everything she’d been through? Her necklace was working for right now, despite the power being weakened. If Roman pushed her to an extreme again, would the necklace continue to work?

As new worries flooded my mind, a knock on my door startled me.

“I’ll get it,” Julian said, standing before I could argue. He left Alice and me at the table while he walked to the door and answered it. As he opened the door, I saw one of Rafael’s messengers standing beyond it. He handed Julian a crisp white envelope. It was too square to be a letter. Instead, it looked like some kind of formal invitation.

“Thanks,” Julian told the messenger, then closed the door.

“What is that?” Alice asked as Julian walked closer.

“It’s for your mom,” he said.

“You can open it,” I said. “I really wasn’t in any state of mind to handle any more surprises, particularly alone. I valued Julian’s presence and his help, and relied on him here and now to help keep me whole when all of my mixed feelings were threatening to rattle me apart.

Julian glanced at me for confirmation. When I nodded, he tore the envelope open and pulled out a single rectangular bit of cardstock. An invitation then, at least that was what it seemed like from this distance.

“Rafael is holding a party to welcome Roman,” Julian said. He flipped the card over to check the back. “It’s tomorrow, and only for you and Alice.”

Immediately, detecting his growing agitation, I pushed aside his worry. Or tried to. “Of course you are invited,” I said. “You will be coming with me.”

“I will?” he asked, looking up.

“Yes,” I said. “I want you there.”

That seemed to calm him. Even his face started to relax a little.

“Alice, though, I think we will hire a babysitter for you,” I said.

“I want to go to the party!” she said at once, outraged by my suggestion otherwise.

Again, I saw her face, tearstained and frightened after Roman had made her cry. The thought of reintroducing them had been a bad one, and I wasn’t in any kind of hurry to make that happen.

“Please Mom? I will be extra good!”

“It’s not that I think you will misbehave, honey,” I said. “But Roman will be there. And I don’t want to…”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I want to go.”

“I’ll be there,” Julian said. “I will protect you both.”

Looking at Julian, I wanted to believe that. He always protected us in the past. But it wasn’t physical protection I thought we might be in need of this time, it was protection of the heart.

I wasn’t worried Roman would strike against us physically. Instead, I thought he might try to kindle something romantic with me, or try to impose himself as Alice’s father, like he always tried to in the past, no matter how hard Alice pushed back against that.

But between Alice’s pleading eyes and Julian’s unrivaled confidence, I found I couldn’t reject either of them.

“Fine,” I said after a moment. “But if anything starts to feel strange, we leave, okay? We don’t have to stay the whole time.”

“Okay,” Alice said.

“Agreed,” Julian added.

I guessed it was decided, then.

Alice’s POV

Okay, I got myself invited to the party. That was all good, but it was only the start of my plan to get Mom and Dad back together.

The next step? “Gosh, I really wish I had a new dress to wear to the party,” I said, loud and a bit whiny, just in the right tone to get Dad’s attention.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Dad said. “Amber, why don’t I take you and Alice to the store? You could get matching dresses. Would you like that, Alice?”

I nodded. “Yes!” And, okay, I wanted to get Mom and Dad back together, but having a new dress and feeling like a princess would be nice too. Why not both!

Mom didn’t agree so easily. She gave me a kind of look that told me she knew I already had a bunch of dresses in my suitcases. But those dresses weren’t a new dress, which I tried to tell her by sticking out my lip and slouching my shoulders a little.

In the end, I was the winner. Dad rounded us up and took us to the dress store.

It was filled with beautiful fabrics and dresses, I didn’t know where to put my eyes, and ended up spinning in circles. I was a little dizzy, until Dad put his hands on my shoulders, keeping me steady as he urged me forward into the shop.

At the counter, there was a nice looking lady who smiled with a lot of teeth.

“We need matching mother-daughter dresses,” Mom said and gestured to me.

The woman clapped her hands together. “I have the perfect thing!” She disappeared into the store for a minute and then returned with two different pairs of dresses. One set was purple, the other more blue. An ocean color with some glitter in the skirt.

“Which do you want to try first, Alice?” Dad asked me.

I pointed at the sparkly one, thinking it might make me feel like a mermaid in that color with that glitter!

The saleslady smiled as she carried the dresses to the changing rooms. Dad stayed out in the main area. There was a bench there. While Mom and I went into the back to change.

Mom helped me with my dress because there was a zipper in the back I couldn’t reach. The minute I was zipped up, I turned to look in the mirror and gasped!

I did look like a mermaid! Laughing, I swished my dress back and forth. Behind me in the changing room, Mom put on her own matching dress. Hers was the same color but it was a little different around the neck. Mine had a high collar, but Mom’s was lower. Still, she looked like a mermaid too.

“You have to swish your skirt, Mom. Like this.” I showed her.

She followed my lead, swishing her skirt back and forth. Her skirt was a bit bigger than mine and swished even better than mine.

Mom wasn’t just a mermaid, she was a mermaid queen!

Dad had to see this. He would fall in love with Mom all over again, and my plan would be closer to being a victory.

“We have to show Dad!” I said at once and unlocked the changing room door before Mom could stop me.

“Alice!” she called, hurrying after me as I darted from the room. I ran back to the main room, and Dad looked up.

He smiled when he spotted me, but that smile froze when he saw Mom next.

His eyes went wide and his mouth opened a little, just like the princes do in my movies when they see the princesses for the first time.

I couldn’t stop grinning. My plan was working!