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My cheeks warmed at her compliment. Nothing sounded better than a child’s honest compliment.
“Princesses have nice gold hair like you,” she said, clutching a thick strand of my blond hair. Internally, I cringed. Would she think the same if she saw my real dark auburn?
“What about the princes?” I asked, proceeding to unzip the back of her dress.
“It’s so hard to choose,” she said in a serious voice. “Both Caleb and Noah are so beautiful, I don’t know who to choose. Why can’t fairy tales have more than one prince?”
“I know, right?” I said, pushing the dress down her shoulders. “A princess should have as many princes as she desires.”
My gaze suddenly fell on her bare arms.
“What happened to you?” I gasped, taking in the dark bruises marring the delicate, pale skin.
“They held on too tight,” she said in a low, pain-filled voice. Her blue eyes filled with tears and suddenly, she was sobbing again. “It hurt so much. I told them to let go but they wouldn’t listen.”
“Oh, baby!” I pulled her against me in a gentle hug and held on to her, wishing I could take away all her pain and trauma. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Irene bawled.
I let her cry, knowing it was the only way to leech out the poison of fear and panic. Suppressing the pain would only prolong her suffering.
When Irene calmed down, I took her hand and quietly led her into the bathroom.
My gaze brushed over her butt and the smooth mound between her legs. Relief washed over me as I didn’t find any marks or bruises. The assholes who kidnapped her at least spared her from sexual abuse.
“Want a bath bomb?” I asked when she’d settled into the deep tub.
“What’s that?”
“I’m not spoiling the surprise. Do you want it or not?” I asked in a low, conspiratorial voice.
Something sparked in those deep blue eyes. A mischievous grin lifted the corners of her lips. “Yes,” she whispered back.
Going over to a cabinet, I took out a box of “berry-licious”.
“Open it,” I said, giving the box to her.
Irene’s brows knit together as she slowly lifted the lid and took out a bright red globe that was so big, she needed two hands to hold it.
“This is the bomb?” she asked, her eyes shining.
“Yep. Drop it in the water.”
“What about me?”
“Trust me. You’ll love it.”
Irene took a deep breath and dropped the ball into the water.
A surprised cry escaped her as the bath bomb fizzed and bubbled rapidly, causing the water to turn bright pink. Irene’s surprise turned to delight as she splashed at the water.
“It smells like strawberries,” she exclaimed, looking at me excitedly. “And it’s so pink.”
I chuckled. “I knew you’d love it. How about I shampoo your hair for you?”
“Okay, but where are the toys?”
She probably wanted some rubber toys to play with in the bath. “I don’t have any toys. Sorry, sweetie—” A sudden idea struck.
