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“Yes?”
“Can I talk to you?”
“I have somewhere to be, actually.” Maisy looked pointedly down the hall. “You know, our annulment?”
“I know. But I just need a minute.”
“Fine.”
“Come in here.” Xander gestured to a side room.
“If you want to warn me not to tell Niko about what happened on Kanalea, you already have my word. We’ll forget anything happened.”
“That’s not what we need to discuss.” Xander stepped into the side room. Maisy was about to follow when someone called her name from down the hallway.
“Maisy! What are you doing? We’re about to start!”
It was Maisy’s mother. Maisy hesitated on the doorstep, then came back into the hallway.
“Coming!”
“Maisy, please.” Xander’s eyes were wide. He looked almost desperate. “I just need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Maisy, come on!” Lily was already standing with Maisy’s mother and father. They were at the doorway of the judicial room.
Maisy looked back and forth between Xander and her family. Her family might not have considered her feelings as much as they could have, but they’d always had Maisy’s best interests at heart. They’d never lied to her, tricked her, or broken her heart. Xander, on the other hand, had done all of those things.
“I’m sorry, Xander. We can talk after the ceremony.” Maisy started down the hallway towards her family, her duty, and her future. But she’d barely taken a step when she felt Xander’s hand on her arm. He bent to her ear and whispered, quietly and quickly.
“Maisy, I made a mistake. I think I can fix this. I can fix everything — if you just trust me.”
“Why should I?” Maisy wanted to lean into Xander, but she held herself back. She had no idea what he meant when he said he was going to fix everything, and she was in no mood for another one of his games.
“Because,” Xander said, his voice soft and urgent. They were almost down the hallway now. “Because I love you.”
Maisy’s heart skipped a beat. Had Xander really just said the words she’d never thought she’d hear from him?
“What?”
“Maisy!” Maisy’s mother beckoned, more forcefully this time, and Maisy felt her feet start to move.
“I love you,” Xander repeated. “And I promise I’ll explain everything as soon as we have a minute. But, if you trust me…” And he quickly explained to Maisy what he needed her to do. Maisy was reeling. She wasn’t even sure she understood Xander’s words. He loved her? Really?
Did she still love him after he’d broken her heart?
Did his plan even have a chance of working?
And then Maisy felt her sister’s hand on her other arm. Lily pulled her away, shooting a look at Xander as she did so.
“You’ve done enough,” Lily said, glaring. “Leave my sister alone.” Then she pulled Maisy into the judicial room. “What did he say to you?”
“I—”
But Maisy didn’t have enough time to tell her sister anything, because they were already in the room, in front of Maisy’s family and the royals. A judge stood in the center of the room, papers laid out in front of him. An older man and a young woman with dark brown eyes stood in one corner, probably the witnesses. A moment later, the royal twins entered together. They were dressed identically in dark blue suits.
This was the moment. Maisy had a decision to make. Still confused, still uncertain and unsure if she could trust her heart, she looked back at the twins. She wasn’t sure if it was worth it to risk everything, again, on one of their wild schemes. And Xander had said he loved her, but that didn’t mean that things would work out between them. Was it worth the risk?
But the romantic in Maisy won. If there was even the slightest chance for a happily ever after, she owed it to herself to chase it. She could take one more chance on love.
