Page 85 of Save a Wish

“You’re going to trust me to touch all the buttons?” he’d asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Yes, don’t make me regret that decision,” I’d joked. “Seriously though, it’s time for me to be a little more real and a little less virtual.”

Logan had clamped a hand on my shoulder and given me a shake. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” he’d said, “because I need some real help on the addition we’re putting on the art and learning center for Carina’s preschool.” He’d gestured to my hands. “Lend me these and I may consider letting you digitize my blueprints.”

I’d shaken his hand. “Deal.”

As I reset the candy toss game during a lull in visitors to the game area, my gaze landed on Sadie—who had asked to be called Sadie instead of Princess Aislinn.

“I plan to live my life in Vermont,” she’d said. “I’m Sadie Rodgers here. I want to be her. Princess Aislinn is reserved for trips back to Verdalach.”

After she’d explained why she’d left her country and had taken on a new identity, forgiving her for lying had been easy. She hadn’t lied to be a jerk or to trick me and everyone else in Greenridge. She’d lied to free herself. I wished she would have told me everything from the beginning—or at least after we’d realized something was blooming between us—but I understood why she hadn’t. She was attempting to leave her old life behind. Having a completely fresh start in Vermont had been the only way she thought she could achieve that.

I couldn’t imagine my family using me as a bargaining chip and forcing an arranged marriage on me. Some of the other old traditions Verdalach clung to hadn’t sounded much fun either, but after what had happened at the wedding—that fortunately didn’t end up being a wedding—a great deal of talk about changing policies and practices had happened. Sadie’s parents had opened up more about their grief in losing their daughter, Maeve, and about the pressures of running an entire country though it was a small one. The future of Verdalach looked a little rosier.

My future looked a little rosier too because Sadie had decided to make Vermont her home. She’d picked right back up where she’d left off with her Kalm Kingdom business, delivering her mindfulness services to her clients. She’d had to make up for a few appointments she’d missed after being taken back to Verdalach so suddenly, but a couple free sessions settled those disgruntled clients down pretty quickly.

Now, Kalm Kingdom was flourishing as were Sadie’s natural jewelry creations. I’d actually seen a few guests here today with her pretty pendants dangling from their necks.

Looking at Sadie now, dressed as Daphne from Scooby-Doo, took my breath away. She’d pinned her long, red hair in a way that made it look like Daphne’s length and added a purple headband. The purple dress she wore was a perfect replica of the character’s, complete with a green scarf at her neck. Vanessa had helped her spray paint a pair of dress shoes purple to match. Combining all that with Sadie’s amazing legs, she looked authentically Daphne. I wanted to whisk her away in The Mystery Machine van and solve some mysteries with her.

We’d actually already handled one mystery by clearing Jimmy’s name. As soon as we’d arrived back in Greenridge, we’d marched to the police station where Jimmy was still being held—and my mother was twenty shades of worried. Once Sadie confirmed she was alive and well and totally unharmed, however, and Jimmy’s logging buddy arrived with Jimmy’s lost wallet, the man’s innocence had been more than proven.

“Sorry, Mr. Slater,” the police officer who had brought him in for questioning had said. “You see how it looked though, right?”

“Of course,” Jimmy had said. “The phrase I’ll get you in the rumored town serial killer’s handwriting and on his letterhead warrants a full investigation. You were just doing your job.”

“And you were just not serial killing and it’s time we all officially retired those rumors,” I’d said.

Right now, Jimmy handed a cookie to a little girl dressed as a ballerina. He was wearing a Prince Charming costume and my mother was decked out as Cinderella and frankly, they couldn’t have been any cuter.

And we were all waiting for that proposal. From the looks of it, Mom had no idea one was on the way. Would it be weird for her to accept a proposal from another man after having loved my father so much? She genuinely cared about Jimmy so I was pretty sure she’d say yes. Normally, this would be something my siblings and I would take bets on about the outcome, but in this case, we all believed she’d accept.

I spent a few minutes explaining the scarecrow assembling competition to a group of teenagers and as they got going, Sadie came over.

“That blond wig you’re wearing as Fred keeps making me lose you in the crowd here,” she said with a chuckle. “I’m so used to seeing your brown hair.”

“And an orange neckerchief isn’t my taste.” I adjusted the fabric around my neck. “The white shirt and blue pants aren’t my fave either, but I’m rocking the Fred vibes to the best of my ability.”

Sadie laughed. “You’re doing a fine job. And if anyone can make an orange neckerchief look incredibly sexy, it’s you.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek and one of the teenagers assembling a scarecrow let out a whistle.

“Eyes on the scarecrow, kid.” I hooked my arm around Sadie’s waist, dipped her low, and kissed along her throat.

One of the teen girls with the group swatted the boy who had whistled. “You should take some lessons from him, Levi. He knows how to be romantic.”

“Hey, I know how to be romantic,” Levi said.

The girl looked at Sadie and me and shook her head. “He doesn’t have a clue.”

“Oh, yeah,” Levi said. “I’m going to make the most romantic scarecrow right here and you’ll have to eat those words, Bella.”

Bella arrowed her hands at the boy. “See? He thinks a scarecrow can be romantic.”

“Give him a chance,” Sadie said. “He might surprise you.”

Fueled by Sadie’s comment, the teens dove all in on trying to make romantic scarecrows. A trip to Vanessa’s craft table gave hope that they’d be able to accomplish their mission.

“This event is so much fun.” Sadie arched an arm out. “Look how happy everyone is. This is the energy Verdalach needs. I’m sending my mother some pictures. Maybe if the royal court loosens up with things like this, it will filter through the entire country.”