“I’m Lenora, this is Pedro.”
“So nice to meet you both.” I took my hand back and waved it around the store. “Well, this is the place. As you can see, it’s not very big, but it looks much smaller than it is. I’ve been trying to somewhat fix the clutter.”
“It’s cute,” Lenora said, looking around.
“The outside has potential,” Pedro added. “I know you said you wanted to stay within a very small budget.”
“Yes.” I gave them a small smile. “I want to help, but I don’t have a ton of money to put into it.”
“Let me see what we can do,” Pedro said, taking his tape measurer out and heading outside.
Lenora walked around, her eyes on everything. “Like Pedro said, it has a lot of potential. The inside just needs to be reduced. There are books everywhere.” She glanced to the second floor. “What’s up there?”
“Nothing,” I said. “He uses it for storage. He can totally turn it into a small café.”
“That’s a brilliant idea.” She smiled at me. “How long do we have?”
“He comes back in a month. He’s traveling all over Europe with his wife right now. On what she’s calling their second honeymoon. They don’t get out much.”
“One month.” Her brows hiked up. “He must have some kind of money.”
“He does. My family owned a lot of the land here. They used to farm cattle and sell milk to everyone within a twenty-five-mile radius, but that dried up, quite literally, and they sold the land. Most of it anyway. We still own the beachside and most of the villas around here.”
“Ah, you’re a Bouchard! I’ve never seen you around.” She studied me closer. “I went to school with a cousin of yours.”
“Sylvia?”
“Yes! How is she?”
“She’s doing well. We’re not close, but I hear about her whereabouts from my mother and aunt. She’s living in Barcelona with her husband and two children.”
“That’s so nice. Is she still painting?”
“She is. It’s going very well for her.” I smiled.
“So great.” She smiled back. “She was a very good friend to me in school. I’ll have to give you a friends and family discount.” She winked.
“I appreciate it. My uncle isn’t paying for any of this. He loves this store and refuses to sell it, but he’s in over his head and he doesn’t understand change. I’m kind of doing this as a surprise.”
“Oh. Well, he’ll be surprised.” Lenora laughed. “We’ll do everything to make sure the store can stay open while we work. Aside from that spot upstairs, I don’t think we’d have to do much construction in here. I may send a guy or two to come help you move some of these heavy bookshelves.”
“That would be so helpful,” I breathed. “And you really think we can stay under budget? I know I’m not really willing to spend much.”
“It should be fine. It doesn’t need much, but let’s wait to see what Pedro says.”
As if on cue, Pedro walked in. “We should be able to knock this out in a weekend.”
“A weekend?”
“We have enough people and it’s really not much. It needs paint and new landscaping. It’s small enough that it’ll be a quick job.”
“Wow. A weekend would be incredible.” I smiled wide. “Let me know what you need from me and when you can get started.”
We agreed on the upcoming weekend, since things were slow for them right now, which meant that if everything went well, they’d be finished by Monday and I would have time to figure out how to set up a coffee shop upstairs. As soon as Lenora and Pedro left, the phone rang, and the caller ID said it was my mother. I answered quickly and updated her on what was happening with the bookstore. She listened quietly, which was never a good thing when it came to my mother. When she liked an idea, she was either speaking over you or pitching in every five seconds. When she hated an idea, she was as quiet as a mouse.
“Mum?”
“I’m here, Adeline. Just trying to figure out where all of this fits into your already hectic schedule,” she said. “I know you’re taking a break from London society, but we just got hired to do the biggest party of the summer and I don’t want you to drop the ball on behalf of your uncle’s dwindling bookstore.”
“What party?” I sat up quickly.
“The royal family is having a masquerade ball in Versailles in honor of the prince’s impending engagement.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “Versailles? Which prince?”
“The only one who’s required to be married, silly. Prince Elias.”
“Oh.” I sat down, placing an elbow on the table, to counteract the sinking feeling in my belly. “And they hired us? How did they hear about us?”
“Evidentially, Joss is friends with Princess Pilar and she attended the wedding you planned for the Princess of Spain last summer and told her mother, the queen, about it, and here we are.” She was quiet for a second, waiting for me to react; when I didn’t, she continued, “This is the event of your dreams, Addie. You get to go above and beyond and wow them. Who knows, maybe they’ll even hire you for his wedding.”
“For his wedding,” I said blandly. “Yeah, that would be nice.”
“Adeline! What is the matter with you? I thought you’d be jumping and shouting over this. Don’t tell me this has to do with Thomas Evans.”
“No. No, why would it have anything to do with Thomas?”
“I don’t like how distracted you sound. This is the event you’ve been waiting for your entire career,” she said. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to pass up being there on account of the leaked video.”
“I’ll be there, Mother.” I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Good. Can you meet Joss and me in Versailles this upcoming weekend?”
“Sure.”
“Splendid,” she said and I could tell she was smiling wide. “I’m so incredibly excited about this and you should be too. Your hard work has paid off and that nonsensical video didn’t deter them from hiring you.”
“They probably didn’t hear about it.”
“Trust me, the Crown hears about everything.”
My stomach coiled. Did that mean Prince Elias had heard about it? And if so, why did I care? He didn’t even remember me. I finished talking to my mother and tried to sound as enthusiastic as I could about the entire thing, but part of me really didn’t want to have any part in an event like that. What did impending engagement even mean? Would he propose at the party? If so, to whom? And again, why did I care?
Chapter 4
I paused, exhaling heavily as I leaned over to set the basket down and catch my breath. I wasn’t used to carrying heavy things and this wicker basket filled with everything from fresh white towels to bath salts and champagne was definitely amongst the heaviest I’d carried. I opened and closed my hands to stretch out my red fingers. My grandmother, who lived her entire life in the service of families, carrying things, washing clothes, and cleaning houses, would have been disappointed in me. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and took in the soothing scent and sound of the beach, and opened my eyes as I crouched and lifted the basket once more to continue my trek. The golf cart I normally used was being replaced and therefore, I had no choice but to walk across the lawn and deliver the basket by hand.