Free Love Spell: Book 2 of The Grimm Laws by Jennifer Youngblood, Sandra Poole Page A

different from Rushton. Whereas Rushton was free-spirited and impulsive, Edward was regimented and controlled, always choosing every word and action carefully. At first, Cinderella had felt stifled by Edward’s stiffness and predictability, but then she realized that a steady routine was helping her manage her heartache over Rushton. She’d even felt a few moments of lightheartedness where the clouds would part, dispelling the gloom. It was in those moments that she felt hope—hope that perhaps she really could return the love that Edward was showering on her.
    As fate would have it, just as she was starting to open herself up to Edward and accept her new life, the letter came. Rushton was back, and he was asking her to meet him!
    If only Rushton had stayed away then she might’ve had a chance at happiness. It was so infuriating! He couldn’t keep disappearing and randomly showing up! What was she going to do? Think! She had to think! Just because he’d written a letter asking her to meet him didn’t mean she had to do it. She could resist him, couldn’t she? Even as she thought the words, the vapor of him settled around her, and she felt a wave of dizziness coming on. Being around Rushton was so intoxicating that she couldn’t think clearly. That crooked smile that drove her to distraction. The way she wanted to rip his hair out one moment and then fall at his feet the next. Rushton’s steady hand, guiding her. His lips on hers. Fire. Incredible, burning fire. She clenched her fist. Stop it, Cinderella! Enough! She had to think rationally! Everything was unraveling. She was on a runaway horse, headed for a cliff, and couldn’t muster the strength to pull the reins and make it stop.
    Such thoughts were getting her nowhere. She took a deep breath, willing herself to remain calm and then scooted her chair closer to the fire in an attempt to stave off the chill in the drafty room. The thick palace walls retained moisture, making it impossible to get warm. Edward had been her only comfort in the palace, and she wondered how long it would take, if ever , to feel at home here in this giant conglomerate of courtyards, tunnels, and never-ending rooms. Upon her arrival at Aandover Castle, Edward insisted that she occupy the large bedchamber overlooking the North Courtyard or “Bailey” as he called it with its manicured gardens and intricate maze of hedges.
    “It’s the same room that my mother used before she married my father,” he said.
    How she was supposed to feel at home in this enormous bedchamber was beyond her. Her eyes ran along the walls and upward to the monstrously tall ceilings that made her feel so small. No detail was left undone. Admittedly, when she became a lady in waiting, she’d daydreamed about what it would be like to be a princess and live in the castle, but she’d always pictured Rushton at her side, not Edward. Now that she was here, it felt overwhelming. The castle was beautiful beyond her wildest imagination, but everything was so lavish that being here amongst such decadence was making her feel starved for normalcy, like she was living on a diet of sweet rolls and cake when what she really wanted was a hearty bowl of porridge and brown bread. She looked at the silk bedspread with its delicately woven design and the heaps of pillows, the stately windows that were flanked with velvet drapes and tassels, and the plush rug made of bearskin. Her gaze went to the only familiar piece of furniture in the room—the milky white mirror and dressing table that had once belonged to her mother. At her request, Edward had it brought from the manor to the castle. Loneliness settled over her, and she longed for the manor and her simple room.
    When Edward brought her to the palace, Queen Loreena let her know in no uncertain terms that she disapproved of Cinderella’s behavior the night she fled the ball. It was obvious that Queen Loreena despised her. She was too stately to say the words out loud, but her