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“Will do.”

I push the back door open and place the coffees and treats on the kitchen table before calling my sister and Elle, who are in the living room talking.

“Are these for us?” Elle asks as they come into the kitchen, eyeing the coffees.

She’s wearing cute cut-off jean shorts and a loosely fitted salmon pink shirt, making my heart involuntarily skip a beat.

I nod. “Yep. Fresh from Sweets of Paradise.”

“Did you know that Americans drink 146 billion cups of coffee per year?” she asks.

I smile. These random statistics she keeps throwing my way are adorable. “That’s a lot of coffee.”

“Coffee, you say?” Maggie flops down in one of the kitchen chairs. “Oh God, you’re a lifesaver. I desperately need some caffeine after last night.”

She takes a sip, then lets her gaze run over me. “What happened to you? Your face is all red.”

I shrug off her comment. “Went for a run, that’s all.” I then direct my attention to Elle. “Are you ready to go to The Magic Wonderland with me?”

Elle smiles, a dreamy look in her eyes. “You bet. Fingers crossed I get the job, even though we don’t have a clue about what it could entail.”

Maggie holds her hand in the air, fingers crossed. “Let’s hope it’s a good one.”

“That’s sweet, but I don’t need to hope. I know it’ll be fabulous. I can’t imagine there would be bad jobs at an amusement park.”

Maggie and I exchange a look. I don’t have the heart to tell Elle that there are indeed some awful jobs. Not that I think this one will be exactly that, but there’s nothing fun about scrubbing the toilets near one of the roller coaster rides. Yikes. I just hope for Elle’s sake that the job I heard my colleagues talking about is indeed a good one, like operating the carousel or something else that doesn’t involve yucky stuff.

“Let’s find out, shall we? I’m going to get changed, and then we can hit the road.”

Elle grins. “Perfect. I can’t wait to take a ride with Prince Charming.”

Chapter Five

Elle

Colton got me coffee this morning. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but my daily caffeine hit tasted so much sweeter knowing he had thought of me while ordering it.

When he appears in the kitchen again, I have to restrain myself. At first, because I want to laugh, but then I take a closer look and it’s like someone finally heard my prayers about meeting a prince. His costume is more modern than I’d expected. It’s not one of those puffy numbers with ruffles and gold everywhere you look. The frills have been toned down to a tasteful level.

He looks so dreamy in his dark pants and teal shirt. His white collar paired with the brown teal boots give the whole outfit a sexy addition.

“Ready?” he asks.

I nod, barely able to speak. “Yeah.”

I shouldn’t get carried away. I almost feel guilty for swooning over my best friend’s brother. I know I wouldn’t want Maggie to have sexy thoughts while looking at Caleb, my brother.

Maybe it’s not even his mesmerizing eyes or the way his smile lights up his entire face that makes me weak in the knees. Maybe it’s just that he’s kind to me. With Paul, things went downhill a long time ago. My ego is thrilled to get some male attention. Yeah, that must be it. These visceral reactions will fade away soon enough.

“Are you guys coming to the bonfire tonight?” Maggie asks right before we head out the door.

“If you have a time machine that will bring us back to our high school years, sure,” Colton says.

“Oh, come on,” she pouts. “It’s not that bad. It’ll be a fun way to start the summer.”

Colton lifts an eyebrow. “You two can go, sis, but I’m meeting Tyler for drinks. I don’t feel like spending the night with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds.”

Maggie gives me a pleading look. “You will go, right?”