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“But?”

A sigh escapes from her lips. “I’m so tired. I don’t know if I’ll make it to lunch without falling asleep.”

“Rough night with your husband?”

She slaps my arm. “It’s nothing like that. If you must know, I went to bed at nine. Nine, Colton! Like some old lady whose energy levels are depleting more and more with every passing day. I’m getting old.”

I can’t help but laugh at her dramatic-sounding words. “You’re twenty-six, Sarah. That’s not old.”

“Fine, maybe I’m not old. But it’s not normal to be this exhausted at my age.”

I frown. “Why don’t you go and see a doctor? It’ll put your mind at ease.”

“I will. Soon.” She takes a deep breath. “Do you think something’s wrong with me? Is exhaustion a symptom of something bad?”

I pretend to think. “I remember reading an article in Your Science last week. Something about a woman falling asleep at nine and how odd it was.”

Her eyes grow wide. “What was wrong with her?”

“She woke up one day as a zombie, craving brains. No one could save her.”

“Colton!” she cries out and punches me. “You can’t say stuff like that. You had me really worried for a moment.”

I laugh. “It’s just so much fun to mess with you. Seriously, I think there’s a good explanation for your tiredness, and it’s not that you’re turning into a zombie, okay?”

“Okay, I believe you. For now. Anyway, enough about me. Kiera said you rode into work with a girl today,” she says while suggestively wiggling her eyebrows.

“I did, but before you make any assumptions, she’s my sister’s best friend.”

“So?”

I shrug while fastening the cufflinks on my costume. “So nothing. It doesn’t mean anything.” I turn around. “What I don’t get is how fast news travels around here.”

“You know how it goes. Someone sees something, texts it to their colleagues, and then it spreads from person to person faster than a deadly virus.”

I shudder. “That’s a scary analogy. Anyway, there’s nothing going on between me and Elle, so you better let all of our coworkers know that me riding into work with her is anything but newsworthy.”

“Sure, but first we’ve got families to entertain.” She yawns while pointing at the wall clock. “We better get a move on, Prince Charming.”

I extend my arm and she hooks hers through it. It’s a small ritual we do every morning, and guests love it when we stride out of the staff village like that.

We take a left, then cross the plaza with the big fountain surrounded by paths leading to the park’s different themed worlds. A little girl runs up to us, and touches Sarah’s skirt with an expression of pure awe on her face. She must be three, maybe four at the most. I kneel and gently talk to her while Sarah steps aside and twirls, adding some distance between us and the kid. The little girl doesn’t even notice it, that’s how trained we are. Per park rules, guests aren’t allowed to touch us, except when they pose for a photo made at the Picture This spots we have scattered around the park and where a professional photographer snaps the pics. Frank says it’s for our own safety. I don’t know how an adorable three-year-old girl in a yellow dress could possibly threaten our safety, but I guess Frank knows more than we do since he’s the one who runs this place.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a scared-looking woman pushing a stroller. Relief crosses her face when her eyes land on the little girl admiring Sarah’s costume.

She pulls the girl in for a hug, then releases her and throws her a stern look. “Pixie, what did I tell you about running off like that?”

Pixie stares at the ground. “That I couldn’t do it.”

“Then why did you? Mommy got really scared.”

“But, Mommy, it’s Princess Charlotte. I wanted to say hi to her.”

The mother gets up and smiles at the both of us. “I’m sorry about this.”

I wave her remark away. “No worries. We had fun together. And Pixie knows she can’t ever run away again, right, Pixie?”

She nods.