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Kathleen wrings her hands. “She’s right, that wasn’t even the worst part.”

What? I wonder how much worse it can get. Poor Kathleen.

“He suggested that we wouldn’t separate, but instead live happily ever after. The three of us. In one house. Can you imagine?” She spits out the words as if I’m the culprit in this story. “Adding another woman to our relationship?”

I put my hand on her arm. “Luckily, I can’t imagine that. Jeez, it must’ve been horrible for you.”

She nods. “It was the worst. So yeah, now you know why I want to strangle him. But enough about me and my sad love life. You need to tell us about you and that charming, gorgeous man. I need a happy story.”

We come to a halt in front of the elevator. Colton gets in with five women, each one of them wearing a dorky smile. As soon as the elevator doors close and the group whizzes to the top of the castle, I turn to the others. “Before I tell you anything, I need to know. Did any of you really know Colton back when he was still wearing diapers?”

“Absolutely,” Janine says. “I was friends with his grandmother. We used to babysit her grandkids all the time back in the day. That included Colton and his siblings. Mind you, he had the worst case of diaper rash I’d ever seen.”

“That bad, huh?” I ask.

She shakes her head and shudders, as if the mere thought makes her relive it all over again. “His butt was red as a tomato. His mother tried every method in the book to heal him, but to no avail. Everyone around town called him tomato butt.”

I snort. That’s information I can use against him if I ever need to. Not that I think diaper rash is a laughing matter, but it all happened ages ago. Teasing him about his tomato butt will be so much fun, I can hardly wait to bring it up.

Chapter Twenty

Colton

The knitters seem to take a liking to Elle. I don’t blame them for swarming to her. She’s perfect and fun to talk to, but as I’m head over heels for her, I could be biased. I don’t know what they were talking about, though. Despite the chatter around me, I picked up some words like strangling and killing. It was probably a discussion of one of those crime shows my sister loves to watch, or so I hope.

The elevator doors open and Elle and the last of our group spill out. She gives me a smile and winks, the kind that drives a guy crazy.

The platform at the top of the castle boasts gorgeous vistas of the entire park. It wraps around the tower so that guests get a three-hundred-sixty-degree view. Elle told me the platform at the Eiffel Tower is kind of similar, but I doubt The Magic Wonderland is as stunning as Paris.

Oohs and ahs spread through the crowd as the ladies take in the views. I must admit that this spot is one of my favorites as well, especially when the sun is setting. The light always bathes the roller coasters of Adventure Land in a gorgeous glow, which is at its best right before the sun dips under the horizon.

After they’ve had plenty of time to enjoy the views, I lead them to the benches placed against the tower to tell them more about the park’s history and the stories our characters are based on. Every now and then, I peek at Elle from the corner of my eye. While I’m rattling off the story of Prince Charming and Princess Charlotte, I think about our real-life royal story. I want to scream my feelings for her from the rooftops, or in this case, the castle’s roof, but I can’t. Yet. As soon as Maggie knows about us, I’ll have it printed in the local newspaper.

“Does anyone have any questions?” I ask after concluding my talk.

Seven hands shoot up all together. Nice. These women are really into fairy tales and amusement park lore.

“Yes?” I ask, pointing at one of them.

“When will we get to the good stuff?”

I frown. “Excuse me?”

She waves a hand in the air. “This is all nice and dandy when you’re young, but we’re old. We don’t have a lot of time left compared to those youngsters you normally present these stories to when they’re here on a field trip. We like to skip the boring parts and go straight to the fun stuff. Right, ladies?”

They all furiously nod in agreement. This has never happened before. Sure, I can imagine that some people find these introductions to the park’s history boring, but no one has ever come out and said that.

“What do you consider the fun stuff then?” I inquire.

A woman named Janine jumps from her chair. “What’s the fastest ride in this park?”

I arch an eyebrow. “Nitro Snake. The roller coaster has an insane drop that will plunge you down at a speed of ninety-seven miles per hour.”

Elle takes a step forward. “It’s not suitable for guests with heart problems. We’re big advocates of safety first here.”

“Oh, come on, it’s fine,” Janine says. “That snake thing sounds like a blast. I will need to be seated next to Prince Charming, though.”

“Why you?” Kathleen asks.