Cream Puffs and Courtship

Chapter 42- The Hug

Evie watched with a smile as Ella spun in front of her friends, showing off her extravagant new dress. The birthday dinner had gone well, everyone that Ella wanted to invite had been there, including one Michael Handerson. Evie hadn't stayed for most of the dinner but from what she saw, she was sure that Ella would soon be introducing Michael to her as her boyfriend. When Evie arrived to take Ella and her friends back to her house, Michael had pulled Ella off and pulled her hand into his. Evie couldn't decide if she wanted to swoon at their young love or sock the boy in his face. She settled for helping the girls into the car and making sure all the guys had a way to get home.

Once in the car, Evie was once again torn between wanting to rip her ears off and wanting to laugh at the teen girls in her backseat. She settled for the latter.

Luckily, once they got home, Ella played the part of a perfect hostess and entertained all her guests so that Evie could relax a bit. Evie had retreated to her room in order to study but the sounds of loud laughter had drawn her out again. She watched her sister show off her dress proudly, but humbly. The girls fawned over the soft material and the small side pockets that had just enough room to store a phone.

And then one of them asked, "So where did you get it, Ella?"

Evie's breath caught in her throat as she prayed that Ella would be smart about what she said.

It seemed that Evie's worries were misguided though because Ella simply smiled and replied, "My sister ordered it online actually. It was an early birthday gift."

"Your sister is literally the coolest person ever," Sara exclaimed. "My mom can't tell the difference between a long tee shirt and a cocktail dress!"

"Yeah Ella, you're so lucky to have a sister like Evie. My sister barely even lets me watch movies with her."

One by one, each of the girls told stories about their own families and insisted that Ella was lucky to have such a great sister. Evie's hand came to cover her mouth as each one of them complimented her.

"Oh, I know how great she is," Ella said with a laugh. "I mean I don't know many 20-year-olds who would take care of their younger sister as well she does."

Evie was surprised to feel tears come to her eyes and quickly ducked out of the room before the girls noticed she was there. She wiped her eyes discreetly and smiled to herself, mentally reminding herself to give Devon the biggest hug she possibly could the next time she saw him.

'Friends hug right?' Evie wondered to herself as she cozied into her bed and tried to fall asleep despite the pop music and whispered gossip coming from the next room. 'Friends totally hug.'

~~~

'Friends definitely don't hug' Evie thought to herself as she awkwardly pulled away from Devon the next day. Tina had been walking her out of the palace after an afternoon of studying but just before they got to the entrance hall, Evie realized that she had left her notes in Tina's room. Evie offered to go get them but Tina insisted that they didn't both need to walk back there to grab one notebook and besides, Evie was bound to get lost anyway. So, Evie let her go and settled herself on a small bench in the hall to wait. As soon as she saw the prince turning the corner, Evie grinned happily and flung her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Ella had the best time at her birthday party yesterday. Thank you, seriously."

She had enjoyed it, hearing the rumble of his laugh as he assured her that it was nothing, the smell of his aftershave still lingering on his face, and the warmth that filled her from the inside out.

Then someone coughed and Evie realized that they weren't alone. Elianna and her brother were standing in the doorway, their eyebrows raised in exactly the same way.

"Evelyn," Elianna greeted, pulling the blushing girl into her arms. "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Your Highness," Evie said, bowing her head both out of respect, and to hide her blush.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't at the door to greet you Elianna, Alexander. Evelyn was just waiting for Tina to retrieve something for her room and I wanted to keep her company," Devon said, his voice perfectly composed. Evie risked a quick glance at his face to see if he was bothered that Elianna had seen Evie practically on top of him. She couldn't tell if he was blushing or if his cheeks were always dusted with a light rosy tint.

Elianna didn't look at all bothered. In fact, a small smirk seemed to be playing on her lips as she glanced between Evie and Devon.

"Not a problem at all, Dev. Really. Right Alexander?" Elianna asked, elbowing her brother in the ribs.

"Of course. I'm sorry to have to interrupt," His eyes drifted to Evie for the briefest of seconds before he was turning back to Devon. "But your parents would like to see you soon, Devon."

"Of course." Devon nodded. He turned to Evie and gave her a small smile before leaving the room with the Grandway royals. As the door closed behind him, Tina came walked in from the opposite side of the room.

"Here's your notes Evie," Tina said, handing Evie a notebook with her neat script on the front.

"Thanks, Tina," Evie said, jumping out of her seat and briskly walking towards the door. "I'll see you later?"

"I'm picking you up from your shift at Carla's tomorrow remember? You and Kennedy said that you would get mani-pedis with me."

"I'll be ready," Evie replied as Tina walked her to the door.

The two friends said their final goodbyes as Evie got back into her car and pulled her floppy hat and sunglasses on. It had been months since Evie had first met Tina and the action was now routine. The tourists and occasional paparazzi who waited at the entrance to the palace would go ballistic if they knew that a civilian had somehow managed to get into the palace.

But Evie's disguise didn't matter. Within 24 hours, her face would be splashed on every newspaper in Lexia.

Right next to a lovely portrait of Prince Devon.

A/N- Hello world! School has been kicking my ass and I lowkey want to slam my head into bricks until next year.

But anyway,

I'm getting excited because this is my favorite part of the story. Things are going to pick up a bit, there's going to be sooooo much drama and then finally, it will all end. I'm planning on wrapping this up by the new year which means that there will probably be 5-10 more chapters, I'm not too sure yet. But thank you guys for sticking with the story and for always supporting me, it means a lot.

See you soon,

-Maddie