20. Kiki

Chapter 20

Kiki

I wait by the transport van, tapping my foot impatiently as Frank goes in search of the Sasquatch who’s going to do the mind-meld or hypnotic woo-woo or whatever is required for my grand exit from Grotto.

I won’t remember any of this. Nothing and no one. That hurts, not gonna lie.

I stare down at the stone floor not really seeing it when my eyes suddenly focus on the pair of enormous, furry feet that have entered my field of vision.

"Kiki."

My head snaps up.

Enfys stands in front of me, her expression unreadable. "I'll be accompanying you to the surface," she says, "to handle the memory alteration. We’ll do it right before you disembark."

Right. Sure. Okay. "So...everything will be erased? All my memories of Grotto?" I hate how small my voice sounds.

Enfys nods. "It's protocol. But if there's a particular memory you'd like implanted in its place, I can arrange that."

"A luxury spa retreat would be nice," I deadpan. "Massages, cucumber water, the whole shebang."

But even as the words leave my mouth, they ring hollow. Because let's be real, no spa could hold a candle to my time here. The cozy hot spring soak with Gruffydd. Learning to square dance. Being cocooned in his strong arms. The way he worshipped every inch of me in bed like I was something precious...

Dammit. I shake my head. "You know what? Doesn't matter. Zap away."

Enfys studies me, her gaze emotionless.

I rub absently at the ache beneath my breastbone.

Ugh. What is wrong with me? I'm getting exactly what I want. Why does it feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest?

Because what exactly are you going back to?

I’m returning to a life of glitz and glamour. Money, recognition.But also a life of superficiality. Falsity. Manufactured appearances.

Is that a real home?

My thoughts again stray to Gruffydd. Sweet, handsome Gruffydd, who looks at me like I hung the moon and stars. Who makes me feel cherished and adored and so very, very alive?—

"He'll never forget you, you know," Enfys’s quiet voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts.

I wave a hand dismissively, blinking back tears. "Give it a few months. I'm sure I'll just be a vague memory."

Enfys shakes her head, her expression almost pitying. "That's not how it works for us, Kiki. Fated mates are for life. Once we find our true soulmate, there will never be another."

I stare at her, my mind reeling. "You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I assure you, I’m quite serious.”

Wait. Hold up. "You're saying all that soulmate, destiny talk wasn’t just a mushy, over-the-top pickup line? It was for real?"

"As real as it gets," Enfys confirms. "Trust me, I know. I lost my mate fifty years ago, and to this day, the thought of even looking at another male repulses me."

“What does that mean, exactly?” Suddenly panicky, I grasp her large furry arm. "He'll just...stay single? Forever?"

"Of course," Enfys says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You're it for him, Kiki. His one and only."

I feel like I've been sucker punched. Gruffydd's talk of soulmates takes on new weight. They weren’t just over the top cheesy declarations.

It's too much. Too big. Too terrifying and exhilarating and utterly, utterly overwhelming.

I start to pace, my thoughts finally starting to cohese. At last, the big picture becomes clear. What am I so eager to get back to? A stepmother who only tolerates me because my money pays for her extravagant lifestyle? A staff who listens to me, agrees with me, and placates me only because I sign their paychecks? Friends who are friends only because of what my name and celebrity can do for them?

The persona I'm so desperate to get back to is just as much of a sham as Maria Garcia. It's a mask, a fa?ade. Bougie on the outside, but hollow on the inside.

The real me, the woman underneath, is the woman I've been here, in Grotto.

The Kiki who has found true friendship, true acceptance, true love, that's who I'm meant to be.

"I'm not going."

The words burst out of me, surprising no one but me. But as soon as I say them, I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. A sense of rightness settles in my bones.

Enfys breaks into a wide, fanged grin. "You sure about that?”

Never been surer.

“Positive,” I announce decisively.

“Well, then. Let's go share the good news, shall we? Though I warn you," she adds, her expression turning serious, "I doubt my son is handling your supposed departure very well."

As we near Gruffydd’s cave, a resounding crash echoes through the corridor, followed by what sounds suspiciously like a roar of anguish.

What the…?

I take off at a run, Enfys hot on my heels. We round the corner to find a crowd gathered outside Gruffydd's cave—human women and Sasquatch children in the front, Sasquatch adults in the back. There’s a hushed murmuring among them as they cast wary gazes at the open doorway.

Another crash. Another roar. My heart clenches painfully.

I elbow my way through, ignoring the startled grunts and growls, until I’m at the front of the crowd where I stare in stunned disbelief.

It looks like a tornado tore through the place. Log furniture splintered into toothpicks, possessions shattered, huge chunks of stone ground to dust. And in the middle of it all is Gruffydd, his chest heaving, his eyes wild and feral.

Oh, my god.

It looks as though he might head to the bedroom to tear that up too when he goes stock-still. His head tips back slightly and his nose twitches like he’s sniffing the air. Slowly, he turns to face me, his gaze a maelstrom of anguish and despair.

Did I do this? Here I thought he didn’t care enough to say goodbye. I thought he broke my heart. When the truth is, I think I might have ripped his clean out of his chest.

His eyes lock with mine. You could hear a pin drop as we stare at each other, an entire conversation passing between us without a single word.

Okay, Kiki, time to get real.

With trembling fingers, I slip off my glasses. Then I reach up and tug off my wig, shaking out my long, dark blonde hair.

The Sasquatches are silent, but shocked gasps erupt from the human women.

"No way.”

“Kiki Karaprtyan?"

“Our Maria is really Kiki Karaprtyan.”

I’ll explain to the women later and apologize for my deception if need be. Right now, I only have eyes for Gruffydd. I walk forward until I’m right in front of him. He looks pole-axed. Carefully, reverently, he reaches out to touch my hair, rubbing a silky strand between his fingers.

"Surprise," I whisper. "You're stuck with the real me."

His brow furrows. "You...You’re not going home?"

A tear rolls down my cheek, and my sweet, sexy, passionate beast wipes it away tenderly with his thumb.

Truth rings in my every syllable as I reply, "I am home."

The grin that splits his face is the biggest I’ve ever seen, and then I'm swept up in his arms, laughing and crying and clinging to him for dear life.

"I love you," he rumbles, his voice thick with emotion. "I love you and I will cherish you all my days.”

"I love you too, big guy." I lean back and look him in the eye. "But just so we're clear, I am not cleaning this mess."

Gruffydd holds me tighter as his booming laugh echoes off the cave walls.