7. James

James

A glimpse of a fantasy dances in my mind, unlike any dream I've had. It's a compilation of scenes I've never personally experienced. In particular, one stands out of Anna having dinner with me, sitting across a small, candlelit table, laughing at something I've said. The images disappear as quickly as they came, and as I toss her legs over my shoulders, she whispers, "We've never had dinner."

"No, we haven't," I agree, kissing the same place on her thigh that I took between my teeth.

"Sorry, it's ridiculous, but I just had a memory I can't explain. Though, it wasn't truly a memory at all. We were having dinner and?—"

"I said something that made you laugh?"

Anna sits up suddenly, her dress cascading to her sides, and repeats, "We've never had dinner."

"If you'd lie back, I'd be able to have mine."

"That's what the woman meant by we would rewrite reality," she groans. "I've just had a memory of a dinner that's never happened. Were there candles on the table?"

"Yes. Now, will you please lie down?"

"No! This is all pretend." She shifts back from me quicker than I can catch her. "You can fuck me when we wake up, but right now, we need to fix the story… before our own changes."

There's no use in fighting her. "I don't know, that dinner seemed quite lovely."

"But it didn't happen!" Her arms fly wide, as they often do, and then she points her finger at me like a Sunday school teacher. It turns me on and disarms me at the same time. "We've never had dinner. You ordered takeaway, remember? But we fell asleep before it arrived." She then mutters to herself, "We're doing more than rewriting a book; we're rewriting our lives. What if when we wake up, you and I… What if we… I don't like the idea that I'll wake up and this was all a dream, too…"

"Then, marry me." At my voice, she stops the incessant chatter. "The second edition will remain intact." I shouldn't get my hopes up that this wild woman—who I'll never tame—will stay through the night, much less spend the rest of our lives together. At the very least, I'll get the fantasy of her being mine while we're dreaming. "What are you so afraid of?"

Anna sits forward and cups my cheek. "I can't just decide to marry someone. This isn't my story, it's Eliza's."

Covering her hand with mine, I dare to offer my heart to her. "Please, Anna. Don't make me marry her. What if we never wake up from this dream? I'd be stuck with a woman who isn't you." I can sense she's still undecided about all of this, and I press on, "What if we risk it? Run off and get married? If we end up stuck here, at least we'll be together."

Preferably before my fictional brother…

"You think you could handle being a prince while your princess is busy all day reading smut on a chaise in the library?"

"I thought we'd already established there are very few romance novel options in the libraries here," I chuckle.

She opens her mouth to reply but there's a knock at the door. "Prince James? Are you in there?"

"Yes, what is it?" I growl.

"Your brother's wedding is set to begin within the hour."

"Oh, thank fuck," I sigh in relief, and at the same time Anna asks, "Your brother?" I call back to the woman, "We'll be there in a few moments."

"What have you done?" Anna snaps with the same fire I've become accustomed to from our first meeting here.

"What needed to be done, my dearest Anna. What needed to be done."