She pursed her lips as we made our way up to the top floor. I found my stomach growing tight with excitement. Knowing that I was only a few minutes from showing Ava something that would almost certainly lift her spirits made me realize why people liked surprising the people they cared about.
We reached the door to the destination.
“Just on the other side of the door,” I said.
Ava flashed me one more skeptical look before reaching for the knob. She stopped with her hand midair.
“Can I open it?” she asked.
“You certainly can.”
A small smile formed on her lips as she grabbed the knob and turned it. She didn’t need me to explain to her what the surprise was.
“Hailey!”
I hurried into the room and shut the door as Ava let out a scream of complete happiness. Hailey let out one of her own as she sprang from the bed and rushed over, the two girls throwing their arms around one another.
I smiled, knowing without a doubt that I’d done something very, very good.
Chapter 31
Ava
Icouldn’t believe it was her.
“Oh myGod!” I shouted, throwing my arms around my sister, squeezing her as hard as I could.
Hailey hugged me back, letting out a grunt as I came close to squishing her with the sheer power of my grip.
“OK, OK, happy to see you too, but you’re right on the verge of breaking some ribs, sis.”
I laughed, letting go of Hailey and stepping back, trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was actually in front of me. I turned to Luc, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, a knowing smile on his face that made it clear he was most pleased with his work.
“What did you do?”
He chuckled. “I brought your sister here.”
“I mean, Iknowthat. What I’m trying to say is…how?”
“Luc got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago,” Hailey said. “Told me that you were having a little trouble getting settled in here in Edoria, asked if I might be able to swing in and hang out with you for a little while so you didn’t feel so lonely.”
“I had her number back from when I was doing recon on you in preparation for the trip to Seattle,” Luc said. “Just a matter of getting in touch.”
My head was spinning. “Wait, what about the truck?”
“I’d been meaning to take a vacation for a little while,” she said. “Not to mention that the newbies were starting to burn out from me riding them so hard. What can I say, I demand success.”
“I dipped into the palace’s discretionary fund to cover the money that the truck would’ve been making while Hailey was here,” Luc said. “So there’s no reason to worry about your business losing money or anything like that.”
I was so happy that I wanted to cry. I threw my arms around Hailey one more time, my heart feeling like it was about to burst.
“Plus, your boy Luc here sprang for a first-class ticket,” Hailey said, hugging me back. “I made the flight here in style.”
“Least I could do,” Luc said.
I turned to him, shaking my head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you did this.”
He smirked. “I hope you mean that it in a good way.”