The Dragon Finds Forever
“Coming up.” Monalisa set both on the counter, then brought coffee to Nick and Willa as well.
“Very kind of you,” Willa said. “But you don’t have to wait on us.”
“I’m happy to.” Monalisa filled a cup for herself. “You all came out here to support Van, and I think that’s just awesome.”
“He’s a good guy,” Nick said.
“That, he is.” She leaned against the counter by the coffeemaker. “And speaking of Van, he left a bunch of menus from local restaurants for you guys to look at. He said they all have great breakfasts, and they’re all less than ten minutes away. As soon as he gets back from the gym and showers, we’ll head out to eat.”
Nick stood. “Why don’t you let Willa and I handle breakfast? Unless you guys want to go out because the cupboard is bare.”
“No,” Monalisa said. “The kitchen is well stocked. But are you sure you want to cook on your little getaway?”
Willa nodded. “We’ve got this.” She patted Nick’s arm. “He makes great pancakes. And I can take care of the rest. You go do whatever you want to, and Pandora can read the rest of her book. Breakfast is handled.”
Monalisa looked at Pandora and smiled. “What do you think?”
Pandora picked up her book and her coffee and slid out of her seat. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll be in the living room. The indoor one.” She shuffled off, calling over her shoulder, “I want fruit in my pancakes.”
Nick looked at Monalisa. “Do you guys have any fruit?”
“There was fruit salad with breakfast yesterday. There should be blueberries or strawberries left in the fridge.”
“Perfect,” he said.
Van joined them shortly, looking as sweaty as he had the morning before. “What’s happening? I smell food. I thought we were going out.”
Monalisa smiled at him. “Nope. Willa and Nick are graciously making breakfast for everyone.”
“Very nice.” He nodded at them. “Thank you.”
“No problem, man,” Nick answered.
Van used the end of the towel around his neck to wipe the sweat off his face. “I will shower fast.”
“You’ve got a little time,” Willa said. “We haven’t even cracked an egg yet.”
“Okay. But I still need to shower.”
Monalisa opened her mouth to agree, but Pandora came running in, looking very much awake.
“You guys!” She shook the little book at them. “I think I found it.”
“What?” Van asked.
“How to get Monalisa free.” She put the book on the counter and opened it, pointing to a passage. “Right here it says, A child of a leprechaun will be subject to their father’s will until the day they are bequeathed a coin from his pot of gold—”
“That much I know,” Monalisa said.
Pandora lifted a finger. “Wait, there’s more. Or until the father-child bond is broken by another bonding. Only a true bond of the heart has proven worthy of this task, and few are achieved due to the children so often being sequestered in order to make love matches impossible. A false marriage will do neither party any good.”
Pandora looked up from the book, eyes bright and wide, and stared directly at Van. “You have to marry her.”
Then she looked at Monalisa. “But it won’t work unless you love him. Do you? I know you guys haven’t known each other for very long, but maybe a little?”
Monalisa put her hand to her heart. Could it really be this simple? “I do love him.”
“And I her,” Van said. “But can it be this easy?”
“You read my mind,” Monalisa said.
Pandora’s brows shot up. “I don’t think falling in love and getting married is easy. That’s why it’s the only other way to break this bond. And it has to be real, or it’s not going to work.”
“Explains why my father has done his best to keep me away from men all my life.”
Willa tipped her head. “But he sent you to Van’s house. That was essentially putting you into immediate contact with a man.”
“Yes,” Monalisa agreed. “But he’s always told me how awful the fighters are, always painted this picture of them as angry men just looking for trouble, wanting to control their women and fight at every opportunity. Because of that, I had a pretty strong prejudice against guys like Van.”
She looked at him, marveling at how fast he’d changed her mind. “Then I met Van, and he was nothing like that. The exact opposite, really.”
Van shrugged. “I am very lovable.”
Pandora laughed. “Yeah, you are.” She chucked him playfully on the arm. “So? What’s the deal?”
Van’s gaze settled on Monalisa as his expression turned hopeful. “I will do whatever Monalisa wants to do.”
She took a breath. They were all looking at her, all waiting for her answer. She’d never made a decision this big before. Never had the chance, really. Her hands were shaking, and her mouth suddenly went dry. She licked her lips and found her voice as she gazed into the eyes of the man she had no trouble picturing herself with for eternity. “Ivan Tsvetkov, will you marry me?”
“Da,” he said with a wink. “But not before I shower.”
After taking the fastest shower of his life, Van stood in his robe, staring into his closet and trying to decide which suit was nice enough to get married in.