Chapter 36

Q had never seen so many pretty and handsome folks in one place in her life.

Back home, the closest thing to "pretty" had been Maddy. And then there was Juliette, of course, who was practically a painting come to life, with her perfect posture and ice-gray eyes that could make a person feel about two inches tall.

But here? Here was a whole new world.

Everywhere Q looked, there were people who seemed to have stepped straight out of a storybook. Princesses in shimmering gowns that caught the light with every movement, their hair styled into intricate braids and curls that defied gravity. Princes in crisp, tailored suits that looked like they cost more than her entire barn back home. They stood in small clusters, their laughter soft and refined, their movements impossibly graceful, like they'd been born knowing how to glide instead of walk.