While the ladies were looking between Angela and Gael, Samantha caught her husband's stare from across the room. Daniel winked at her, and she blushed. "I swear, you guys still look like you're in your honeymoon phase," commented Becca. "Even after having Ash and Sia, you two look like teenagers in love."
Realizing what Becca was talking about, Hannah and Angela studied Samantha. The latter shook her head and chuckled as she took a sip of her champagne, then she said, "I thought we'd be like those couples who eventually get tired of each other. But with Daniel, I get stronger the longer that we're together." She smiled at her husband. "And I'm spending the rest of my life with this wonderful man."
The way Samantha expressed herself without hesitation, even with other people around, made Angela feel a bit envious. Since she had known Samantha, Angela noticed that the other had such a strong mentality—it seemed as though she could take on anything. Angela wondered if she could also learn how to be like this woman—someone strong enough to take on the world.
"They're coming," Hannah warned when Daniel, Gael, and Oliver were heading in their direction while Chairman Su was left with Daniel's father.
"Hey, honey..." Daniel kissed Samantha. He was still carrying Sianna who was looking slightly sleepy. The little girl had her arms around his neck and her head laid on his shoulder. Samantha gently caressed Sianna's back. "You girls okay here? Need anything?" he asked.
Samantha shook her head. "No, thank you... We were just talking about...girl stuff."
"What girl stuff?" Oliver questioned, setting Ashton down on the kitchen island.
"It's called girl stuff for a reason, Oli." Hannah rolled her eyes.
Oliver, who had always been bickering with Hannah since forever, decided to play with her. He whispered something to Ashton while looking suspiciously at her. The little boy laughed, which annoyed Hannah—she threw an almond at Oliver, and the two continued to bicker playfully.
While this was happening, Gael went to stand next to Angela, who wanted to ignore his presence, not even looking his way. He casually placed an arm around her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. She was still clearly mad at him, so she didn't want to give him the attention he was asking for.
Daniel snickered upon catching a glimpse at what just happened. This got the ladies' interest, and they followed the direction of his gaze. "Come on, dude. You gotta do better than that," he remarked.
"What's going on?" asked Samantha.
Instead of responding to the couple, Gael ignored them and faced Angela. He leaned his hip against the edge of the island, so he was facing her side profile. She had a neutral expression, but her throat bobbed when he placed a hand on the small of her back. This gave him the push. "You can't still be mad at me..." he told her.
"Oh, look. It's the Prince!" she said in the most bored tone as she turned to face him. The children giggled.
Gael's jaw ticked. She was obviously still mad. But he didn't remove his hand on her—she didn't slap it away anyway.
The mischievousness in her voice caused the ladies to exchange looks. They shifted their weights as they watched them intently, seemingly interested in what's happening. "Uh-oh. What did he do now?" Becca wondered.
Angela could see the guilt in his eyes, and she stared at them without remorse. "Apparently, he told a bedtime story... The prince and the witch."
"Handsome prince and the witch!" Ashton exclaimed, followed by Sianna's excited tone, "Witch Angela!"
Samantha slowly nodded her head as she began to recall something familiar. "Oh, I heard about this after Daniel and I came back from that trip, and Gael stayed the night to watch the kids... The story—oh… Ohhh..." her voice trailed off as realization dawned on her. "Witch Angela..."
Hannah gasped, seeing everyone's reactions. "I wanna hear more about this bedtime story!" Samantha then recalled what her children told her, and Angela listened without taking her eyes off him.
Having had enough listening to his mistake, Gael sighed, squeezing the side of her waist as he grunted. "Come on. That's even before I saw you again on the island."
But Angela wasn't having it. "Hmmm. We can't disappoint the prince now, can we?"
Grabbing a grissini—an Italian breadstick—from the cheese platter nearby, she swished and whirled it in front of him as she chanted, "Bippity, boppity, bop. Turn this prince into a frog. Hippity, hoppity, hop. Hit the road, prince toad." She then lightly tapped the end of the stick on his shoulder.
Everyone at the kitchen island stifled a peal of laughter at Angela's antics, the ladies having the most fun.
Gael's lip twitched at the spell his Witch Angel just cast on him. This woman really didn't give two shîts, and he liked it. So he humored her, "I deserved that... ~Ribbit."
Becca placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh, he makes jokes. I can see it now. How odd. Who is this guy?" The others were also fascinated to see Angela and Gael's exchange. This was certainly entertaining for them all.
"Glad you know," Angela told Gael, folding her arms under her chest while keeping her bîtch face on—which still made her look pretty despite her attempt to look villainous.
He hung his head. If only they were alone right now, this would have probably been much easier. When he looked up at her again, he softened his gaze. "What I did was stupid. I'm sorry… Will you forgive me?"
"Ugh. I'm out." Oliver left with Ashton, and Daniel followed, carrying Sianna with him.
The men weren't down to watch it unfold. However, the ladies stayed, curious about how the two would play out while they remained quiet on the side, not wanting to disturb the couple.
Gael could hear what's happening in the background, but he had his eyes on Angela the whole time, just like hers was on him. Now that her brother was gone, he inched closer, snaking an arm around her while still keeping a few inches between them. "What do I have to do to make you forgive me?"
Without hesitation, Angela answered, "You can keep me as a witch, but you have to write a beautiful ending to that bedtime story."
That wasn't something he expected her to say, but it made sense because Angela was a writer. He hadn't even thought about that story again—or how it should progress, but for some reason, he wanted to grant what she asked for. It was like a challenge or a project that he wanted to fulfill just for her. "I'm working on it."
She huffed. He didn't say he would be working on it; rather, he was already working on it? She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
Gael tilted his head to the side and closed the gap between them, his eyes boring into her as he asked, "What can I do to make you stop being mad at me now?"
Angela lightly bit her bottom lip. She wasn't really mad at him—maybe only a little. But she couldn't speak—she could only stare. Her eyes dipped at his lips because she couldn't help it—he was dangerously too close, and she didn't hate it.
When she didn't respond, silent mirth laced his eyes. "You know I'm not afraid to kiss the fûck out of you even with these people around, don't you?"
Hannah choked on the cocktail she was sipping; Samantha covered her grin with her hands, while Becca averted her gaze and said, "Oh, my word. I need my husband. Liam?" She stalked off into the living room.
"Yeah...I actually want to see this happening—hey—S! What—stop pushing! Fine! I'm walking!" Hannah, though reluctant, walked out of the kitchen with Samantha.
Angela watched as the ladies left, feeling a little embarrassed for Gael's shamelessness. "Great. Now you scared them away. They're the only people I could talk to at this party."
"You have me..."
She rolled her eyes. "Right. Aren't you afraid I would put a spell on you, Prince?"
"Babe, you already did," replied Gael. And he sure wasn't talking about the frog spell.