Twin Roses: A Beau Rivage Short Story

By Sarah Cross

Pearl and Ruby have always shared everything, including their Snow White and Rose Red curse. When they were little kids, that meant sharing Pop-Tarts and cartoons with Theo, the enchanted bear prince who came to visit them every winter and then disappeared from their lives.

At seventeen, sharing is still their way of life—clothes, double dates, and part-time jobs at their mom's café, Twin Roses. Then the harbinger of the second half of their curse shows up—the annoying man who caused the bear prince to be cursed in the first place. They must help him if they want their prince—their fated love—to return to their lives in human form. But there's one little detail. There are two of them, and only one Theo.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781606846650

Sarah Cross

Sarah Cross lives in New York and loves fairy tales in all their incarnations. Visit her online at www.sarahcross.com.

Book preview

ALSO BY SARAH CROSS

Kill Me Softly

Tear You Apart

EGMONT

We bring stories to life

First published by Egmont Publishing, 2014

443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806

New York, NY 10016

Copyright © Sarah Cross, 2014

All rights reserved

www.egmontusa.com

www.sarahcross.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014950308

ISBN 978-1-60684-665-0

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

v3.1

Contents

Cover

Other Books by This Author

Title Page

Copyright

First Page

TWIN ROSES CAFÉ was known by its two signature rose trees: white roses bloomed to the left of the door, red roses to the right. Inside, the floor was painted cherry red; the walls were white with a mural of black roses, castles, and crowned bears in silhouette. Vanilla cupcakes went on one side of the pastry case, red velvet on the other. There were crown-shaped sugar cookies, white chocolate and cranberry scones, lattes topped with foam roses.

When you did a fairy-tale theme in Beau Rivage, you did it all the way.

Ruby Ramble brewed coffee and chatted with customers while her twin sister, Pearl, mixed batter and shaped cookies in the kitchen. The sisters’ curse had inspired the theme for their mother’s café, and they were as much a part of the atmosphere as the decor. Ruby with her bright red lipstick, Pearl with the dusting of flour on her braided hair and dark brown skin.

There was a hand-painted sign nailed to the counter: Please don’t feed the bears. The customers got a kick out of it—and it was a bad idea. Just because the occasional enchanted animal wandered through town didn’t mean every black bear deserved a cupcake. And on the wall behind Ruby was a poster that read: My cupcakes bring all the bears to the yard. Though it had been years since the bear prince had appeared in the Rambles’ yard, let alone anywhere else.

The café’s best seller was their Twin Roses cupcake—red velvet cake topped with vanilla buttercream and decorated with two marzipan roses. They were a nod to the twin roses Pearl and Ruby had on their lower backs: their märchen marks, the sign of the Snow White and Rose Red curse they shared. Pearl’s mark was composed of two white roses; Ruby’s double roses were a rich bloodred. They’d had the marks since they were six months old and, unlike some Cursed, they weren’t afraid of their shared destiny. They were fated to care for each other, to always be there for each other, to keep each other safe. Animals loved them and, thanks to a fairy’s gift, no harm would ever come to them.

They were more blessed than cursed.

Until they found something they couldn’t share.

Do you remember when we were kids? Pearl asked. She was in the kitchen after hours, putting away a fresh batch of marzipan roses while Ruby swept the floor out front.

Are you asking because you think I have amnesia? Ruby called.

No. I was just thinking. Remembering our friend.

Our friend was the way they referred to the prince: the little black bear who had knocked on their door one winter night when the sisters were eight years old, and asked to come in. He hadn’t been in danger of freezing—it rarely got cold in Beau Rivage—but he was hungry and lonely.

Mrs. Ramble had invited the poor cub inside, and the sisters fed him blackberry jam and raw honey from a jar. Pearl brushed the dead leaves from his fur while Ruby picked off the brambles,