“Quite all right. I’ll be right out,” I call back.
When I make my way back to the main sitting area, Kian is seated at a table piled high with breakfast delicacies.
“Gods, this smells amazing,” I say with a happy sigh.
Kian looks up and almost does a double take at me in his robe. His eyes appear to darken as they peruse my form, causing me to shiver at the intensity.
“I have to say, I enjoy seeing you in my clothes,” he says.
The forwardness brings a blush to my cheeks, and I hurry to sit so I can hide behind the mountain of food on the table. Kian clears his throat and sits back in his chair, his eyes seeking mine. I’m captured by him—I couldn’t look away if I tried.
“Rae, there is something we need to discuss before we meet my father.”
A rush of trepidation chills me. “Oh?”
“I apologize for not doing so sooner, but time slipped away from me.”
I nod as I serve myself a helping of bacon and eggs. Kian holds out a basket full of croissants, and my eyes widen. “Those are my favorite.”
Kian nods. “I remember.”
I blink, confused by the statement. I don’t recall telling him that, but perhaps I’ve forgotten.
I take a bite of the flaky pastry and close my eyes, savoring the taste. “Mm-hmm . . . this is amazing . . .” Opening my eyes back up, I meet his gaze again. “Well, what did you have to say?Spit it out. Stop keeping me in suspense and distracting me with pastries, as much as I love them.”
He grins but looks a little pained. “We need to convince the king that we are madly in love.”
“Excuse me?”
“My father will be furious that I eloped without his permission . . . so I need to give him a reason. The simplest solution is to convince him that we are so madly in love, we couldn’t help ourselves.”
My jaw drops, and I stammer, “But . . . that’s not at all what we agreed upon. You said this marriage was on paper only. If we have to convince him that we’re in love . . .”
Kian winces. “Yes, I’m sorry . . . If we’d had more time to court and get permission from your father and had a proper wedding, that would have definitely been the case, but the elopement has changed things.”
“You didn’t think to mention thisbeforewe eloped?” My voice has climbed to a higher register, and I hate the shrillness of my tone.
Kian shrugs. “It doesn’t really change things. We just need to pretend a little.”
“Pretend?”
“Give each other loving glances, perhaps little public displays of affection . . . nothing too over the top.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I’m a terrible liar, Kian. I don’t know that I can do this.”
“We’ll be fine,” Kian says, waving a hand dismissively. “It’s only when we’re out in public or with my father. Most of the time, you won’t need to worry about it.”
I take a deep breath, considering all that he just shared. It makes sense, but I also have the feeling it’s just going to complicate everything between us, even more so than it already is.
“Okay, fine. I’ll try . . .”
Kian sighs in relief. “Great. I’ll admit, I was quite worried about bringing this up to you.”
“As you should have been,” I admonish.
“Would it have changed anything?” he asks, looking almost penitent. “If I’d told you before our vows, would you have said no?”
I pause to consider. “Probably not, no . . . I needed to get out. If pretending to love you is the worst thing I have to do, I suppose I consider that fairly lucky.”
