An idea springs to mind. "Have you been to the magi-tag place in town?"
She frowns. "No?"
"Me neither, but I've gone to other magi-tag places. We could go."
"It's an interesting choice for a date," Lottie muses.
"You said you wanted fun," I point out.
"All right, but you can't be upset when I beat you," she jokes.
I chuckle. "Then I'll make sure we're on the same team and we can win together."
"Don't tell me you're a sore loser?" It's impossible to miss the fact that she's more relaxed now, and I like that a lot.
"Didn't you hear, I'm a prince," I remind her. "Of course I'm a sore loser."
She laughs and picks her fork up, reminding me that we're supposed to be eating. "You can't be that bad. I can't imagine Sophia's a good loser either, and you can't both win all the time."
"Or can we?" I tease. "Twins have special powers."
"I'm only interested in one twin."
"That's fine by me," I promise. "And Sophia is a worse loser than me. But that doesn't stop me beating her."
She smiles in a way that makes my heart constrict and the urge to reach out and touch her grow within me. It's going to be a long study session if this is how I'm going to feel throughout it. But it will be worth it to get to spend time with Lottie, and it will just let me look forward to our date more.
Chapter 7
LOTTIE
I'm both nervous and not at the idea of going on a date with Archie. I think the fact that he's a prince is something that's still playing in the back of my mind, but it's not really an important thing about him. At least not within the confines of Rosewood.
And none of it matters compared to the fact that we're both feeling the mate bond within us. It's not something we have to act on if we choose not to, but I don't understand why we wouldn't want to.
I smooth my hands over my shirt as I make my way up to the entrance of the magic-tag building. I've never played, but there's a part of me that's always wanted to, and I'm glad I'm going to get a chance to, even if it's an unusual venue for a date. I was a little surprised by the suggestion when Archie made it, but I'm excited to be doing something fun together, especially when it makes it clear that he's not just trying to get one thing.
Archie is waiting at the entrance in a casual outfit. He spots me coming and uses his tail to wave at me. My heart skips a beat as I respond to him.
"Hey," he says the moment I'm within earshot.
"Hi."
"Ready to start firing magic at me?" he asks with a grin that I recognise as the one he uses when he's teasing.
I laugh. "I'm pretty sure that's treason."
"Only if you get caught."
"I suppose I'm not actually a citizen of the demon realm either," I muse.
"Then that might mean that shooting me causes a diplomatic incident," he responds.
"Hmm. We wouldn't want that, would we?"
He grins. "Luckily for you, we're going to be on the same team."
"So long as you don't think I'm going to die for you."
