“Youdolook real beautiful,” he told her, now that his mind was working marginally better.
“Thank you. You look good, too,” Cassia said, and smoothed a hand over his jerkin’s lapel.
He shook his head and got Tiny moving with a shout ofGet On. His father’s bull snorted and hauled them onto the road effortlessly. Cassia asked twice on the drive if he was alright, because he was gripping the reins so hard and sitting so straight.
Lareo was the nearest real city, and Dawn Ridge could have fit in it ten times over with room to spare. They had to leave the bullcart outside the city walls—too much here was built with wood—and hire one of the city mule-carts through the narrow roads. The streets were cobblestone and full of shops and noises and people who looked like they had places to be. The eating house wasn’t like anything Aevrin had gone to before, and it was bustling inside, too. He gripped his hat tight and followed the proprietor to a small, quiet table at the back, lit by two small candles.
Cassia was silent a moment after opening the menu.
“Aevrin?” she at last asked softly as he studied the wine list, trying to make a lick of sense of it.
“Yeah?”
“They have a hydra roast here that costs ¤70.”
He blinked at her. Cassia closed the menu slowly and leaned forward.
“We haven’t ordered anything yet,” she whispered. “Should we leave? I saw some places on the way that looked less costly.”
He blinked again, and then chuckled.
“I did my research, Cassia. I know what it costs here.”
“You researched…?” This seemed to baffle her even more than the prices had. Cassia leaned back, forehead creasing. “Are you sure it’s alright?”
“I’ve gotta spoil you more often if you’re that shocked,” he observed. “Beautiful. I’m sure. Get whatever you like. We’re celebrating tonight.”
He ordered a bottle of wine for them to split. Despite his assurance, she got the least expensive dish on the menu, root dumplings in a nettle sauce.
“It sounds good,” she insisted, when the attendant walked away and Aevrin raised his eyebrows.
“And I’m sure that’s why you got it,” he said dryly. “The tab isn’t a problem, Cassia.”
“I know,” she admitted, and blushed. “Thank you for taking me here. It’s nice.”
It was, too. Comfortable, and dark, the music from a trio of mandolos low, the wine… well, tasty; he didn’t know enough about wine to say more than that.
Candlelight could make anyone look better. And Cassia, who was already so beautiful she had the ability to steal Aevrin’s breath and his words… he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
At the first bite of the opening course they were sharing, a noise came out of Cassia’s mouth that Aevrin had only heard from her during sex before. She bit her lip, embarrassed. His eyes searched her eagerly.
“It’ssogood,” she said. "I never thought of using cinnamon like that. I'll have to try it out." He grinned and reached for her hand, and kept holding it all through the course, until their entrees came and required both hands again.
He was definitely going to need to spoil her more often.
They traded questions back and forth as they ate.
“Something you’re looking forward to this year,” he asked. Cassia looked thoughtful as she chewed, tilting her head to the side.
“Definitely Rylan coming back,” she started.
Aevrin nodded, not answering. For Cassia’s sake, he was willing to give her brother another chance, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever fully forgive the man.
“And…” Cassia continued, still looking thoughtful. “Is it selfish to say my birthday?”
“Of course not,” Aevrin said.
“It’s been a while since I had a good one,” she admitted, looking embarrassed. “I mean—I’m not asking for anything or saying to make a big deal out of it, truly. I just mean, it’ll be nice to spend it with a group of people I care about.”
