‘Do you have a moment?’ she asked.
For her, he seemed to always have time. ‘I do.’
She began walking, and he fell into step with her, aware of her sisters’ eyes now boring into his back.
‘I wanted to speak to you about the Promise Exchange,’ she began. ‘Have you decided what you’ll engrave on your token?’
‘Yes. You?’
A nod. ‘Yes.’ She fell silent for a few strides. ‘Do you get to choose what goes on yours? Or did the queen already have it pre-engraved on your behalf?’
‘Funny,’ he said, suppressing a smile. ‘Though we are supposed to choose with the king and queen’s wishes in mind.’
She looked up at him. ‘Will they want to approve mine?’
‘I’m sure my mother would love to, but the tradition has always been that each party asks for what serves their individual interests.’
‘It’s essentially another trade agreement,’ she said.
‘A trade agreement of the heart.’
They walked in silence for a moment, the gravel crunching beneath their feet.
‘Listen,’ Aisha said, clearing her throat, ‘about the kiss.’
He slowed mid-step. ‘The kiss?’
‘The one at the end of the exchange.’ Her voice was tinged with nervousness. ‘I know this might seem a bit forward, but with the king and queen present, Lilah thought it might be a good idea if we were to… practice.’
He stopped and turned to face her. ‘Lilah suggested this?’
‘She’s very thorough with these things.’
Tariq glanced in the direction of the sisters. They were too far away now to read their facial expressions. ‘Is she now?’
‘I know it won’t be our first time.’ Aisha’s cheeks flushed with colour. ‘But it will be our first time with an audience.’
He tried to hide his amusement. ‘That’s true.’
Aisha was looking everywhere but at him. ‘Do you think a standing kiss will be quite different from when we kissed… lying down?’
He crossed his arms, pretending to think about it. ‘I imagine so.’
She nodded thoughtfully. ‘I suspected as much.’
Tariq watched her chew that bottom lip as she weighed her next words. He couldn’t have looked away if he wanted to.
He should have told her that she’d been set up, that there was no kiss at the end of the exchange, but the memory of her impossibly soft lips against his kept him silent. And since there was a kiss on their wedding day, the practice would not go to waste.
‘We wouldn’t want to appear awkward,’ Aisha said.
‘No,’ he agreed. ‘No, we wouldn’t want that.’
She looked around. ‘Should we do it here? Get it over with?’
‘Sure,’ he replied.
He waited for her to look at him again and felt his pulse quicken when their eyes met. Her chest stilled as he stepped closer, his shadow falling over her as he reached a hand up to lightly hold her face. Her head tipped back slightly, the muscles in her neck softening. His gaze fell to her lips as he brushed his thumb over her jaw. He leaned in, then waited, giving her every opportunity to pull away.
