Oh, no.
Cold dread broke out across my skin. How could I forget something so important? In the previous two Dragonfate Games, the prize for winning the first challenge was a date—adinnerdate.
And I’d just eaten two and a half bars of luxury chocolate.
“Um,” I said.
Cobalt regarded me closely. He seemed concerned that I hadn’t taken his hand yet. “What’s wrong?”
“I, uh... I’m not hungry,” I admitted in a small voice. “You know the gift basket you sent me?”
Cobalt perked up, his blue eyes shining. “Yes. Did you like it?”
“Yeah, I loved it,” I blurted. “The problem is, I loved it a little too much. I, um... I ate a ton of chocolate before our date. Because I forgot dinner was involved. I’msosorry.”
I felt like a dumb kid who’d ruined his appetite by stealing from the cookie jar right before his mom cooked his favorite food. Swamped with guilt and regret, I hung my head, waiting for his admonishment.
Cobalt’s finger tipped my chin up. I blinked at him in confusion.
“I don’t care about that,” he said plainly. “I’m glad you enjoyed the chocolate. I put it there just for you.”
Warmth seeped into my cheeks.
“But what about dinner?” I asked.
“We’ll postpone it. We can have dinner at any time,” Cobalt said.
“But... this was the prize for winning the challenge,” I reminded him.
“Then we will make it the prize for a different challenge.”
“What if I don’t win any other challenges?” I asked.
A shadow flashed across Cobalt’s eyes. His scornful brows knitted together, like that wasn’t even close to the realm of possibility.
“Never mind that,” Cobalt rumbled. “Let’s take a walk instead.”
Hope fluttered in my chest. I’d totally botched dinner, but Cobalt still wanted to spend time with me on a date.
“That sounds awesome,” I said.
Cobalt’s smile made me melt. It was so tender, you’d think we’d known each other our whole lives.
I followed him as he strolled to the shoreline. The sound of crying gulls and lapping ocean waves relaxed me. At first, I took two steps for every one of Cobalt’s paces, but then he noticed I had trouble keeping up with his long strides and he slowed down to my speed.
“You smell different,” Cobalt said suddenly. He didn’t mask his disappointment.
“I do?”
Cobalt stopped and leaned in, scenting the air around me. I blushed. As a canine shifter, I wasn’t averse to being sniffed, but it felt unusually intimate when Cobalt did it. Not that I minded, though.
“It smells like roses,” Cobalt said, as if that was a bad thing.
“Oh! It’s because of that lotion. The one you put in the gift basket.”
Cobalt grunted, apparently reassured it was temporary. “I forgot about that.” He paused for a beat. “I should’ve put unscented lotion in the basket instead.”
My blush deepened as I recalled the shower incident. I couldn’t think about it without my temperature rising.
