“Take your time. I have other coats I need to rip the pockets on too.” He winked when she burst out laughing.
Violet jotted his name and what he needed on a piece of paper and attached it to his jacket with a pin.
He started to leave but stopped, and said, “I didn’t catch your name.”
She looked up, surprised. Her eyes met his, and the way he looked at her made her stomach flutter. “Violet.”
“Violet.” He murmured her name as though testing it out. “It was nice to meet you, Violet.”
“You, too, Titus.”
He lifted the flap of the tent, paused, and dropped it, spinning toward her again. “I’d like to take you out.”
Violet tossed his jacket into a basket and lifted an amused brow. “Was that supposed to be a question?”
He blew out a shaky breath.Is he nervous?“I’m messing this up. Violet, oh beautiful seamstress who will save me from stabbing myself, would you do me the pleasure of allowing me to take you to dinner?”
Trying not to seem like a giddy schoolgirl, she shrugged one shoulder as nonchalantly as possible. “Sure. I’m free tomorrow night.”
The way his face lit up sparked a new kind of excitement within her. “Tomorrow sounds perfect. Do you live in the compound?”
She picked up another piece of paper and wrote down her address. “I grew up in the compound, but I live on the outskirts of town now.”
Titus glanced at the paper and slid it into his pocket. “I’ll pick you up at six o’clock.” He opened the flap and looked back one last time. “Goodbye, Violet.”
He disappeared outside, and she stared after him with a goofy grin on her face. How long had it been since she’d gone out with a man?
Too long.
Titus seemed different, and what was better, he wasn’t a warrior or guard. She’d written off her sister’s colleagues long ago, not wanting to relive the Dominic incident. At least she’d never had to face him afterward. He had supposedly tucked tail and ran after Roman beat him half to death.
The next person walked in, and Violet composed herself, already thinking about what she’d wear on her date.
* * *
Roman brooded as he and Vivian walked through downtown toward the theater. His parents insisted they meet them for the opening night of a new play, adamant the future monarchs needed to be seen together. Roman did everything in his power to avoid Vivian outside of his weekly dinners that they now had at the palace with his parents.
Not for lack of trying on Vivian’s part. Roman held no interest to her, but being future queen did, and he hated how she acted when they made public appearances, like the world should bow at her feet. She no more deserved to be queen than a contrite toddler.
“Ares and I are sparring with the generals from Henton tomorrow,” he told Vivian, needing something to talk about other than Vivian herself before he bashed his head against the closest wall. Henton, a neighboring village of Saltu, boasted a reputation for their ruthless battle training techniques. “It should be a good show.”
“You and Ares are attached at the hip,” Vivian griped. “There are plenty of other men in the battalion to befriend.”
Vivian hated Ares, not that he liked her any better. They often squabbled at training, and Ares told Roman that on the occasion they argued during Roman’s absence, she threw around her position as future queen to get her way.
Roman’s patience wore thin, and he came to a sudden stop. “Whatever your issue with Ares is, put it to rest.”
Vivian’s face screwed up. “Then tell him to show me respect,” she rebutted hotly. “I am his future queen, and he’s always challenging my decisions in training.”
The entitlement this woman had astounded Roman. Any time Ares challenged her, it was to show her a better way of doing something, and it pissed her off. Her skill level did not compare to his.
She started to say more, but Roman’s attention snagged on Violet walking their way on the arm of a man.Where do I know him from, and why is he looking at Violet that way?Roman had never seen them together or heard her talk about him to her friends.
Violet laughed at something the man said, and jealousy tried to consume Roman, but he tamped it down to keep Vivian from feeling the full force of it.
Vivian frowned at him and followed his line of sight, her breath hitching right before indignant fury blasted down the bond. He looked down at her, but her attention belonged to the couple before them. Roman’s lip curled. Vivian’s disdain for Violet pissed him off more than any of her other shortcomings.
Anytime someone brought up her sister, Vivian either made a snide comment or changed the subject. The last time she’d made a disparaging comment about her sister in his presence, he’d almost threatened to cut her tongue out. But he knew if he showed Violet favorable attention, Vivian might try to hurt her. Roman didn’t think Vivian would hurt Violet physically, but there were many other ways to harm a person.
