“What?”
She tosses her arms together. “Have you seen yourself? You’re an adorable, smitten little thing. If that man doesn’t accept your proposal, he’s a moron. I, for one, have more faith in him than that. I mean,come on, Citrus. It’s so obvious you love him with every mineral in you.”
I begin to lose feeling in my legs. “I-it’s obvious?”
“To everyone but him, don’t worry.”
I am worried at a level I have never been worried at before. I did not know it was possible to attain new thresholds of worry at this depth. You’d think living inFlorida—a land perpetually victimized by natural disasters to such an extent the locals have only two seasons: Hades’s armpit and hurricane—would have worried me entirely dry.
Yet, all that said, the spark in Ines’s eye frightens me. More so when she smirks and says, “Oh yes, this is going to befun.”
Chapter 35
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
I think surviving being the topic of a town-wide meeting ischaracter growthof the highest order.
My hands are sweaty. My stomach’s rioting. All the nerves in my body have gathered together to threaten a strike. I fear they’re bound to unionize soon if I don’t quit overworking them.
Standing outside the tavern door at the time Ines appointed fornearly the entire townto meet and help me with mytop secret missionof marrying Samson, I find I am in over my head.
Public speaking was never a strength.
In school, I almost failed any project that sent me to stand in front ofeveryoneand make a fool of myself. I’m positive I only passed any of those classes because when I’m nervous, I ramble, and when I ramble, I ramblefacts. My teacher could not suggest I hadn’t extensively studied the subject with a dedication that bordered on clinical.
Problem.
Big,bigproblem.
This public speaking gig?
It’s aboutSamson.
And you would not believe how much I know about Samson.
I aminsane.
Because of my video game expertise, I know favorite foods he hasn’t even experienced yet.
If I don’t throw up in the next thirty minutes, I’m counting tonight as a resounding win.
With that single, truly simple goal in mind, I latch my shaking hand around the doorknob and ease my way into the rustic tavern hall. Mercifully, chatter does not cease. Eyes donot fly to me. Everyone proceeds as though I’ve not entered the building.
It does wonderful things for my heart as I slip my way toward Ines, Aurelia, and Chrysa, who are at one of the five round tables scattered in the room. They’re speaking animatedly, with sweeping hand motions and sparkling eyes.
Upon seeing me, Ines smiles and kicks a chair out for me, but she doesn’t stop talking. “Logically, the wedding should be in Finel Spring. It’s gonna take some time to construct a boat, see what the island looks like, then plan a ceremony on it. The soonest we could be ready is this Winter, but who’s heard of aWinterwedding?”
“Are we sure we can’t have the wedding in town? Tomorrow?” Aurelia beams.
Ines’s fist hits the table. “Citrus wants an island wedding. Citrus gets an island wedding.”
My flesh heats. “U-um.”
The three women look at me, and it takes great effort not to swallow my own tongue. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” I murmur. “It’s just that I still need to find a diamond in the mine and have it cut for Samson’s circlet, and I don’t know what everything will cost, and—” I’m rambling. Already. It’s started so soon. I bite my tongue before I start spouting any more nonsense.
Chrysa smiles, toying with one of her curls. “Pyro can cut it once you have it. He dabbles in that kind of thing since it alters casting when you’re gifted.”
“It must be pretty hard to find a diamond…” Aurelia’s lips dip into a slight pout. “How long do you think it will take.”
