"I can stay with my parents," she interrupted.
"The are both semi-retired and will need their own space. Not that they won’t be there for you. But you'll need your own place," Dorian insisted. "And I want to do this. For you and our babies."
He saidOurnotyour. Rune stared at him, torn between outrage, disbelief, and the smallest, most treacherous flicker of hope. This U-turn still had her head spinning. Dorian took in her stupefied face, lips parted mid-splutter, and glanced around as if checking for witnesses. Unfortunately, there was one.
Gareth appeared at their table with uncanny speed, wiping his hands on a towel, wearing the exact expression of a man who'd definitely been listening from behind the decorative screen.
"All right here, love?" he asked Rune, far too casually.
Rune narrowed her eyes. "Peachy."
She knew it would be all over the village by tomorrow.
"Good to hear," Gareth said, grinning. "What can I get you two?"
"I thought we were just having tea, "said Rune with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you feel hungry?" Dorian asked.
Rune did a nausea check while Dorian looked at her expectantly, the faintest twitch of amusement ghosting over his mouth. She then picked up the menu just to have something to hide behind. "The chicken salad, please," she said after a minute. "Dressing on the side."
Dorian handed the menu back to Gareth. "Rib-eye. Medium rare."
"Of course you would," Rune muttered under her breath. “Just keep it far away from me if it starts oozing blood”
“Make that well-done” ,Dorian corrected, handing the menu back to Gareth.
Gareth's grin widened. "Right you are." He shot Dorian a knowing look before retreating, but Rune caught the wink he shot her on the way back to the bar.
She sighed and dropped her menu flat on the table. "You've successfully embarrassed me in my father's favourite hangout. Congratulations. That dismal proposal will be all over the place tomorrow."
Dorian leaned back in the booth, utterly unbothered. "I don't think he heard that. And I didn't realize ordering dinner was a public scandal."
"You buying a house down the road is," she shot back. He smiled faintly, the expression mellowing the sharp contours of his face. "Then maybe it's a good start." Rune rolled her eyes and reached for her water.Lord help me, she thought.I'm trapped with a man with more money than common sense.
They ate mostly in silence. The only sound was the clink of cutlery and the low murmur of the pub around them. Dorian kept watching her, dark eyes flicking to her face every time she reached for something. The twins seemed to be tiny carnivores. Rune caught herself staring at his steak as if it were a lifeline.
Dorian noticed. Without a word, he cut off a piece of the ribeye and extended the fork across the table. Her eyes widened. Dorian didn't share cutlery. "Are you sure?" she asked softly, looking around to check if anyone was watching. Dorian had never done anything like this before. But she realized he always made sure she ate when they were working late. He wasn't a bad boss... until the end.
"I've had my tongue and my…Well, my tongue down your throat," he replied evenly. "This is hardly more intimate."
A startled laugh slipped from her. She leaned forward and delicately bit into the succulent meat before pulling it slowly off his fork while he watched with burning eyes and lips parted just enough to make her pulse jump like a yo-yo. He was wrong. This felt almost as intimate as a kiss. He cut another piece and offered it again. She took it. And again. He kept feeding her until she murmured that she was full. Rune looked down at her untouched salad with a little sigh.
"Want to eat mine?" she asked, pushing it his way.
"Rabbit food," he muttered, but reached for the bowl anyway. After polishing off the last of his steak, he ate her salad too, unbothered.
Then he ordered vanilla ice cream for her, checking first to see if she could still tolerate it, and a coffee for himself. No milk. No sugar. He stirred it slowly, the spoon clicking against the mug. Then, out of nowhere, he said, "Nothing happened with Margo."
The words came out of nowhere. Rune blinked, thrown by the sudden change of topic.
"I didn’t..." He stopped, jaw while his fingers tightened on the spoon. "I didn't know what I was doing. But again, I'm sorry. I never touched her. I guess I just wanted to make you jealous..."
Rune didn’t know what to say to that.
"It was... temporary insanity," he said quietly. "I drove you away and then I couldn't bear it when you actually pulled away. And you seemed fine while I was floundering." She stared at him across the small table, ice cream melting into a puddle in the bowl while his black coffee sending up slow spirals of steam.
Rune set her spoon down. "You hurt me," she said quietly. Dorian's throat worked. He nodded once, eyes dark with regret. "I know."
