“Lydia’s shop was close. I knew it would be open. I only meant to get us off the street. I… It wasn’t an act intended to… tohurtyou?” he said. “Are you? Are you hurt?”
“Like physically?” I pouted, checking my person. “I don’t think so.”
Cyrus nodded. “I wasflustered,”he confessed.
“Oh,great.”
“Iwas,”he said. “But not because of her.”
Evergreen touched the bottom of my lip with his thumb.
“I went into her store because I knew it was there. I wanted to get us out of sight. You drew far too much attention to yourself and your copper.”
I motioned angrily at his attire. “And you’re not a walking declaration of wealth?”
“Fine. Yeah. Maybe a bad choice of venue but it’s not every day a woman buys me a dagger. In some cultures that means far more.”
“I don’t like to be ignored. If you don’t want daggers, don’t ignore me.”
“What?”
“You spent allmorningignoring me, and then you took me to see your… your fiancé! What should I think?”
“I was not ignoring you; I was occupying Sam.”
“What?”
“What was my option?” he asked. “Should I have endured him flirting with you all day? Like I did this morning?”
I tsked but he insisted.
“Is that what you want to do? Totortureme?”
“Tortureyou?” I croaked. “Don’t be so extraordinary. The Prince would flirt with anything that moved. Anything with a pulse that didn’t. I’m not special to him.”
“But you are,” Cyrus said. “You’re his.”
“I am not!” I cried. “I am my own!”
That made him grin. “Is that right?”
“He can flirt with me all day, but I will never,neverforgive him for what he’s done. It will not matter!”
“AndI’mextraordinary,” he said.
“You are!”
“Aye, and I’d wager that’s precisely what youlikeabout me, Swan.” He held his arms out to either side, turning full circle. “Myzest.”
I shook my head.“Zest! Youignoredme,excludedme, and then made me watch your sharedyearningwith Lydia. I-”
“Yearning?”His arms dropped. “Please.”
“I saw it.”
“You saw two previously engaged lovers trying to coexist.”
“W-What?”
