Kat sat at the same table she'd occupied then, working lazily on the design for one of the new locations that would be opening in a few months.
There were two slices of chocolate cake on a plate in front of her, alongside an empty plate that had clearly held another piece earlier in the day.
A glimmer of warmth rolled through the bond between us.
She'd go through heat soon. In two days, at the most.The only thing I'd bothered stocking up on this time was food and water.
Kat looked up from her work, her lips curving when she saw me.
No one sat too close to her, and they certainly didn't dare to stare at us as she threw her arms around me for a hug before pulling me into the seat beside hers.
"What do you think?" She gestured to the work on her screen, trapping her bottom lip between her teeth as she studied the images.
"It's perfect."I set a chocolate bar beside her computer, made fresh by some nymphs in the Shadow District.
It could've looked like shit, and I'd still tell her it looked good. It didn't, though.
She rolled her eyes at me. "I'm serious."
I turned the screen toward me, studying it closer. "I'd swap the gold for bronze and choose a lighter tile, but it's beautiful as it is."
She considered it before nodding and making a few notes.
"Tell me how your day was, Kitten."I said through the bond, not interested in anyone overhearing this side of our conversation.
The softer side.
Thelove.
The news outlets were well aware of our relationship, with new headlines being posted constantly.
CALLUM AND KAT FROST SIGHTED AT MERMAID LAKE, FREEZING THE SURFACE AND ICE SKATING WITH THE OTHER FAE ROYALS
KAT AND CALLUM FROST SEEN LEAVING A CABINET MEETING TOGETHER, BOTH LOOKING ANNOYED
CALLUM FROST CASUALLY TURNS RAIN TO SNOW SO HIS MATE CAN EXPERIENCE IT FOR THE FIRST TIME
I'd stopped being annoyed by the articles, because they always came with photos of us together, and Kat was almost always smiling at me in them.
I hadn't expected to care whether my fated mate was happy, but somehow, it had come to mean everything to me.
"Calm. I missed you, though."
"Good."I lifted her hand to my mouth, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
Kat slid a cup of coffee toward me without asking how my day had gone. She was well aware of the gray nature of my particular magic, and didn't want to know what I'd been up to most of the time.
The cup was still warm, so she must've made it after I let her know I was on my way to pick her up. There was a new movie in the theater that she wanted to see, so I'd let my family know that we were renting it out.
Darius would haul a beanbag in for Merrily. Mer had been lost in her head even more than usual since we discovered that our magic couldn't hurt our soulmates, but she hadn't reached out to Grayson as far as I knew.
I'd only received a single message from the demon king since I clued him in on their situation, and it hadn't been about their relationship. I assumed he was still trying to find information. If neither of the fae in the prison would tell him, he would probably confront me and demand answers.
"Any progress on the Liv situation?"Kat checked.
She'd known Liv and I were working together that day.
"No. She insists that she needs more time before she tells him."
