“Coffee for me,” Rian said. “Cream and sugar.”
“Yes, Sire.” He bowed and headed off, his shiny shoes clipping on the marble floor.
“I didn't realize the lake had frozen,” I said.
“It's been getting there for a while now.” He glanced out, then grinned and pointed. “Look there. They're setting up for the fair.”
“The fair?”
“Yes, it will open soon. There will be merchants, games, ice skating, and lots of food.”
“Please, tell me we're going.”
Rian chuckled. “Yes, of course. I wouldn't have brought you here just to look at the preparations, then not take you.”
I grinned, joy bursting through me. So what if this was only a temporary relationship? I could enjoy this for a while. Any relationship could end. I shouldn't worry about that possibility now.
When our waiter came, he brought our drinks with him, and I set into the hot chocolate immediately, even as the King ordered his food. Watching Rian, noting his immaculate manners, I had a naughty urge and decided to follow it. I took asip of my chocolate and deliberately put the tip of my nose in my whipped cream. Neither the King nor the waiter noticed until the waiter turned to ask me my order.
I lifted my face and looked innocently from the waiter's wide-eyed expression to Rian's. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
Rian burst out laughing as the waiter pressed his lips together to keep his composure.
I grinned and wiped off my nose, relieved that Rian could be lighthearted even in public. Then I ordered my breakfast—a puffy pancake cooked in a skillet and covered in fruit and sugar. I also ordered a side of sausages to have something savory with my sweets. My mother had always said to enjoy as many sweet things as I wished, but to make sure to temper them with something salty or I'd get sick of what I loved most. It suddenly seemed a good phrase to live by. Take the salty with the sweet or you can't enjoy what you love.
“You're so small,” Rian said. “How do you eat so much? Or are you one of those men who order too much, then complain that they can't finish?”
“Oh, I'll finish it,” I vowed. “I love to eat. I'd be happy if the whole day consisted of eating with little events between. Just long enough for me to digest.”
He chuckled. “I love food too. Almost as much as I love clothes.”
“I noticed that,” I said. “A Dragon warrior who loves clothes. How novel.”
“Is there something wrong with that?”
“No. I like it. It's just that most warrior-type men I've known don't care much for fashion. The King of Vix certainly didn't.”
Rian's face twitched. “Perhaps refrain from mentioning your past lovers while you're with a potential new lover.”
My brows went up. “My apologies. I don't really consider him a past lover.”
“You don't?”
“I told you, he didn't treat me well. The term lover implies affection at the very least. King Dhrostan was . . . well, he wasn't affectionate with me.”
“And now I have his mistakes to pay for?”
I considered that. “Perhaps you did, at first. But only because you appeared to be similar. Now, I know you are different men entirely. You're off the hook, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you.”
“It's merely the truth.”
“And yet, I'm flattered that you see it as such.”
I smiled and took another sip of chocolate.
“You have surprised me as well,” he said.
