“In case you haven't noticed, it's the dead of winter. Top hats are for summer. And for assholes.”
I snorted a laugh despite myself.
Elias looked over at me. “So, you have a consort? He's pretty. Real pretty. Is he a he?”
“Don't be a dick to my consort. He doesn't know you're joking.” Rian smacked him.
“Am I?” Elias grinned.
“Galin, this is Elias, a very old friend of mine.” Rian shook his head as he waved me forward. “Elias, this is my Galin.”
“And this is my Vashana,” I said, waving at her. “And we would both like to go somewhere warmer.” I slid my stare toward the door Elias had emerged from. I assumed and hoped it led to his cafe. “If you're open,” I added.
“Of course.” He opened the door for us. “Come in, come in!” As I went past, he said, “Sorry about the rudeness. I saw you walk by and couldn't believe a Dragon would bring an Argaiv here. I didn't know it was my king.”
“It's fine. I expected something like this.”
“It's not fine, but it's forgiven,” Rian said as he helped me out of my cloak. “The cafe looks the same as ever.”
“Is that a good thing?” Elias asked.
“It most certainly is.” Rian showed me to a table beside the fireplace, then waved his knights to another one. Vash settled before the fire, but Rian continued to stand. “It feels more like home than home.”
“Yeah, that's why I bought the place. We spent so much time here growing up that when it came up for sale, I had to have it.” Elias grimaced. “I didn't realize it would be so much work.”
“Yes, I see that you're understaffed,” Rian drawled and waved at the empty room. “Especially with so many customers to serve.”
“It's an off hour, and you know it, you dick,” Elias, flicked his blond ponytail over his broad shoulders and grabbed some folders off a counter. He smacked them into Rian's chest. “Here, pick what you want to eat. I'll start the coffee.”
“And a hot chocolate for Galin,” Rian said.
“You got it,” Elias said with a wink my way.
I couldn't decide whether he'd been Rian's lover or not. I was leaning toward not. They were just too comfortable with each other, and Elias seemed like a top to me. Although, you never know. Rontor was a top, but that changed after he met Dhrostan.
I pushed thoughts of my old lover away as I watched Rian hand a couple of menus to his knights, then one to me. He sat down in the chair beside me and perused the offerings, absently removing his hat to toss onto the chair next to him.
Rianvar was gorgeous. Maybe the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Even his scar couldn't hinder his looks. But that didn't make me feel good, as it normally would. I used to take pride in having an attractive lover. Now, it worried me. Rian was already King of Sken. That kind of power draws admirers. But he was handsome too. I would have preferred Rian to be moderately attractive. Then I could have felt more confident that my looks would be enough to hold his interest. Yes, it was small-minded and silly of me to think like this, but at least I could recognize that.
I didn't like viewing every friend of Rian's as a potential threat. These were men he'd known for years. If they were his mate, he would have discovered it by now. I should be the most comfortable around them. So I decided to try to be.
“Here you are, you miscreant,” Elias said as he set a mug down before Rian. He had a tray full of them and set another down before me. “Oh, excuse me, I mean, Your Royal Miscreantness. And a hot chocolate for King Miscreant's consort.”
I chuckled. “You two have a unique friendship.”
“Oh, yeah,” Elias said as he went to the knights' table and set mugs before them. Then he propped the tray on his hip and grinned at Rian. “Your boyfriend and I used to get into all sorts of trouble. We got our bottoms blistered every weekend for the trouble we caused.” He chuckled. “Remember the time with the chickens?”
“Oh, fuck me.” Rian shook his head. “The fucking chickens.”
“What happened with the chickens?” I asked.
Even Rian's knights looked over.
“That was all his fault.” He pointed at Elias.
“Was not,” Elias protested.
“I wasn't interested in Magary Linsal's teenage body,” Rian said.
