“That was a half-ass apology.” I looked over my shoulder at him as we went down the stairs. “But I'll accept it since it was probably your first.”
“I have apologized before.” He drew himself up. “I wasn't born a king.”
I laughed. “Ah, so you only lost the ability after you got crowned?”
“Kings don't have to apologize. We make difficult decisions that must be made. Apologizing would be asinine.”
“Well not apologizing here would just make you an ass.” I went into the kitchen and got the coffee started. “Have a seat.” I waved at one of the high stools set under the kitchen island. “This is going to take a few minutes.”
“Youare preparing our meal?”
“Don't sound so surprised.” I got the eggs out of the fridge along with some veggies, cheese, and bacon. With those on the counter, I put the skillet on the stove, tossed in some bacon, and turned on the burner. Nothing better to cook eggs than bacon grease. “I'm not a gourmet chef or anything, but I can feed myself.”
“Thank you.” He paused, then added, “For everything.”
I looked over and grinned. “You see? Now,that'show you make friends and influence people.”
Kas grinned back.
As the bacon cooked, I chopped the veggies. Kas sat quietly, watching me, until the coffee pot beeped. He flinched.
“It's the coffee machine letting me know it's finished brewing.” I grabbed a couple of mugs from a cabinet and filled them.
“Coffee? The same brew as we had at the bakery?”
“Yup. Well, it won't be as good as theirs. I don't know what they do to their coffee to make it taste phenomenal. I buy the expensive beans and it still doesn't taste like theirs.” I took the mugs to the island, then grabbed the creamer out of the fridge.
“Beans?”
“Coffee is made from ground coffee beans. The coffee maker slowly pours water over the grinds to brew the beverage.” I waved at the machine. “There are different types of coffee beans, some better than others, and depending on how much you roast them can’t affect the taste . . .” I trailed off when I saw I was losing him. “Anyway, mine isn't as good as theirs, but I have snickers creamer, so you may like it even more.” I poured some creamer into his mug, got a spoon, and stirred it for him. “Try it and tell me if you want it sweeter.”
“What is snickers? My mind says it's when someone laughs in a bad way.”
I paused, staring at him. “Huh. Yeah, that's correct. I hadn't thought about that. What a terrible name for a candy bar.” I made a face. “Snickers isn't satisfying at all.”
“Candy?” He looked at the mug. “In a beverage?”
“Oh, yeah, baby,” I drawled. “Go on. It's chocolate, peanuts, and nougat. Basically a liquid dessert.”
Kas took a sip, blinked, then drank more. “Delicious.”
“More?” I lifted the bottle of creamer.
“No, this is perfect. Thank you.”
“You're welcome, Your Majesty.” I bowed dramatically, then poured some creamer into my mug.
“Please, don't do that.”
I put the creamer away and looked back at him. “Do what?”
“Use my title and bow. That felt a bit insulting. I'm not sure why. And it also upsets me. I fought hard to gain the throne and now it's gone. Out of my reach. I am stranded on a planet populated by humans who don't understand me.” He waved at me. “Or respect me.”
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I guess I was being a bit patronizing.”
“Yes! That is the word. You were mocking me.”
“I was trying to be funny, but you're right. It was mocking, and you didn't deserve it.” I sipped my coffee, then went back to cooking the bacon. “I can't imagine how hard this is for you. Frankly, I'm surprised you're not freaking out. I would be. Oh, and freaking out means, uh, getting hysterical.”
