She nodded before her brain caught up.
Jakob took the seat beside her; like right beside her, not across from her like a normal person. Close enough that her elbow hovered awkwardly, unsure where to rest. Close enough that she could feel warmth radiating from him and smell something clean and woodsy beneath the cold air clinging to his coat.
His knee brushed hers under the table, just barely, but the contact sent a sharp bolt of electricity straight up her leg. She sucked in a breath and nearly squeaked. She pretended to cough into her fist like a very convincing adult person.
Across the café, her friends were absolutely useless. They huddled together in line and whispered like gremlins who had just discovered fire. Brooke was already grinning. Violet had her phone half-raised like she was contemplating photographic evidence.
Traitors. Both of them.
Jakob didn’t seem to care that half the room was staring. His focus was entirely on her.
“You seem flustered,” he said softly. His head tilted just a fraction.
She let out an awkward laugh that sounded nothing like her own. “Probably because the King of Onyxheim just sat down next to me.”
His mouth curved, slow and faint. “You don’t have to call me that when we’re alone.”
She nearly choked on her latte. “Alone? In a public café full of witnesses and whispering baristas? I hardly call that discreet.”
But then he leaned in slightly and his shoulder brushed hers. The world shrank and the café noise dulled, like someonehad turned down the volume on everything except him. Even the lights seemed warmer somehow and softer at the edges.
Her entire body fluttered, as traitorous as her friends.
Who were no help at all. Violet openly mouthed,obsessed with you, complete with exaggerated eyebrows.
Mallory’s face overheated to catastrophic levels.
She needed air. Immediately. Preferably oxygen-rich air that did not contain Jakob.
“I…I think I need a walk,” she whispered, already pushing her chair back. The legs scraped loudly against the tile, drawing even more attention because, of course they did.
Jakob stood with her instantly, like he’d been waiting for the excuse. “I’ll join you.”
“No!” she blurted, then winced at the volume. “I mean, you don’t have to. You’re busy. You’re the king. There’s…king stuff…that you have to do.”
His lips twitched. “There’s…king stuff,” he repeated, clearly amused. “That sounds terribly official.”
She groaned quietly and waved off her friends as she fled for the door before she could collapse into a puddle of mortified goo right there between the counter and the amused onlookers.
The cold evening air slapped her cheeks the moment she stepped outside, sharp and clean, and just what she needed. She inhaled deeply to welcome the scent of pine and damp earth drifting in from the surrounding grounds. Tiny lights were strung along the resort paths that glowed softly against the encroaching dusk. Somewhere nearby, water trickled over stone.
She walked fast at first and her boots crunched on frozen gravel as she followed the winding path toward the tree line. Her breath puffed white in front of her, uneven just like her thoughts that revolved around a tangled mess of blue eyes and knees brushing andyou’re going to be the end of me.
She slowed after a few minutes and her hands curled up into her coat sleeves. Her gloves were still on the table she had abandoned.
A sudden sound above her head made her look up. A large starling roosted nearby and had fluffed its feathers.
“Hello, bird. Can you maybe fly me out of here before I die of embarrassment?"
She grinned at herself. Her father had always teased her about talking to those who would never answer. It was an awkward habit at times.
This time, the bird just regarded her for a moment before it looked away and continued its slumber. For once, Mallory was happy it couldn’t talk. She needed quiet. Space. Anything to stop the replay of how Jakob had looked at her like she mattered far more than she had any right to.
She blew warm breath into the sleeves of her jacket to warm her hands. Which was exactly why she didn’t see the half-buried rock.
Her toe caught.
She squeaked and her arms pinwheeled uselessly as her balance disappeared. The ground rushed up way too fast as she fell.
