He inhaled deeply. The home-baked scent of bread, butter, and honey attacked his senses, making his stomach grumble. “That would be wonderful.”
Ryder wanted to ask her why she was doing this for him—and why she sat so close to him—but he didn’t dare interrupt her. She’d realize what she was doing soon enough, he was certain of it.
“So Clarissa, why did you have a hard time leaving the palace this morning?”
“Well, as you can probably guess,” she said without looking at him as she prepared his scone with butter and honey, “my father wanted to know why I’d even consider riding in weather like this.” She peeked at him, flashing him an endearing smile before returning her attention to the food. “So I made up a story about one of my friends who’s just given birth. I told Father that Annalise was under the weather and needed help with the baby while her husband was at work.”
He laughed. “And the king believed you?”
When Clarissa looked at him again, a teasing grin settled on her face. “But of course,” she bumped her arm against his. “You know I could always convince my father of anything.”
“I’m happy to see that hasn’t changed...or I would have been half-starved.”
“Indeed.” She handed him the scone.
“What about the guards?” he asked before taking a bite.
“Naturally, they wanted to escort me, so I convinced my father that I only needed one of them. Once I got to Annalise’s house, I told the guard to return to get me around noon.”
Happiness blossomed in Ryder’s chest, but he didn’t want to get overly excited...not yet, anyway.
“So you will stay and visit with me for a couple hours before going back?”
She nodded. “If that’s all right with you.”
He wanted to shout with excitement, but he wouldn’t. Not until after she left, anyway. “There isn’t anything I would like more.”
“Oh, really?” She arched an eyebrow. “Not even food?”
“I could go a whole day without eating, but to deprive me a whole day without looking into your lovely blue-green eyes and seeing your enchanting smile would be nothing short of torture.”
She seemed to study him as she stared at his face, and he wondered if she would believe him. He prayed the spell she was under wasn’t that strong. At least not now. He needed her to believe and trust him again.
Slowly, she smiled. A twinkle lit her eyes, and his heart melted. It took all of his willpower not to gather her against him in a personal embrace.
“Oh, Ryder. You are such a charmer. You’ve always been so.”
“Only to you, my dear.” He took another bite of his scone and nearly moaned as the flavors filled his mouth.
“So tell me, how did your day go yesterday once you arrived home?”
Her smile was replaced with a frown and her eyes conveyed the confusion she felt. “Not as well as I’d have liked, unfortunately.”
“Why?” he muttered between chews.
“I took your advice and did some serious thinking.” Sighing heavily, she leaned against the wall. “And thinking only made my head hurt. Even my dinner with Ormond didn’t go as planned.”
Worry was the cause of Ryder’s ragged heartbeat this time.She had dinner with Ormond?And yet, she was still feeling confused, and that was encouraging. Perhaps the prince hadn’t given her flowers last night. “Tell me what happened.”
As he listened, hope grew. He couldn’t help but feel elated, even though he shouldn’t. She’d crushed his hopes before. What if she did it again?
As she talked, he continued to see the confusion she felt. She rubbed her forehead a few times, and her eyes filled with moisture. But she didn’t cry. Instead, she blinked until the tears were gone.
It broke his heart to see her like this, but maybe...just maybe this was enough to convince her of the prince’s trickery, and the spell on the flowers.
Hesitantly, Ryder lifted his hand and cupped her face. Thankfully, she didn’t jump away. “Have you stopped to consider your heart is trying to tell you something?”
There was silence for a few seconds, and he knew she was pondering his question, which was what he’d hoped for. Using the pad of his thumb, he stroked underneath her eyes, removing a tear that had leaked through.
