“Gwendolyn,” I replied with a matching smile. “It is nice to meet you too.”
In front of me, I heard a loud rasp, Xavier was clearing his throat like he hadn’t had a drink in way too long. It looked like my vampire was thirsty.
“Oh, and that’s Xavier,” I said, gesturing toward my brooding possessive shadow.
“Her man,” he added flatly, grabbing my thigh firmly under the table.
“Oh, you are the prince of King Vad and she is your… I had no idea. I’m so sorry for talking to her…” Ben replied anxiously before he quickly ran away, like a dragon spat fire at the table.
I stared at Xavier, bewildered by his behavior toward Ben.What was that?
“Why weren’t you nice to him, he only said hello to take our order,” I pointed out.
“He didn’t need to flirt with you to take some order.” Xavier’s gaze seemed impenetrable right now.
I shook my head, before I could argue with him any further, an older woman came to the table.
“It’s so nice to meet you prince Xavier and your beautiful wife, I assume… We are so sorry. Ben is new here and we hadn’t had the time to introduce him to the basic formalities.” Her words were careful, too careful. It was like she was almost afraid Xavier could bite.
“There is no need to apologize,” I stated. “He just greeted me, that’s all. Nothing more.” I could feel Xavier’s gaze on me, heavy and burning. But I didn’t want Ben to lose his job because of the temperament of my broody vampire mate.
“And I’m also not his wife,” I added with a sweet smile. Not because I didn’t like the idea, I actually liked it more than I was willing to admit. But Xavier really deserved a little teasing.
His gaze snapped to me; his eyes still green but I knew he tried holding himself back in front of her.
“Yes, of course my lady. But as an excuse we’d still love to serve any drinks and food you want,” she replied with a smile.
Xavier leaned back in his chair, like he seemed to enjoy his prince’s title more than he’d admit, and grinned. “Please bring us tea and every slice of cake your bakery has to offer. Mywifewould like to try them all,” he recited quickly.
“Yes, myprince,” she answered, smiling, and ran back inside the bakery.
“Was that necessary?” I asked him.
“If you have any problems with people calling you my wife, thenyes,it was indeed very much necessary.”
“It’s not that… I just thought you could have told her that thewaiter did nothing wrong.”
Xavier didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he tilted his head, studying me like he was trying to see the emotions beneath my skin.
“Would you marry me then, someday?” His question surprised me. His gaze was on the verge of turning red.
Would I?
“Maybe,” I said truthfully. “I mean, not yet, there is too much going on right now with the kingdoms and I want to make sure we are all safe before we do so.” And somehow, I was afraid to speak it out loud. The doubts didn’t leave my lips. But how long would we have left, before someone else would decide to pull our world apart?
“But you already have me, Xavier,” I said. “Ring or not.”
He chuckled and stroked my hand in soft circles.
“What kind of wedding do you have in mind?” he asked. His newfound curiosity about such things made me smile.
“Well… at first I want three different weddings,” I stated jokingly. Although the vivid imagination of marrying each of them in one unison also became alluring.
“Three?” he asked, grinning and gripping my hand even tighter.
“Then a honeymoon with all of us together, maybe to a place with snow.”
I thought when I was younger, I was one of the very few people that loved snow, ice and rain. The winters in my hometown were the best so far, the streets were decorated with twinkling lights and Christmas markets. And somehow, the Christmas spirit within me made the Christmas I had spent with my mother feel less lonely.
