Were they?
“You look lovely,” Onyx said from my right.
“Thank you. You as well.” I’d said it reflexively, but he did. Onyx was an attractive man. I did a double take though when I saw he was wearing a deep red sweater. It matched the red streaks in his hair—the ones every rock dragon had… But it also matched my eyes.
“Andra,” he clarified when he caught on to where my mind was.
I nodded, noticing our sweaters were similar in style. The male-female versions for sure. Mine was lower cut—but still on the conservative side—but the stitching and styles were meant to be a set. It would have been too much for both to be red like matching couples weird on a first date, so I was glad mine was black.
His slacks were black and my skirt had red edging and designs but was mostly black too. So it was clear this was… We were meant to complement each other.
“She has a really good eye,” he muttered as he glanced between us.
“She does,” I agreed. “Her designs I saw on her social media and sketches are really nice. I appreciated the ones that weren’t my style when I normally think they’re too garish, so that was surprising. But she had a lot that worked for me and made it clear she’d focus on what I wanted, not what she thought I needed.”
His face fell. “I’m really sorry about that—”
“I didn’t even know about that,” I hurried to cut in. “I wasn’t picking on you or—it wasn’t a dig.” I cleared my throat, not sure what to say. I glanced down at my outfit, hoping the pencil skirt just past my knees was nice enough. It felt flattering, especially with the slight slit. The shoes were open toe but not too much.
Everything seemed… Acceptable.
“You really do look lovely,” he said as he moved closer. “I especially love getting to see your hair done like this. Your no-nonsense knots or braids are so you, but getting to see your full, lush hair down is such a treat.”
I smiled but also felt sad. My hair down was the real me. I hated wearing my hair up all of the time and it normally was so heavy on my scalp and neck that it hurt.
So him saying it was just like me was like a glaring sign he had no idea who I really was. Then again… I didn’t know the real Onyx either, right?
“That’s what dates are for,”Iris gently reminded me.
Yeah, fair enough, but what did I really know about them? I’d barely been on any with Kole and they’d been so boring or mostly functions I’d needed to attend where a plus one helped.
Thinking of that soured my mood even worse. I’d only been on dates with Kole… And now his uncle.
My life really was a dumpster fire.
“Are you ready then?” he asked as he studied me closely, probably sensing something was off but not what.
I slapped on a fake smile and nodded.
We were quiet on the drive over since it was with my security and I was nervous, but I had to hide my disappointment when we stopped. I hoped for a second that maybe it was just traffic.
No, we were going to Malbion Taunge, one of the oldest and most posh restaurants in Nerthus.
I smiled as the guard opened the door and we were escorted to the front door.
I smiled at the employees as we were greeted and led towards the private room.
I smiled as people dining went quiet and stared at us.
I smiled as they recovered from their shock and started whispering.
I smiled as we entered the private room, Lydia confirming that guards had already checked the room and were in the kitchen watching over the chefs.
I turned to the manager. “Please thank the staff for the extra hassle and assure them to work as normal. We’ll try not to be an inconvenience.”
His smile was actually genuine which shocked me. “Your mother said almost the same thing last time they dined here. We’re used to having notable guests, Your Majesty. Your safety is more important than a few extra steps.”
I slapped that smile back on, not really wanting to hear that my parents dined there regularly when I’d never been to anywhere in Nerthus.
