“To the market,” she says, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Tristan did tell you we were going today, didn't he?”
“No, he did not,” Amara says with a smirk, her whiskey eyes dancing with laughter.
“It must have slipped my mind,” Tristan replies with a wince, scratching the back of his head.
Aurora looks up at him with a stern look, and I press my lips together to stifle a laugh when I see his sheepish smile
Rolling her eyes, Aurora swats his chest. “Now you know. Are you both ready?”
“Aurora, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Tristan says, his gaze darting nervously between me and Amara.
“Why not? It's just a bit of shopping. You already told me they haven’t been yet.”
“I do need to stock up on a few things, but…” Amara hesitates, her brows pinched as she watches me. “I don’t think it’s – ow!” she yelps.
I jerk my hand back from where I pinched her thigh. “We’d love to!”' I say with a winning smile, truly meaning it. Not the shopping part, of course. That sounds awful. But for being able to spend hours watching this new side of Tristan as putty in Aurora’s dainty little hands. I'll have teasing material for centuries. “I wouldn't miss this for the world.”
“See?” Aurora smirks. “I told you they'd love to. Come on.” She walks toward the door, no doubt in her mind that we’ll follow. “We’ll grab Zander from the brothel on the way there.”
Tristan tosses us a worried look and I chuckle when he groans, racing after Aurora.
No, no, no, I wouldn't miss this for all the realms.
“You said this was a bad idea,” Aurora says, her eyes rounded in horror.
“I did,” Tristan replies, his lips pressed in a tight line.
“Numerous times.”
“Uh huh.”
“But…” she says, seeming at a loss for what to do. “I didn't believe you. I thought you were being silly.”
Tristan gives her a dubious look out of the corner of his eye. “When have I ever been silly?”
She rounds on him. “I don’t know! It just sounded ridiculous that you couldn't bring two women out in public!”
“Does it seem ridiculous now?”
Whimpering, she buries her face into his chest. “No. If anything, you under-exaggerated.” Tristan rubs soothing circles on her back and she pops one eye open, watching Amara argue with the leathersmith. “What do we do?”
“Watch it play out.” He shrugs. “Make sure there aren’t any sharp objects nearby, and hope for the best.”
Aurora winces.
Feeling an immense amount of joy that I’m not the one on the other end of Tristan's disapproving stare, I tear my gaze from the couple, sweeping over wood beams and a burgundy leather canvas, passing by an arguing Amara and a blustering fae male, before continuing past the wooden displays of leather trousers and vests, to finally share a smile with an amused looking Zander.
Cheeks stretched in a wide smile, I raise a single finger. “I'd like to point out that I’m doing very well today.”
Zander snickers before his expression morphs into a mock serious one. “You are.” His lips twitch. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
Tristan snorts, and my hackles rise at the sound. “What was that for?”
“What? I didn't do anything.”
Ducking around Aurora, my hair slips past my shoulders, falling into a rippled sheet. “You snorted.”
“So?” He shrugs, feigning innocence. “I snort all the time.”
Eyes narrowing to mere slits, I open my mouth to tell the irritating man exactly what I think of him when strong arms wrap around my waist, tugging me against a broad chest.
“Hello, Beautiful,” a deep male voice whispers in my ear.
Chuckling, I pat his forearm. “Hi, Kace.”
“And where has my violet-eyed goddess been today? I swear I've been searching everywhere for you!”
“I doubt the brothel counts as everywhere.”
“It's a large establishment.” He rests his chin on my shoulder. “Lots of rooms to check. Alcoves, secret passageways.”
“Lots of orifices to check, you mean.”
“Ahh, you know me so well,” he says, pride in his voice. “See? A perfect match.”
