I snicker. “It’s funny, actually. He has to use a fork or something to prod any cucumber away from himself like it might leap up and bite him. Seriously, you should see his face.”
Daria crunches the slice. Obviously, she also thinks Lark’s face is too adorable when he scrunches his nose that way.
“Well, you know. You’ve seen him. It’s impossible not to smile whenever he does, right? I mean, the stupid dimples alone are enough to trip anyone up, with that jawline and the perfect teeth. It’s like my father used to say, ‘Keep your wits and you can disarm anyone with a smile; it’s all in the type of smile.’ AndI think that applies just as much here as in—ouch—” I rub the skin under the cold moonstone. “I mean it applies to everyone, but double for dimples. You should see how he wrangles the kids with a fast quip or a joke that just magically gets them all falling in line.”
Daria shifts to lean against the counter. She crosses one ankle over the other.
“See? I knew you’d get it. It’s a problem. He’s dangerous with that smile! Sometimes I even find myself following without realizing, acting like I’m part of the family even though we know it’s just fake.”
“Fake,” Daria agrees. Of course she agrees.
“Yes, fake. All fake. We even have a no-flirting rule, because Lark flirts with absolutely everyone and it gets confusing with the acting and all. You know, now that you mention it, I’m going to tell Lark he needs to stop with those smiles.”
Daria lifts a silver brow.
“Yes. No smiles. Too dangerous. Maybe we’ll just go with no-looking. That should work both ways. I mean, I can’t help noticing him, of course, so sometimes he sees me looking, but I catch him looking too, so really it makes sense if we just don’t look at each other.” Then I won’t have to see him watching me with those jade-honey eyes.
“Sounds perfectly logical.” Yep, Daria gets it.
“Yes, no looking. Maybe no talking.”
“Sure, sure.”
“Yes, absolutely logical. It’s the only way. I’ll see you tomorrow, Daria.”
“I just gave you tomorrow off.”
“Right. Yes. I knew that.”
“Enjoy it. And no looking,” she says with a flick of a silver eyebrow.
“Yes. No looking.”
“Or talking?”
“You may have a point there, Daria. Not talking does seem difficult. I mean, what if it’s about the kids, or dinner plans, or, well, anything? No flirting, though. Absolutely no flirting.”
Daria coughs. “Absolutely.”
Lark’s sleepy morning smile always comes with a dimple that makes me want to shove him over on the mattress for being so stupidly handsome. Why does he smile at me like that every morning? And since when do I find any Wilder Fae handsome? This town and this disguise are messing with my head.
But like I told Daria, I’m definitely not looking. Not when I wake up with the warmth of Lark’s sleeping figure next to me. Not when he wakes and stretches his arms high over his head as he sits up, muscles flexing in his back and shoulders. Not when he turns toward me with that terrible smile, showing off his chest and the soft white fur scattered across it. I never look there, especially not when I get home late and Lark is sitting in bed shirtless, reading a book while Eevi slumbers in her crib. I definitely don’t look then.
The talking though…I can do the talking.
I’ve got this.
“Good morning. Sleep well?” asks that husky morning voice I’ve come to know.
“Uh huh. Sure. Yup.”
“You don’t sound sure.”
“I’m, yes, sleep…good.”
He chuckles. “Sounds like someone needs coffee as much as me this morning.”
Neither of us moves to make that happen. I only scoot back against the headboard while the blanket pools at my legs, Lark’s gaze following the motion. I need to tell him about the no-looking rule.
