Page 2 of Markets & Mooncakes

I swallow hard. "Maybe it would have changed things."

"I didn't stay away because of you." His thumb rubs against my arm as he talks in a pleasant way. "I stayed away because I couldn't come back. There wasn't a job for me. Or that's what my father kept telling me in his letters."

I frown. "Your father?"

He nods. "He would write once every few months. Whenever I sent a reply, I'd ask if there was a position here, and he said no."

"Your father only wrote to you every few months?"

He laughs. "I didn't have a lot of correspondence, Evie. Well, I suppose that's a lie. I actually got more letters than most of the other staff when I was in Wafeland, but they were mostly from you."

"Oh. I suppose I never thought about that." But if I do, I know that most of the letters I got were from him. I don't think I've gotten very many at all since he returned to the castle. There's no need when I can just come down to the kitchen to see him. I put my hand on his arm, enjoying the proximity, even if I know that the croissants and the dragon will need our attention before too long.

"Well, that's what it was," he says. "I did always wonder whether my father was telling the truth, or if he just didn't want me to come back."

"Because he disapproves of us." I bite my bottom lip, trying not to feel too strange about that. "Does he know?"

"That I love you?" Nate checks.

I nod.

"I've never told him, but yes, I think he knows."

"And that I love you?"

"I've definitely not told him that," he responds with a smile. "But I hate to break it to you, neither of us has been very subtle about our feelings." He brushes hair out of my face.

"And your father doesn't like that?" I meet his gaze.

Nate sighs. "No, he doesn't. I think his feelings are very similar to the Queen's in that he's very aware that you're a princess and I'm a servant."

"You're not a servant to me," I whisper.

"I know that," he assures me. "Or I know that you don't think of me that way. But it doesn't change things, Evie. As long as I work in the castle kitchens, I'm a servant, and one in the employ of your family."

A horrible feeling settles within me. "I don't like that."

"I know."

"It's not forever," I whisper, knowing that we're so close that he'll hear me.

He swallows hard. "No. It's not going to be forever."

It's a strange thing to think of. I've never hidden the time I'm spending with Nate, even before we kissed, but it will be different to have him by my side at official events and walking around the court. The idea of having him with me, and knowing that I have someone who understands me the way Nate does beside me, is more enticing than I ever thought would be possible. But I also don't want to rush him, not when I know this is a huge thing to change.

"Do you still want to go to the tea shop with me tomorrow?" I ask, suddenly feeling rather nervous about the plan. I don't want him to feel rushed by how things are going between us.

"Yes. I've been looking forward to it all week," he promises.

"Even though I'm taking up your day off?"

Nate gives me a surprised look. "You realise that I want to spend time with you, right? Getting to spend my day off with you is exactly what I want to do."

I bite my bottom lip. "And you don't mind that it's not a secret?"

"No."

"Even if your father doesn't approve?"