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She laughed. "That shop specializes in unique hats, ones that are probably too risqué for humans. But vampires usually have to wear a hat when it's sunny, so Mrs. Tate decided females should have fun with it."
He glanced at her, to the sky, and back again. "Fuck, Nora. I didn't think to ask if you needed a hat."
She shook her head. "I'm fine for today. If the sun was out, though, I'd need one. Otherwise I might have a really bad burn and a few blisters, even just walking down the street."
Amusement returned to his gaze. "And do you have one of the weird-ass hats to wear?"
Standing a bit taller, she poked his arm. "No, I only have one hat, actually. But maybe we should go there instead of getting ices."
"Noooo, don't say that. The horror."
At his overdramatic tone, she burst out laughing.
A few people did stare at her then, but Nora barely noticed. Because as River grinned at her, she smiled back.
Somehow this fae witch healer kept making her laugh and distracted her, to the point she didn't stress or worry like she usually did when alone.
Once she'd regained her breath, River motioned with his head toward the end of the street. "Come on. I want to get you there as soon as possible so you can't trick me into detouring to the hat store."
As they started walking, she leaned a little into his side. His warm, solid presence felt nice.
And not for the first time Nora wished she didn't have such a horrible past that made it difficult to even try to get close to her fated lord. Well, at least physically.
Because as she stared at his profile from the corner of her eye, she fixated on his lips and how he'd kissed her. Before she could stop herself, she blurted, "Why can a kiss be so warm and gentle but anything more is painful?"
His eyes instantly met hers. "Painful?"
Realizing what she'd said, her cheeks heated and Nora glanced away. "Never mind."
For a few seconds, they walked in silence. Eventually she felt River's breath against her cheek as he leaned down and whispered, "It shouldn't be painful, baby. No, it should feel so fucking good you forget your own name. But we'll save this discussion for when we're not walking down the street, okay? I don't want anyone to overhear and start talking shit. Because then I'd have to find a way to kick all their asses."
She bobbed her head, keeping her gaze averted.
"Hey, Nora, look at me."
Taking a deep breath, she did as he asked. He said, "Ask me anything, anytime. I don't like bullshit, and honesty is important, even if I won't fall over from pain when lying."
Not trusting her voice, she bobbed her head again.
River patted her hand around his upper arm. "Look, we're here."
She glanced up and sure enough, the brick tea shop with its two large front windows was only a few feet away.
She'd made it.
While it was silly, tears formed in her eyes. Something that had seemed so monumental even a few months ago had taken almost no time at all.
And it was because of River—his presence, his charm, and the sense of peace he brought her.
Before she did cry, River ushered them inside the building and Nora willed her emotions to settle. She didn't want to miss any of this experience.
Just seeing so many people sitting around tables, smiling and laughing, and a few even with blissful expressions on their faces made her want to fit in for the first time in a long time. And to do that, she needed to avoid attracting any sort of unwanted attention.
As they were seated at a table near the front and decided on their flavors, Nora's thoughts wandered from being outside Leo's building to what River had said about how relations between a male and female shouldn't hurt.
Could he be telling the truth? Or was it just a ploy to trick her, get her alone, and pin her down to take what he wanted?
No.She didn't think River would force her.
