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“Odette and I have reached an agreement.” Eliza grinned, putting the puppies down. “I give her the lowdown on all the nobles—how to get on their good side, who likes what for Christmas—and in exchange—”
“I have to bully you back when you bully her.” Odette snickered and then looked at the dogs that were now at her feet. “And also accept these dogs.”
“You betrayed me for gossip?” I questioned.
“Actually, it’s insider information.” Odette laughed. “And if you don’t bully her, there is no problem.”
“I’m her elder brother. Bullying her is my job; it is a passion and past time.”
“You are going to have to get a new one, I guess.” Eliza stuck her tongue out at me and spun around, blowing her whistle and making them chase after her. “I’ll take these little ones for now and bring them back to play later. Bye!”
I shook my head at her when she left before looking at Odette, about to argue with her about their little deal when I saw her face. “Are you all right?”
She inhaled and exhaled, nodding. “Yes, a little tired, though. After this, I want a nap and then to give you my present.”
“Isn’t this it?” I lifted the watch she’d given with our initials intertwined on the face.
“Did you forget what I told you over Christmas?” She frowned.
“No, you said you wanted to give me presents as Gale, not as King. Things any normal guy would get.” Over Christmas, she’d gotten me a grill, and we ended up having a BBQ outside in the cold. I’d never had BBQ before. It was fun, actually, though I was terrible at grilling, and she ended up having to take over.
“Exactly, the watch was something I wanted to give you anyway, but I’m not finished,” she declared. “And I’m not going to be sick for it!”
I grinned at the determination on her face, outstretching my hand for her. “I look forward to it.”
Like I thought, there really wasn’t time for us to enjoy Paris the way I would have wanted, not with all the meet-and-greets, fancy dinners, public events, and me puking my soul out. Gale always did something romantic for me. He always went above and beyond to make sure I knew he loved me, and I wanted to do something more, too. I didn’t really have time to plan for Christmas. We’d been on tour, and then I was tasked with decorating and hosting events at the palace. It was really hard to do something bigger. I was glad he enjoyed it, but still, I wanted to do something only for him. I really hoped he liked this. Now that the palace had finished all our official events and duties, I’d made sure to have us both change into something super casual.
“Where exactly are you leading me?” he asked as I guided him forward carefully, due to the blindfold over his eyes.
“To your present!” I grinned, opening the door. The moment I did, the cold air hit him, and he groaned in agony.
“Why is the present so cold!” He stopped, not wanting to go any further, a large frown on his face.
“It’s only going to be cold for a minute!” I pushed; trying to get him to move was like forcing a mule forward. “Gale!”
“This feels like outside air, Odette! Outside is not a minute!”
“Oh my God! Stop being a baby, let’s go!”
He sighed dramatically, letting me push him forward. The moment his boots crunched the snow, he frowned harder. “Odette!”
“Keep walking!” I ordered, taking him forward.
“You are plotting to let me refreeze to death, aren’t you?” he asked when the wind blew again.
“Almost there,” I said, getting in front of him to open the car door. “You’re going to need to watch your head.”
“Watch my head? Am I getting into a car? Where are we going?”
“Apparently, I’m not the only one bad at surprises,” I said to him, helping him the best I could to get inside.
“Apparently not…I’m not a fan of the blindfold…outside of the bedroom, of course.” He grinned, then frowned. “See, I can’t even see your expression! That comment was supposed to be made with a wink—this is not a regular car? Am I sitting on a pillow?”
I got in and shut the door behind me, warming up the heat for a second before facing him again. “Okay, I’m taking it off now.”
I leaned over, taking the ties off his eyes. He blinked as he looked around the retro van I had customized. He glanced at the array of all his favorite treats beside him, then the pictures of us and love notes I’d glued to the ceiling among the twinkling lights. Then back toward the front of the car, where a large screen was before us. Slowly a smile spread across his face. “A drive-in movie?”
“My informant told me you’ve always wanted to do one of these. I’ve picked all the classic movie food: Twizzlers, popcorn, a few of your favorite, and…” I got up slightly and moved to the back to pull out a small crockpot, lifting the lid for him to see. His eyes lit up.
