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He inclined his head. “Later.”
“Later.”
He slipped away and later turned into Christmas Eve, and I still hadn’t had a chance to talk to him. The looks we shared as we passed each other in the hallways felt like my feelings were on display for the whole world to see, but no one seemed to pay me any undue attention. No one except Kane when he was there.
I was heading back to my room to get dressed for dinner when I finally had a moment alone with him.
“Princess,” Valen said as we passed each other in the hallway, like he wanted something, and I would have been quite happy to give him everything…had time allowed.
I looked up at him expectantly. “Yeah?”
He looked around like he was checking that we were alone. “I have something for you later. Not really the sort of thing you can put under the tree.”
I looked down at his crotch, then back to his face and raised my eyebrow in question.
He gave a huff that looked like it was trying to hide a very real smile. “Uh. No. It’s the kind of something with ribbons–”
“I mean, youcouldput a ribbon on it…” I suggested playfully.
The ghost of a smirk lit his lips as he kept talking like I hadn’t interrupted. “–and paper and sentimental bullshit.”
“Aw,” I cooed, and he waved his head as though it was the last thing he wanted to be admitting.
“Yeah. That sort of thing.”
“You got me a present,” I said, actually reaching out to tickle him.
He gave another of those huffs as he batted my hand away. This one might have been hiding a laugh. “I did. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Okay. I wouldn’t. To him. Florence would be hearing all about it. “I didn’t get you anything,” I told him.
He shrugged. “No one ever does.”
“Harlow?” came the barked tones of Archer Callahan.
I stepped away from Valen just as Archer rounded the corner. He looked to Valen with a short greeting, then turned his attention on me.
“Ah, there you are. I need to steal you away for a moment.”
I nodded to him. “Of course.” I inclined my head to Valen. “Valk.”
“Miss Vanguard,” he said smoothly, all propriety when it was necessary.
By the time I was done for the night, it was far too late to find Valen, so I went to bed not knowing what his present was, but looking forward to finding out the next day.
† † † †
The six of us were in the parlour on Christmas morning. Copious mimosas had been drunk by the women. The men’s coffees were more whiskey than they were coffee. And it was all cheer.
“All that’s missing is Valk,” Apollo said to me, literally like a little child on Christmas morning in a man’s body…on Christmas morning.
“Speak of the devil,” my mum said happily, and we all turned to see Valen walk in.
Apollo snorted in a very undignified manner.
“What?” Valen asked as though he wasn’t wearing a black jumper with a great big red bow on it that was very close to being Christmas cheer. My dad passed him a ‘coffee’ and he took it with a nod of thanks.
“Oh, you wore it!” Frenella cooed.
