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FOUR
DECLAN
Declan had been waiting to watch Taryn’s beautiful smile spread across her face the moment she stepped out of the elevator and saw the roof garden picnic spread he had prepared for her. The imagined vision of seeing her smile had been burned into his heart and mind. The anticipation of seeing her smile of delight had made him almost giddy with excitement most days.
When she finally did step out of the elevator, the smile she wore was brighter than even the sharp orange and cinnamon sky.
“This is my favorite thing in the world,” he told her. “You know that, right?”
“What? This picnic arrangement? My handsome royal hero, you have always arranged the most darling festivities on this roof garden. I am not surprised by this,” she added and waved her hand at the blanket, wine, and food. “I am so very delighted … but not surprised.”
“I can tell you’re happy just from your smile, and that’s what thrills me. You stepped out of the elevator, and I saw that. The delight in your smile reflects how beautiful you are.”
“Flattery will get you plenty of progress with me, handsome.”
“I know you will shift soon,” he answered back. “I have no doubt. Now, I am not trying to place any undue pressure on you when I say this, but I was in love with you before I knew you, and this has nothing to do with you shifting now, days, months, or years from now.”
Taryn didn’t answer his last comment. Maybe Declan would eventually convince her that she was his mate. Consistency and inexhaustible love were the perfect weapons to wear down her resistance.
He motioned for her to sit, and she sat.
“You look as lovely as the morning,” he told her. “I don’t know how you do it. Each time I see you, no matter where, when, or what you are doing, you look as lovely as dawn’s breaking light.”
“You sound like you’ve been drinking too much cough syrup,” she sassed back. “Besides, the sun is setting, not rising. I will give you credit, though. Your timing is impeccable. The softening sun and this roof garden picnic spread. Glorious.”
“It’s your fault. Your presence in my life has softened me. I am becoming a real sap.” There was laughter in his voice as he returned the retort. He poured wine for them both as he spoke and took a seat beside her. He had made sure to sit only after she had been seated, was comfortable, and duly wined. “I have been wanting to arrange a picnic for us up here for a while now.”
A comfortable silence settled over them as they sat, wine in hand, in the glow of the setting sun. As the sun slowly disappeared, the orange-colored sky changed. The color deepened into a red that matched the ruby red color of the wine.
A warm, sweet, gentle breeze rippled through the rooftop garden. Even the last of the day’s songbirds were trilling just for him and her.
This is perfect,Taryn thought to herself.How did things get this perfect?
“This is the best time of day to make a wish from the finish line.” Taryn was pulled out of her reverie when Declan spoke. She reluctantly left the comfort of her daydream, but when she looked at her betrothed, she really didn’t mind.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“Right before the sun sinks below the horizon, you imagine what you want most, but only after you’ve already gotten it.”
“Interesting,” she told him.
“The imagined dream … what you already have … is the blessing.”
Taryn thought about it for a moment, sipping more wine.
“That is slightly convoluted, but I understand,” she added. “The imagined dream is a blessing … I like that. You have a lot of layers.” She added with a smile. She knew Declan was a deep thinker, but she hadn’t realized how deeply.
“Shifters have a lot of layers,” he fired back. “Royal shifters have more layers than any others. We, my dear, are royal shifters.”
She didn’t answer or respond to his last statement, and he knew why.
“You’ll get it,” he reassured her. “I have no doubt.”
“There’s one,” she said, breaking the seriousness and pointing directly above at the blue fading into the violet sky. “First star of the night, make a wish.”
“I have my wish,” he answered back softly. “There is no finer wish than what I have right now sitting here with you.”
“I am glad you feel that way,” she told him. What Declan wanted to hear was that she felt the same way.
