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He chuckles. “Minions?”
“Stewards, courtiers, assistants, or whatever.” I take a sip of my coffee as we make it to the first floor, heading toward the checkout. “Even my father has people like that. He just signs where they tell him to.”
Not that he has that much of a choice. The emperor may be the leader of all fae, but the monarchs are very opinionated. Though my father gets the final say, it doesn’t mean he always gets what he wants.
“I’m not the one signing—my dad is. If anything, I’m his assistant.” Stellan puts the stack of books on the counter.
The idea of Stellan—the crown prince of the dragon shifters—being a mere ‘assistant’ is laughable. I’m sure his father has his reasons for having Stellan read through all the boring paperwork that crosses his desk, but it does seem rather cruel.
As the cashier rings up the books, she talks with Stellan. I study the woman, realizing that she’s a dragon shifter. It makes sense, considering the majority of the residents here are dragon shifters. But the girl, who looks about my age, bats her eyelashes at Stellan, completely ignoring me. I’d be jealous if Stellan wasn’t so adorably clueless to her advances.
Stellan slips an arm around me, pulling me closer to his side. The girl glares at me for a second before smiling again at Stellan.
Okay, maybe he’s notthatclueless.
“Have you met my wife?” Stellan asks, his tone completely casual.
The woman doesn’t respond to his question. Instead, she tells him his total. He pays, grabs the bag from her, and we leave together with his arm still draped over my shoulders. I wait until we’re outside to laugh.
“What?” Stellan glances down at me.
“Nothing, nothing.” I wave a hand.
He moves his arm from my shoulder and stuffs his hand into his pocket, pulling out the keys to his car. Stellan walks with me to my side of the car and opens the passenger side door for me. Before I can move to get in, his hand gently traces my cheek. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and cups my jaw with his calloused hands. My heart beats faster at the move, which makes Stellan grin widely.
“I’m sorry about her.”
I blink. “Her?”
He nods his head toward the bookshop. “The girl that checked us out.”
Checkedusout? More like she checkedhimout.
“Oh. I, uh, wasn’t bothered.” I lick my lips, which suddenly feel very dry.
Stellan’s eyes lock onto my lips and I wonder for a moment if he’s going to kiss me. Just as I’m about to take a step closer and lean into him, he backs away, letting his hand fall from my face. My stomach sinks with disappointment and I know I’m not able to mask the emotion in my eyes. Stellan must notice because he frowns. I quickly force the emotion away and get into the car. He shuts the door, but he doesn’t move to walk around the vehicle just yet. Instead, he stands there, putting his hands on the side of the car. From inside, I am hit with a strong emotion—mythroat closes up and my heart pounds loudly in my head. It takes me a moment to realize it’s coming from Stellan.
He’sfrustrated. And I’d give anything to know why he’s frustrated, but it feels like I’m invading his privacy right now. I can’t ask him.
His chest rises and falls a little slower and the sensation lessens until I can’t feel it any longer. Only then does walk around the car and get in the driver’s seat. He doesn’t look at me as he starts the car and neither one of us speak a word the entire drive home.
…
Being married to a complete stranger is significantly more awkward than I could’ve ever imagined. And while IthinkStellan and I are making progress at—friendship? A relationship?—we are still a very long way off from beingmarriedcomfortable. So when I walk out of my bedroom that morning and find Stellan in the sitting room wearing nothing but atowel, I let out an undignified yelp and quickly turn my head away. I cover my eyes, even though I’m looking away.
“Sorry,” I choke out an apology.
Stellanlaughs. “I’m covered, Wisteria.”
Clearly Stellan’s idea of modesty is vastly different than my own.
“We’re married.” His voice is much closer to me than before.
I stiffen, daring to turn around. I keep my eyesup, not wanting to see anything that I shouldn’t. When I do turn, I see that Stellan is much, much closer than I even realized. I nearly bump into him.
“Good morning,” he says, a smirk playing on his lips. He’sclearlyamused by my reaction.
“Uh, hi, hey.” I clear my throat. “Good… morning?” My voice raises at the end, making the greeting sound more like a question.
