He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes dramatically. Acting as though it’d been a difficult night to suffer through, though she knew he only mocked her because she’d noticed he’d enjoyed himself at the reception, he said, “Well, I suppose I could concede it was a nice event. The food was unbelievable, and I’ve never served champagne here at the tavern, so I had no idea what it tasted like.”
“Sensational, isn’t it?”
He nodded, then added, “Unfortunately, the Delfinos now favor it and they want me to track down a case for them.”
Jade grinned. “You’re in luck. I happen to be married to a man who can get his hands on a case for you.”
“This doesn’t mean I approve of your choice for a husband,” he all but harumphed.
She laughed. “I would never expect you to give up your convictions so quickly. But,” she warned him, “the king does possess redeeming qualities. If you were to get to know him, you just might like him.”
Michael scowled, despite the previous teasing. But instead of calling her crazy, he admitted, “I actually thought your vampire friend was interesting.”
“Sheena?” Jade’s brow shot up.
“She gave me some ideas for—as you said—jazzing the place up. And,” he shrugged as he continued to shock Jade, “she’s damn hot.”
Ignoring the fact Darien had once said Sheena kept to her kind, Jade made a bold and daring suggestion. “Maybe you should ask her out on a date. I haven’t noticed any sparks flying with your other candidates. Well,” she quickly amended, “I’ve seen their interest…but not so much on your end.”
“Turns out I like the untamable.”
Jade’s teeth clamped down on her lip. Michael and Sheena…? What a wild combination that would be!
Forcing a nonchalant tone, she said, “I happen to know she likes moonlit strolls through the forest…and math.”
“Math?” he asked in a droll tone.
“Yeah. Let her teach you algebra. That could be sexy.”
He shook his head. “You have a very strange sense of…everything.”
“I’m not strange,” she corrected as she sipped her wine. “I’m progressive.”
She decided she liked the term and the concept and would spend more time with Lisette and her books, further defining herself—and her place in this new meshing of humans and demons. She also wanted to continue writing her saga about the intricate coalescing of races and cultures.
After finishing her glass of wine, she left the tavern, made a few more stops and then headed back to the cottage. She’d been attempting more king-worthy dinners and had brought with her a rack of lamb Max Wilkens had Frenched for her in his butcher’s shop.
From one of the cookbooks at the library, she’d come up with three different sauces—one with spiced mustard, one with mint and the other with orange marmalade she’d picked up at the bakery. She paired the meat with broccolini a fellow villager had begun to grow and now offered at the farmer’s market and potatoes au gratin.
Darien arrived as she was setting the table. He sniffed the air and asked, “Did Sebastian come down from the castle?”
Whipping off her apron and tossing it at him, she said, “No, Sebastian did not come from the castle. I cooked.”
He sniffed again and said, “But nothing’s burning.”
The wood-fire oven Darien’s head chef, Sebastian, had provided her sat in her kitchen and had a stone surface where she could also heat dinner accompaniments on the stovetop. The trick, however, was to master the size of the fire beneath the oven in order to keep from torching the contents inside.
“You know,” she said, “not everyone is naturally good the first time around at everything they attempt. Some of us need a learning curve.”
With a wicked grin, he said, “I can name several things you were good at the first time around.”
Her toes curled at his suggestive look, but she refused to be sidetracked. “I have our entire meal timed out perfectly this evening, so if you’ll pour the wine, I can stick to my schedule.”
He reached for her hand as she walked by him and he pulled her to him. “Not so fast.” His head dipped and he kissed her, long and deep. When it ended, she sighed contentedly.
She said, “Perhaps, in the future, I should wait to make dinner until after you’ve arrived. That would give us time for other things…”
“Good thinking.” He kissed her again, but she kept it short and sweet by pushing him away.