Page 28 of The Heir's Bargain

Her head slammed against the table. "One of them tried to kiss me," she said into the wood.

"And you what? Flipped him on his back and ran away?"

Dani lifted her head, an incredulous look twisting her features as if I was the one who had said or done something as preposterous as running away from a suitor.

"I didn't run."

I cocked my head, hearing the white lie on her tongue.

She pursed her lips, as if by keeping her lips closed, she could keep the truth bottled up. At last, however, she said, "I rode my horse."

"You're not serious, right?" I blinked. Multiple times. Yet Dani didn't react; she only stared at me. "By the gods, you are serious. You attacked the poor guy and then sprinted away on horseback?"

"Yes." Dani cocked her head. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Not run?"

"You don't understand, Fynn! He smelled absolutely horrid," Dani whined.

"And you are absolutely ridiculous." I rubbed my palms across my face.

"So, is that a no, then?" Dani asked.

I poured some cream into my tea and stirred it. "A no to what?"

Dani waved her hand in the air. "To the whole fake courting thing."

I sat back in my seat and smirked, stretching an arm over the chair beside me. "The 'whole fake courting thing'? Do explain." I took a sip, enjoying watching Dani squirm in her seat.

"You know, the proposal you came up with the night of your crowning ceremony?"

"Doesn't ring a bell." When Dani gave me a questioning glance, I shrugged. "What can I say? My memory is a little foggy. Remind me. It's been what—a week? Two weeks? I say so many things to so many people."

After I hadn't heard from Dani the next day, I didn't think she would take me up on the offer. Dani was a stubborn woman. She always had been. If it wasn't her idea, she often didn't want to hear about it. Even as a child, she refused to play some games simply because she hadn't been the first to suggest them.

But now here she was, asking for my help.

And what a splendid sight it was to see her groveling before me.

"You're abhorrent."

I shrugged. "I've been called worse by women begging me to court them."

"I'm not—ugh!" On the table, her fist rolled into a tight ball. "I've had a long week, Fynn. Please, for once, stop playing games. I know you remember the conversation. You may act like a drunken fool at parties, and more often than not, you are one, but I know when you've sobered up. Is the offer still on the table or not?"

"Are you sure you want it to be? From what you've told me so far, it sounds like you're having so much fun with your mother's batch of suitors."

Dani stood. "Forget I even said anything."

"Oh, come on. I'm only joking." I waved a hand at the seat Dani had just vacated. "Sit."

Dani sighed but sat nevertheless, crossing her arms over her chest.

Relenting at last, I sat the porcelain cup on the table, my fingers tapping along its side. "You said that General Walen retires in five months, correct?"

"Well, now it's more like four months and two weeks, but yes." Dani picked up a cluster of grapes and began eating them one by one.

"So, we have five months to convince your father and the rest of the military leaders that you do, indeed, have a soul." Unable to help myself, I lifted a shoulder before dropping it and added, "Although we both know that's a lie."

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