Page 16 of MidKnight
Connor leaned down and my eyes fluttered closed. He kissed each of my eyelids, the tip of my nose, my cheeks … until finally his lips brushed mine. It was so sweet my heart hurt. So perfectly bittersweet. Because at one point, there would have been no hesitation on his part. No light kisses. Only eagerness. Only joy that was so big it bubbled over and couldn’t be contained. I’d broken that.
It was my job to fix it.
When Connor’s lips pulled away, I leaned toward him on tiptoe and said, “I’ve dreamt about kissing you since I was eleven years old.”
He quirked a grin. “Eleven?”
I nodded. “It was my birthday wish that year.”
“I don’t think you ever told me that.” He interlaced his fingers with mine.
I shrugged. “I thought at that time that you might have had a crush on that princess from Lored.”
“Gildera!” Connor snorted. “She was taller than me!”
I shrugged. “She rode a horse better than you, too.”
“And swung a sword. Ugh, don’t remind me.”
“Well, those all seemed to be things you liked to do, so I was worried—”
“You didn’t need to be,” Connor bumped my shoulder playfully.
I shrugged. “I didn’t know that.”
He grinned. “What else don’t I know about you?”
“Um … I now know how to milk a cow.”
“Why?”
I blushed. “When I left, I didn’t really consider … money. I ran out quickly. I couldn’t steal. I just couldn’t. So, I had to take odd jobs as I searched for a wizard.”
Connor shook his head in bemusement, “And how was that cow-milking experience?”
“After I figured out how not to get kicked … it was still pretty awful.”
Connor laughed and led me around one last corner before he took my candle and blew it out. We slipped out of the secret passage and into the hall that led to the kitchens.
The night staff simply smiled when we arrived hand in hand and the head cook, Meralda, waddled over, rubbing her hands on her apron.
“Marzipan cakes?” she asked.
That had been our go-to for years. It had been my absolute favorite late-night dessert. Until I’d left the palace.
I shook my head. “Can we have bread with quince jelly and farmer’s cheese, please?”
The cook raised her eyebrows but gave a sharp nod.
“Quince jelly?” Connor asked.
“Like a cross between apple and pear,” I winked. “You’ll love it.”
Connor led me to a seat at one of the servants’ dining tables. He sat next to me and grabbed my hand. He immediately went for an arm-wrestling match. I pushed back the heavy sleeve of my gown and freed my elbow. Then I set my arm up on the table and wiggled my fingers.
“Prepare to be owned,” I threatened playfully.
“Oh, I’m owned, Bloss Boss. You know it. But you’d better prepare to lose. And when you lose, I’m gonna collect,” he raised his eyebrows suggestively as his hand clasped mine.
