Page 64 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
“That doesn’t payyouback, does it?”
“I don’t want your money. Get over it.”
“God, you’re so irritating.”
“Yet you’re still sitting here.”
“I was sitting here first. If anyone should leave, it’s you.”
“Wow. I buy you dinner and a glass of wine and you tell me to leave. And you say you don’t want to ask me to dinner again. Who says I’d accept?”
I opened my mouth to tell him to piss off, but his stonewall expression cracked and he grinned, only just stopping himself from laughing.
My stomach twisted itself into a silly little knot at his silly little smile.
God.
What washappeningto me?
“Oh, piss off,” I muttered.
Thomas let the laugh go, and as tended to happen when he did that, a little something tingled down my spine, and I shifted on the bench to hide my small shiver. I reached for my glass of wine and chugged a mouthful of it, letting my cheeks blow out for a second before I swallowed it.
“You’re so annoying,” I said after a moment. “I can’t believe I’m still sitting here.”
“Neither can I. I thought you’d throw bread at me at the very least.” His grin was wide, bright, and really doing stupid things to my insides. “Especially when I bought you food to stop you getting so drunk that you’d pass out in the corner.”
Okay.
I was not going to get so drunk I’d pass out in the corner.
Probably.
I propped my chin on my hand and met his gaze. “You don’t have to be my knight in shining armour, you know.”
His eyes flashed with amusement. “Why not? I do have two full suits. In the hallway, actually.”
I stared flatly at him.
“What? When else can one brag about owning two full suits of armour? It’s not like it’s a topic that usually comes up in conversation.”
“Not even with your fancy aristocratic friends?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Nah.” He sat back with a twist of his lips. “It’s not as fun if the person you’re bragging to also owns them.”
“What if they have more suits of armour than you do?”
“Then we get the ancestral swords and duel for supremacy, obviously.”
I nodded slowly. “There’s a Christmas tradition I could get behind.”
“Might be a bit of hassle to do it every year, mind you,” he pointed out. “Not to mention that those suits are heavy, and the swords are, literally, priceless.”
“So, get replicas made.”
“Why would I duel someone with a fake sword when I own the real thing?”
“Same reason women use dildos instead of getting a boyfriend. Less hassle.”
