Chapter 22 #2
Jesse headed to a wooden counter when we walked in, and minutes later, I was wrapping my hands around a mug roughly the size of a small bucket. “This is huge. Is that normal?”
“You said you wanted alarming quantities of coffee,” he said easily. “I think this is a prime example of be careful what you wish for.”
Because I just might get it.
As I stared at him across the table, I wondered if I’d wished for him too. I’d certainly had a bit of a crush on him back in the day and now, here we were, drinking coffee by the liter together while his ring sat heavy and pretty on my finger.
I took my first sip and sighed happily, murmuring into the mug. “Civilization.”
“Feeling better yet?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched me.
“Immensely.”
When a cheerful waitress came by to take our order, I opted for a pancake stack, which turned out to be a mountain of food. Jesse ordered more sensibly, being served fresh fruit and an egg-white omelet.
“I feel sorry for you with that,” I teased, pointing my fork at his sad plate after I’d demolished half my pancakes. “Of course, you’ll live longer, but I’ll be happier.”
He laughed. “At least it looks like you’re adjusting well.”
“I believe in embracing new cultures,” I said solemnly, cutting into another bite.
“Pancakes are a culture?”
“In America? Yes. I believe so. If the movies have been accurate, that is.”
He laughed again and took a sip of his coffee. Once he’d finished his depressing meal, he leaned back and watched me eat. “I’ve been thinking. We should probably talk about whether you have any preferences about where you want to live.”
I looked up from my mountain of fluffy deliciousness and frowned. “Where I want to live? I thought we were living here, in Chicago.”
“Yeah, but would you like to live in an apartment, or a house, or maybe even a property outside of the city?”
The sincerity of the question gave me pause.
I hadn’t actually thought about that yet.
Everything had happened so quickly that my brain had been operating in survival mode, and besides, I’d always just kind of assumed that I would be living with him, wherever and whatever that meant.
I hadn’t realized there would be a choice.
Slowly setting down my fork, I picked up my coffee and took a small sip. “I’ve always preferred the countryside.”
Jesse’s reaction was so subtle, I almost missed it, but he made a face. It was barely there before he hid it behind his cup, but I’d absolutely seen it. The grimace. Perhaps even a flinch.
My eyes narrowed a tiny bit. “Indigestion?”
He swallowed and set the mug down. “No, I’m fine.”
“You just made a face.”
“No, I didn’t.”
I arched my eyebrows at him. “You did, Jesse. What is it?”
“Nothing. I just was thinking.”
“Well, in that case, has anyone ever told you that your thinking face looks suspiciously like mild distress?”
He rubbed the side of his neck, then shrugged. “No, but don’t worry about it, okay? I’ll handle it.”
That wasn’t an answer, but he seemed oddly determined about it, so I let it go. For now.
Instead of pushing, I took another bite of pancakes, chewed, and swallowed, figuring we should discuss an easier topic. One that had been bugging me quite a bit since we’d boarded the plane.
“Do you have any idea what exactly I’m supposed to be doing while I acclimate?”
He raised an eyebrow at me, quiet for a beat. “You say that like it’s a ridiculous concept.”
“It is a ridiculous concept. We’re flying back to England in three weeks anyway.”
Three weeks. That was barely enough time to figure out which cupboard the plates lived in in his brother’s kitchen, and if we weren’t going to be staying there anyway, even that seemed like a total waste of time.
“Should I be studying something?” I asked. “Perhaps learning about the customs here in Chicago? Oh, will there be a test on deep dish pizza?”
Jesse smiled, a slow, warm smile that made my heart flutter. “No. There’s no test. It’s not a bad idea, though. Maybe I’ll run it past the What Should Distant Royals Do to Fit in Council.”
I giggled, the sound rather foreign even to my own ears, but it had bubbled out before I’d been able to stop it. “No test, then. Alright. So what is it I’m supposed to be doing?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
I blinked hard, the humor fading out of me fast. “Nothing?”
“As long as that’s okay with you.”
I stared at him, uncertain I understood.
My entire life had been structured around lists, schedules, and agendas stacked so high they made my head spin.
There was always something that needed to be done and now this man—this slightly mysterious, occasionally infuriating man—was sitting across from me, telling me my job was to do nothing.
I leaned back slowly in my chair. “Well, that actually sounds pretty amazing.”
Jesse laughed softly, and for the first time since we’d left the castle, I felt all those knots of tension in my chest loosen. Nothing. That was what he expected from me, and honestly, I liked the sound of it. Just for now, just for a bit of a change, I actually liked it quite a lot.