Page 185 of The Forsaken Heir
The crowd clapped and cheered. I put my lips against Elle’s ear. “I promise I won’t step on your toes.”
“Oh good,” she said. “I wish I could say the same.”
She was much better than she let on, and even if she’d been terrible, I’d have enjoyed feeling her body against mine. After a few minutes, others joined in, filling the dance floor. Elle rested her head on my chest as we swayed, and I couldn’t help but smile watching Vince and Sahalie drifting across the floor.
“Elle, I’m really happy for you,” a woman said.
Elle gasped and turned to hug her. “Lorraine!Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you came.”
The woman patted Elle’s cheek. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’m at a table with the other girls from the store. Will you stop by and say hello to them? They’d love to see you.”
“Oh, of course. I’ll swing by after dinner.”
Lorraine poked Elle playfully in the ribs and pointed at me. “No offense to my grandson, I love him dearly, but you definitely did good with this one. I’m glad you didn’t let me pawn him off on you.”
Elle snorted and hugged the woman again. “I’m sure he’s a fabulous guy, but yeah, I don’t think I could have done much better than this.”
Lorraine’s eyes narrowed, and she lowered her voice. “What exactly is he a prince of? I heard his father say he was aking.”
Elle’s eyes went wide, and she glanced at me, then did her best to cover it up. “Um, well, it’s more an honorary thing. They’re family goeswayback, and, uh…” She glanced at me, a silent plea for help.
“Like she said, more an honorific than anything,” I said.
Lorraine frowned, but she patted my shoulder. “You rich people are sweet, but very weird. Well, I’ll let you get back to enjoying yourselves.”
The woman gave Elle a brief hug and vanished back into the crowd.
“Do you think she bought that?” she asked.
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Come on, they’re gonna serve dinner any second.”
The food was fantastic, but what I enjoyed most was sitting beside Elle. I had a sense of pride knowing she was mine. Up here, I was a prince, soon-to-be king, but what I was most proud of was having this beautiful, smart, caring woman as my wife. Surreal as it was, my mind buzzed with excitement at the prospect of a future with her.
I gazed out at our guests. Julian was at the bar, laughing with Freddy and Sophia. Dad had offered the healer a spot in our household, and the man had gladly accepted.
Vince and Sahalie were huddled in a corner, watching everyone. Vince had a huge grin on his face, and Sahalie had her hand tucked behind him, holding him close. My throat tightened, and I had to swallow back happy tears. My friend deserved this, and I couldn’t be more excited for him to have found his person.
Rasp was on the dance floor again with a few small children, looking like a loveable uncle or older brother. Seeing those kids laugh and spin in circles brought a smile to my face. Elle and I had talked, and even though we would never have kids of our own, we could adopt. Sadly, many kids had lost their parents during the fighting. A young dragon or wolf shifter might complete our family one day, or perhaps Elle and I would be enough. That was a question we could answer later. Right now, all I wanted was to bask in the happiness of this day.
The night went on with more toasts, more dancing, and the cake cutting. I kept close to Elle, not wanting to be away from her for even a second. Just like the first night I’d met her, I was drawn to her. By the end of the evening, my face hurt from smiling so much.
Eventually, things wound down and the guests lined up outside, all of them bundled up in coats to stave off the cold, to wave goodbye to me and Elle. I gave my father and my friends a hug, and Elle did the same, then we got in the limo and drove off.
“Did that really just happen?” Elle asked, collapsing into her seat as we rounded the corner.
“It did,” I took her hand, lifting it to kiss her fingers. “Pretty amazing, huh?”
She gave me a weird, little smile, and her cheeks pinked.
“What’s on your mind?” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s stupid. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, seriously, what’s up?”
“I guess that it’s hitting me all of a sudden,” she said with a sigh.
“What is it?”
