Page 30 of Warrior's Captive
“Funny.” He slipped his hands back in his pockets, giving her a half-amused look. “What kind of food?”
She smiled at him. He’d changed out of his all black work clothing and was now his dressed down, slightly disheveled self. The broody aura completely gone. This was the companion she could let herself enjoy getting to know some more over dinner and an evening stroll.
“Surprise me,” she said.
11
“We’ll goto the art district,” Tai’ri told her as they stepped into a two-person transport. He programmed the destination. “BdakhunIbukay prefers it, so we already have security set up all over.”
“What kind of security?”
“Surveillance, safe rooms. Stuff.”
“Sounds like a vid.”
The trip was quick and quiet, the sort of companionable silence Vivian appreciated because it meant she didn’t have to struggle to find conversation. Outside of the classroom, she’d never been a chatty woman. But the last week he’d spent as much time with her as he could, and they’d talked. About their lives, their goals. They’d crammed weeks of getting to know you conversations into a matter of days while cooking together, or watching the sun set on the balcony, and Vivian had learned Tai’ri was an intelligent, empathetic man with a dry sense of humor and deep well of personal responsibility.
Someone she would have truly liked in normal circumstances; she liked him now.
The transport set down on a rooftop pavilion. They exited, Tai’ri taking her arm in one of the casually courteous gestures she’d come to expect as second nature to him.
“Can we walk and eat, is that done here?” she asked. The rooftop pavilion led into a building of open-air shops and restaurants. She saw plenty of shiny, and wanted to chase all of it down.
“Yeah, but as soon as you’re tired, let me know.”
One of the restaurants offered a brisk walk up and go service, and Vivian found herself with the equivalent of Beysikai province walking tacos. A recyclable container filled with some sort of savory grain, chopped marinated meat, vegetables and two complementary sauces. She ate it with a fork, walking slowly.
“Shoes,” Tai’ri said suddenly. His hands full of his own meal, he pointed his chin to a shop three doors down.
She hesitated, vaguely uncomfortable. Receiving the first delivery of clothes had felt like a necessity—she couldn’t walk around naked, after all. Him buying dinner was reasonable on a date. And, again, she had no income. But him buying her shoes . . . it felt so married. Which they weren’t.
“I think what I have on is fine,” she said.
“Nah, worst design ever. Too many hooks.” He finished his meal and slipped the remains into a receptacle in the wall.
It was better to just be blunt. “I can’t pay you back, Tai’ri.”
He stopped, looking down at her with narrowed eyes. “Did I ask you to, Vivian?”
Vivian pressed her lips tight against a retort that would be less than polite.
Sighing, he took her hand. “It’s my privilege, alright? I have plenty of money and not a lot of ways to spend it. No time. If buying you things makes me happy, you owe me that much, right?”
She opened her mouth, shut it, looking up at his too innocent expression. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Good. Now let’s go get practical shoes. If you trip and twist your ankle, you could also hurt the baby.”
“You make getting your way sound so reasonable.”
Slipping her arm in the crook of his elbow, he wisely refrained from a reply since she was going along with him now, anyway. Smart.
Allowing him to buy her a pair of shoes didn’t mean she would indulge herself, however. She spent a bare minimum of time browsing, choose the most neutral and serviceable option possible even though he kept pointing to expensive, colorful wisps of footwear, and held her ground.
In the end he compromised, perhaps recognizing when to give ground. They left the shop with a pair of navy flats, and a pair of coral to match her dress.
They strolled, Tai’ri pausing at a vendor with a display of beaded earrings. Vivian said nothing only because a different booth caught her eye—a colorful display of craft paper, watercolors, and other art supplies. A few items had come in the same delivery as her clothing, but she wantedmore.She waddled over, eyes wide, fingers twitching.
Let him ooh and ahh over jewelry. He’d soon learn the way to her heart was colored pencils.
