Page 25 of Enchanting the Elf
I keep my hands over my mouth and nod, grateful he’s not dismissing the request or laughing me off as some people seem to do when they hear I do embroidery. Most people think it’s only a hobby for older people but I adore thread painting.
“What else?”
“Nothing.” The word comes out muffled from behind my fingers and I shake my head.
Adelbert merely stares at me with an alarming amount of patience until I drop my hands and place them on my lap.
Seemingly satisfied with this, he asks, “How do you take your coffee?”
“Oh, anything is fine.”
Adelbert raises his brows.
“I prefer tea,” I admit in a voice barely above a whisper, my shoulders somewhere around my ears.
Adelbert keeps staring at me with quiet determination and raises his brows a fraction higher.
“Oolong tea.” My whole face heats with my confession.
Adelbert’s mouth turns up a fraction of an inch. “Good girl. Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Did he just make a joke? Adelbert. It was a joke, wasn’t it? Should I say something or would that make him uncomfortable?
Before I can make up my mind on how to respond, he moves toward the counter in front of him again and resumes making dinner. There’s almost a fluidity to his movements. His actions are smooth and well practiced, and I only stare on in quiet fascination. Not drooling.
He’s been so formal and distant with me until we entered this kitchen. But maybe there’s something about this environment that relaxes him. Even his speech started losing that formal edge after a while, and he opened up about his grandmother.
I wonder what it will take to see more of that side of him.
Movements never ceasing, Adelbert flicks his eyes up to me. “If you need anything else, please let me know. I’ll give you a couple of minutes to think about it while I finish cooking.”
Should I ask for a vibrator? I might need one tonight to counter all this tension.
Chat Log
Florence: Adelbert is a really good cook. Couldn’t get a photo of the food, but here’s a link to a random blog of the same thing we ate.
Florence:*photo*
Florence: Look at all those steps! He didn’t even read a recipe.
Sadie: Holy shit! That looks amazing! I’m seriously impressed!
Florence: It tasted even better! What you guys doing today?
Sadie: I got flowers this morning. Look!
Sadie:*photo*
Florence: Oh my goodness. Is this real life?!
Sadie: Right?! They’re so beautiful!
Florence: I’m sure you thanked Everett “properly”*winking face emoji*
Sadie: On the way to his house now*face blowing a kiss emoji*Excited to see it*star-struck emoji*!
Florence: I’m sure you are.*fire emoji* *laughing emoji*
