Page 46 of Zalis
“I know you selected me based on my size and presumed physical prowess. To discover that your mate practices meditation must be alarming, but I assure you I am a capable warrior.”
That was the most preposterous string of words anyone had ever uttered in her presence, including the time a customer asked to have a load of whole wheat bread sliced lengthwise because it “preserved the whole grains.”
This wouldn’t do.
Gemma stood up from the chair as Zalis walked away.
“Hey,” she said, limping forward to grab his hand.
“You should not be on your feet.”
“Hey, listen. This is important.” She took a deep breath before continuing. In the spirit of honesty and all. “I picked you because you held my hand when I had nightmares.”
He glanced down at their clasped hands. “Surely not.”
“I was scared out of my mind, and you took the time to help me calm down and tell me I was safe,” she said. “It’s not your size. It’s not your ability to beat up the baddies, but I’m sure you’re excellent at that.”
He made a thoughtful noise, like he didn’t quite believe her but didn’t want to call her out on her bullshit. “Very well. Share with me the details of your ideal day.”
The change in topics was dizzying but sure, she’d roll with it. Literally, as she sat back in the chair and rolled forward. “Nothing. My ideal day is sleeping late, eating a box of donutsinstead of grownup food, and doing nothing. Maybe not even a shower. Just naps and listening to the radio.”
“You enjoy such idleness?” He sounded genuinely curious and not judgmental.
“Working in a bakery is hard. The hours are terrible. I’m on my feet all day. Because I’m the boss, I’m there from open until close. Taking a day off to be lazy sounds sort of perfect.”
Zalis consulted his tablet, the glow of the screen illuminating the angles of his face. It was a nice face. She thought it before, but he was objectively handsome by human standards with his strong jaw and brow. It helped that despite him wearing a stern expression, she could see amusement sparkling in his eyes.
“Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want to have dinner with?” he asked.
“Dead or alive? Is this realistic or pie in the sky?”
“The test does not say.”
Pie in the sky it was. “My parents, obviously. You?”
“My parents as well. I am not in the habit of sharing a meal with strangers.”
“We literally shared a meal together an hour ago.”
“You are not a stranger. You are my mate.”
Well, he had her there. Never mind that she felt warm and cozy inside when he saidmy mate. She should be appalled. They barely knew each other and this cinnamon roll sweetheart act wasn’t fooling her.
Except she didn’t think it was an act. Zalis was completely sincere in all things, even the cinnamon roll courting business. He wanted a love match. He told her as much. A list of questions wouldn’t make her fall in love with him, but she liked him. A lot. He was reserved, yes, but also calm. He meditated in a psychedelic garden. Worried he was going to bungle things with her, he talked with his mom. How could she not like any of that?
Zalis consulted the tablet again. “If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future, or anything else, what would you wish to know? What is a crystal ball? How does a lump of quartz have this ability?”
“Give me that.” Gemma grabbed the tablet from him and scrolled through the questions. “These questions are terrible.If you could have a superpower, what would you want?Like people get choices about superpowers. Irony and gamma radiation decide that.”
She slapped the tablet against his chest. “This is yourauthority? Some listicle that you found on the internet?”
“Is it not accurate?”
“How about we go rogue and just have a conversation? No checklist. No quiz.”
He made that thoughtful noise again. “This impulsiveness is concerning.”
“This impulsiveness? Right now? Not the thing that happened two days ago when, in front of seemingly everyone in creation, when I announced that I’d marry you?”
