Page 19 of Bearly Yours
I laughed and ate my delicious meal. The steak was seasoned perfectly and was incredibly tender and flavorful, and the salad was crisp and bursting with all of my favorite veggies, including avocado. Which was technically considered a fruit, but I digress. The point was that my salad was amazing, and I finished it in record time.
Million-dollar commissions made me hungry, apparently.
I set my lap tray to the side and added my plate and silverware to the standing tray, then I sank back into my seat with my ice water. It was in a large, tall stoneware mug with a handle large enough for me to get four of my fingers through. I hated regular sized mugs, because they were always too small. The mug also had a straw, which was, in my mind, an essential part of any ice-water drinking experience. Or any drinking experience, for that matter.
I closed my eyes again.
Roarke finished his lunch and sat back with his black coffee. I could feel his eyes on me.
“Want to tell me why I get the honor of seeing you again today?”
Aww.He always said stuff like that, and it made my heart so happy.
“King Draven and Consort Mia would like for me to build a library for them.” I turned my head and opened my eyes, taking in his expression. He looked happy for me.
“And what do you think? Will you accept?”
I sighed. “It’s a huge project. I wouldn’t be able to take any other commissions, likely for up to a year.”
“What about that troubles you?”
I shrugged. “Will my customer base still be interested in a year? And what about the ocean dining table I’m working on? I need to finish that for you.” I gave him a questioning look. “Why on earth do you need a dining table that large anyway?”
He smirked. “I need it to be dragon-sized.”
I snorted and shook my head. Dragons and their egos. I knew he wasn’t being serious. His human half was huge, but notthathuge, and he would never attempt to sit at a dining table in dragon form. An image of him trying to do that, carefully placing his napkin in his lap and picking up his cutlery flashed across my mind, and I busted up laughing.
Roarke smiled. “Laughing at me again?”
“I had a mental flash of you attempting to sit down and dine in dragon form at your table.” I wiped tears of mirth from my eyes and sighed as I sat back. “If you ever try that I want pictures.”
He shook his head at me, smiling that small, tender smile of his. “Of course.”
“What am I gonna do?” I leaned my head back and looked at the softly lit chandelier above us. It sparkled in the reflected firelight, even as high up as it was. “Flameis one of my favorites, by the way.”
He snorted. “You say that about them all.”
I nodded. “And I adore them all, but this one is the only one with a fireplace.”
“You have a fireplace at home.”
“Yep, but this one’s better. It smells better, for one, and the atmosphere when it’s full of people is de-stressing. There’s this constant wall of background noise: people quietly chatting at their tables, servers taking orders and delivering them, drink glasses getting filled, cutlery scraping against plates, the chandelier crystals as they’re gently blown about by the air conditioner... It’s really relaxing for me. I love it.”
“You are one strange bear.”
I chuckled. “Thank you, I think.”
“Emrie, what do youwantto do? Do you want to design their library?”
“I think I do. It’s a massive project, but I already have some great ideas for the space.” I took a drink of my water and set it on the tray. “I think I’d already decided before coming here.” I turned to him. “I guess I just wanted you to tell me I’m not crazy.”
His expression softened. “You’re not crazy, I promise. I think this is something you could really sink your teeth into. And designing a million-dollar library for the Vampire King could only lend your business more clout. It will bring in more customers in the long run, I promise.” He smiled. “And Consort Mia is not one to stay quiet about it. Draven says she’s a fan of your work. She’ll probably tell the whole town that she’s got a famous designer doing her library.”
My heart thudded a little faster at his words, even as I laughed. “I don’t want to be famous. She said she’d keep my name private.”
Roarke gave me a look. “You know that’s not going to last, though, right? They have a lot of people who work in their home,and a lot of people that work for Draven. Not all of them will remain quiet.”
“So, I’d be giving up my anonymity?”
