Page 49 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

The moment I tried to step outside though, Kai wrapped a hand around my wrist and held me back. “No,” he rumbled, sharp and commanding. “You are not going outside like that, Esmeralda.”

I tried to tug my wrist from his hand. Futilely, because his grip was unbreakable. “I’m dressed enough, Kai, and I’m not cold anyway, so—”

“Twice was pushing your luck. A third time and you really will get sick.” I shook my head. “Keep the doors open, Esmeralda, if that is what you want. But you’re not going outside. Please.”

I dully heard footsteps behind me, but I kept my frown on Kai. I lasted about ten seconds before I sighed heavily. “Okay. Fine. I won’t.”

I dropped my arm by my side once he let go of it, but I stayed forever aware of my pulse tattooing the shape of his fingers on my skin in the silence that followed.

“What’s wrong?” Kai asked. He was leaning back against the door, facing me, with his brows knotted. “You’re so quiet. You were quiet at dinner too.”

I nipped nervously at my bottom lip. He pulled off the door. “Tell me, Esmeralda. What’s wrong?”

I sighed. “I’m just…nervous about something.”

“Nervous about what?”

That was the part where I was supposed to brush it off like it was nothing. But I didn’t want to. Still, I struggled to find the right words.

“I’ve liked this guy for nearly seven years, and I told him I liked him, and he said he was glad that I told him, but I can’t brush off the feeling I didn’t do it right and now I feel nervous.”

Understanding washed across Kai’s face. He stared down at his black slippers. “You didn’t believe him? When he said he was more than glad you told him?”

I was a little too desperate for answers to be surprised he was going along it. “A part of me did—does. But a part of me doesn’t know what to think. I’m scared what I think isn’t what he meant. Or what if he said it just so things wouldn’t be awkward?”

“He didn’t. That’s not why he said it. He…” Kai sighed and combed a hand through his hair. “Maybe it was the wrong thing to say, but he’s not the best at expressing himself.”

Taking a moment to process the hope his words gave me, I rotated to face him fully. “Then what was he trying to say? Why was he more than glad to hear my confession?”

He was quiet for so long that I began to doubt he’d answer. Then, “For the same reason he’s been walking around for the last hour or so, looking for you. And the same reason he’s here. Because he might hate rain, but the moment he heard it, he came straight here hoping he would find you.”

There was no way I could misinterpret what he was trying to say this time. It hit me right in the guts with a powerful, sweet blow, that almost had my knees buckling.

Kai felt something for me.

There was no single name for the feeling that crashed through my veins with reckless abandon. Immense relief, explosive happiness, an unbelievable urge to throw myself at him and latch on for dear life. That, everything, and so much more, flooding my chest until it hurt.

He took a small step towards me, and my heart kicked harder. “But in comparison to your seven years, he wasn’t sure if his few days was enough. He wasn’t sure if you would think he was being insincere, so he didn’t tell you.”

I felt lightheaded and breathless, but a delighted smile blossomed on my mouth. “Even if he said it had been twenty minutes, I would have believed him.”

He frowned, moving closer yet. “You shouldn’t,” he whispered back. “You should expect more. You should expect him to prove himself to you first.”

I was running solely on a high as I followed his lead and closed the last of the gap between us. “Then how about we test him now.” I wet my lips with a quick flick of my tongue, my gaze dipping to his wide, firm mouth. “What would he say if I asked to kiss him?”

Heat flared through his irises, turning them dark before his lashes dipped. It was almost like I could feel his stare grazing my lips. I parted them on a breath and his lashes snapped up, piercing me with a hot, intense look that made me feel like I hadn’t taken a breath at all.

The silence was long and loud. Not in an uncomfortable way, but in a scorching, tense, make-it-or-break-it way that pulled us closer together yet kept us apart too.

Then he said, “Wouldn’t you need a stepladder to do that?”

Something around me went pop like a bubble bursting.

Kai’s dimple appeared deep in his right cheek and with screeching understand, my confusion shattered. It gave way to embarrassed shock that made my jaw collapse to the floor.

A deep, raw, loud sound erupted from Kai’s mouth as he slipped back away from me.

I might have appreciated that this grumpy prince, who’d denied that he’d chuckled in front of me last time, was laughing so hard his chest was shaking and his eyes were crinkled if I wasn’t so offended and embarrassed. Even if a small part of me did find it funny too.

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