Chapter 10 - Flirting

Fiona’s POV.

"What?!"

I sputter as I watch Micah casually saunter into his apartment and pour a drink into a delicate champagne glass. I can't believe he's this relaxed after what he just revealed to me.

At my bafflement, he turns and lifts a perfect eyebrow at me, slight amusement glittering in his eyes.

"I know it's not ideal," he sighs after a while. "But the Queen mother … can be difficult. If she has put her mind to visiting us, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it."

He lifts a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug as I stare at him.

"So, really, there's no choice for us but to live together to keep up appearances. By living with me in this apartment before she comes, you'll get a chance to get comfortable in the new surroundings."

He says the words like it's the most logical thing in the world while I stare at him like he's grown a second head. In another situation, I would duck my head and not be brave enough to gape at him like I am right now, but my shock over this is too much for me to compose myself.

When I agreed to the contract marriage, I knew there would be certain expectations of me but … moving in with Micah so quickly hadn't crossed my mind.

Slowly, he walks towards me and my cheeks turn pink as I realize I haven't taken my eyes off him for even a minute.

"Here," he hands me the drink he was pouring. It looks light and fizzy.

"Relax a little." Immediately, a sense of calm washes over me from his words. I hesitantly lift my fingers to take the glass and gasp as they brush against his. I feel a jolt of electricity wash over me and for a moment, I'm sure I'm going to drop the glass.

Micah just stares at me for a moment and heat pools in his gaze before he turns away.

That felt … intense.

Nervously, I gulp down the drink, coughing when I swallow too much of it at once. A small chuckle escapes Micah at the spectacle I'm making of myself. However, I still when he comes close to me and gently brushes away the side of my lip, wiping away the droplets.

I take in a harsh breath and stumble a few steps back. Clearly, I'm not going to be doing any thinking if he's this close to me. For a moment, his eyes narrow and it's almost like he wants to follow me but then he turns away and gives me the space I need.

The drink is delicious and it has a fruity taste to it. I can tell it barely has any alcohol content but there's just enough to make me let go of some of my nerves.

"Uh Micah … aren't you and your grandmother really close?" I begin slowly, eyeing him over the drink. He settles down in a high-backed chair as he looks over at me.

He tilts his head to the side and nods.

"Yes, I suppose so."

His lips are slightly tipped up and I have a feeling he knows something he isn't quite sharing with me.

"So, if you … like … explain to her that we won't be comfortable with the visit- I mean, if you just, um, maybe convince her not to come, wouldn't she agree?"

My face burns as he simply stares at me. I set the glass down and fidget with my hands.

"Um, I mean the Queen Mother doesn't look like an unreasonable person so surely if you explain it to her, she would actually not visit us out of understanding?"

My words end in a question as I look at him, uncontrollably rambling.

Of course, I know the Queen Mother's wishes cannot be denied. After all, she is one of the most respected people in the kingdom but given Micah's close relationship with her, I'm sure he could at least convince her about this.

Micah looks at me with a thoughtful expression.

"So you want to make her see reason and convince her not to come here so quickly. After all, why should she come when we can just go and visit her?"

Micah says slowly and immediately, I nod my head up and down.

Yes, he gets what I mean!

"Also, as far as she knows, we just married and you've just moved in so surely you need more than a few months to adjust before she should visit, right?"

I clasp my hands together with glee.

Ah, it's so great to have a fake husband who is so reasonable!

"You make excellent points. There is no reason my grandmother won't agree to this."

Micah says calmly before he fishes out his phone from his pocket. Smiling widely, I quickly down the rest of my drink, happy with the way things are going.

Micah dials the number and puts it on speaker. I watch him as he casually waits for his grandmother to pick up the phone. When her voice comes through the speaker, I look at him expectantly.

Micah slowly gets up and walks towards me. There's a slightly wicked smirk on his face but oh well, I can ignore that considering the huge favor he's doing for me.

"Grandma, Fiona convinced me to call you and insisted she needed to tell you something."

My mouth drops open at his words and I stare at him in horror. Before I can get out a word, he pushes the phone to my mouth.

"Yes, darling girl, what is the matter?"

The Queen Mother's question has me feeling bewildered. I can barely breathe as I scramble to find a response. Micah’s sheer proximity to me definitely is not helping matters.

"Fiona … are you there?" She prods after I haven't spoken for a while.

"Uh-uh I just wanted to say how excited I am about the fact that you are coming to visit us at Micah's apartment. I really can't wait!"

I blurt out and watch as Micah chokes on a short laugh. I feel his breath ruffle the top of my head and it makes me feel slightly light headed.

"Oh, that's wonderful, dear. I look forward to coming."

The queen mother responds warmly. However, I can't help but notice there's a slight tinge of surprise in her voice.

Almost like she didn't expect me to say that. However, I'm still too flustered to give much notice to that. I quickly wrap up the conversation and exhale loudly once the call disconnects.

"Well, that went well." Micah slightly moves back until he is peering down at me with a smile that's so gorgeous, it completely transforms his face. For a moment, I forget that I'm supposed to be angry at him and I just simply gaze at him.

I'd hardly ever seen him smile. He always had such a cold expression on his face in the past that I used to wonder if he even knew how to smile but here it is on his face now, equal parts devilish and slightly endeared. Like he found me … adorable.

I feel my cheeks go warm and I don't say a word as he gently takes my phone away. It's only when he turns to pick something off the side table that I get my bearings.

He totally turned that whole situation against me!

I can feel myself pouting and I direct a tiny glare at his back. However, it's just when he turns to face me again and I quickly avert my gaze, embarrassed about being caught.

When nothing happens for a while, I get curious about what Micah is up to. I slowly lift my gaze towards him only to find him standing right in front of me again.

He's so close that my hand flies up to rest on his chest. My lips part open as I take him in. This close, my head comes level with his chest and the size difference isn't lost on me. He could crush me in a second if he wanted to and yet for some inexplicable reason, I'm starting to feel the safest around him.

I feel my lips turn down into a small frown as I think about how easily he made me fall into his trap with the phone call. I gather my courage to lightly chastise him. However, just when I open my mouth to say the words, he lifts his fingers and plops something in my mouth.

Almost on instinct, my lips close around his fingers and his eyes blaze as he looks at me. Sweet chocolate flavor bursts into my mouth and I almost moan because of how good it tastes. Slowly, he withdraws his fingers, lightly flicking my lower lip as he does so.

There are traces of melted chocolate on the tip of one of his fingers and I watch as he slowly brings it to his own mouth and licks it away. My face feels like it's on fire and a strange heat pools within me. He flashes me a wild smile before turning away, leaving me feeling even more flustered.

It's only then that I realize what he fed me: chocolate-covered strawberries.

My favorite dessert in the whole world.

And, somehow, Micah knew that.