“I’m not rushing into this,” she whispered. “And I can go into the woods once in awhile, can’t I?”
“As often as I can I will take you into the woods,” he vowed.
“Good. I think I can keep my sanity then,” she grinned up at him as she nudged his hip.
Braith groaned as he pulled her tight against him and stared at the sculpted figure of the couple in the fountain. The couple that was forever fated to look but never touch. He never wanted to let go of her, and yet he may be the very one that destroyed her if she decided to choose eternity.
Chapter 19
The celebration was far larger than she’d expected. Before this day she and William had celebrated their birthdays by receiving larger slices of meat, usually a new bow and arrows, and being serenaded with a silly song they hated. Now they had more food than she’d ever seen in her life, a small band playing instruments, and a massive cake that she couldn’t tear her eyes away from. Her mouth watered every time she looked at the elaborately decorated thing, and all she craved was a giant piece of it.
“I think I’m jealous of the cake.”
“Huh?” Aria muttered as she tore her gaze away from the massive creation of sugary goodness in the middle of the table.
Braith laughed as he slid his arm around her waist. “I’m jealous of the cake; you can’t take your eyes off it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she marveled. “It’s amazing.”
“Even more so than me?”
She waved her hand dismissively at him. “Of course not, but wow.”
“Would you like a piece?”
“Aren’t we supposed to eat first or sing or something?”
“It’s your birthday; you can do whatever you like.”
William shouldered in between them. He placed his crutch in front of her, blocking her path. He was perfectly willing to trip her if she even attempted to get a piece before him. “It’s my birthday too, and as the older, wiser sibling I should get the first piece.”
“I’ll give you older, but you are most certainly not wiser,” she retorted. “And as the younger, female sibling, I should get the first piece.”
“As the still crippled and hobbling sibling, I beg to differ.”
Aria snorted. “I could just kick the crutch out from under you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
“Why don’t you just each get a piece at the same time,” Braith inserted reasonably.
Aria shot him a look. “Reason doesn’t apply to the twins, brother. They won’t shut up till their stuffing their faces,” Jack informed him as he sauntered toward them.
William shrugged casually but nodded enthusiastically in agreement. “The man has a valid point.”
Braith looked confused but shook his head and headed to the table. She watched Braith’s deft hands as he slid the knife through the bottom of the cake, cutting off one pink rose and one red one. She became more fascinated with those hands than she had been with the cake. Strong and brutal when they had to be, and yet so achingly tender and loving when they slid over her. Aria mentally shook herself from her thoughts before they wandered to things that were far from appropriate here.
He started back with two large pieces. “Can I mess with him some more?” William asked.
“Sure,” she replied laughingly.
Braith handed her a slice of cake before giving William his. “Hers is bigger.”
“Excuse me?” Braith inquired in surprise.
“You gave her the bigger piece.”
Jack burst into loud laughter as Braith stared incredulously at William. Aria bit her upper lip as she tried not to laugh. “You two are just freaking hilarious,” Braith muttered.
Aria couldn’t stifle her laughter anymore but her attention was quickly diverted by the giant slice of cake in front of her as William eagerly dove into his piece. “Delicious.”
Aria eyed her brother with envy as she grabbed her fork. She still found utensils to be annoying but at least she was getting better at using them. “Amazing,” she agreed.
Braith was watching her with a raised eyebrow and a small smile on his face. “Hopefully you’ll like our wedding cake as much.”
She choked on her cake; William froze with his bite halfway to his mouth. “Excuse me?” she managed to get out around Daniel’s solid thumps on her back.
Braith just grinned back at her, in the same annoying way that William had been smiling at him. “You heard me.”
She glanced at her brothers not sure she was actually understanding him right. Marriage wasn’t something she’d ever really thought about before, but then how else did someone become a queen? She realized she’d never put a whole lot of thought into it, but it would be marriage that solidified her position. When he’d told her that he wanted her as his queen, and they would accept her, he’d also been saying that he planned to marry her. She felt like an idiot.
She couldn’t think of anything better than being his wife for the rest of her life. A flood of childhood dreams came rushing back. There had been a time when she’d dreamed of a husband and children, and a marriage ceremony underneath the banquet tree. With her family surrounding her…
A hot rush of tears filled her eyes. She’d been doing well today, trying to stay upbeat; enjoying her time with her brothers and Braith, trying not to think about the fact that their father wasn’t here to celebrate it with them. The smile slipped from Braith’s face as he watched her.
“I’ll give you away Aria,” Daniel offered.
“We both will,” William interjected forcefully.
“Easy there hop along. She’s not used to dresses and between the two of you one of you would end up falling over.” Jack smiled at them as he tried to ease the mood again.
“Especially if she’s wearing heels,” Braith added with a small wink. Aria forced herself to shake off her melancholy. It was so rare Braith was lighthearted, and he was trying to be so now, she had to try also.
“Oh that must be like a fish out of water!” Max declared with a loud laugh. “I actually wouldn’t mind seeing it!”
“I would kind of like to see that too,” William said.
“It’s not pretty,” Aria admitted and her smile didn’t feel as forced.
William and Max laughed as they poked at each other and then snickered at her. She rolled her eyes at them as she fought the urge to kick William’s crutch out from under him. Braith took the empty plate from her hand and slid his arm around her waist. She was a little confused as she stared up at him. Had she just been proposed to, or was he only teasing her as she and William had been teasing him? She didn’t have time to ponder it as he swept her off her feet and actually twirled her out to the dance floor.