returned his smile.
He laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Judging from the nerves radiating off him tonight, I wouldn’t have guessed he had such a quick wit, but the discovery delighted me. We walked to the end of the hallway in pleasant silence, enjoying each other’s presence, until his oceanic, entrancing blue eyes found mine again.
“Have you really been to my restaurant before, or were you just saying that to flatter me?”
“I wasn’t lying. Momma’s Table has some of the best hangover food in all of Bryton. Usually if I want something like that, I have to have it brought to the manor, but sometimes I give the staff the slip and make my way into town when I just can’t take any more of their prattling.”
“I guess I can’t blame you for that. It would drive me crazy to have someone chasing after me all the time too. But I dunno, isn’t that kinda dangerous? What if some psycho kidnapped you for ransom or something?”
I flexed the bicep his hand had curiously crept up to and winked at him. “I’d like to see them try.”
Color flooded his adorable, boyish face, but he held my gaze. “I’ve been watching you on TV for years, but I didn’t know you were in such good shape.”
“I bet there are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
The blush on his cheeks deepened to a crimson red, but a goofy grin appeared on his face. “Just like there are a million things I’d bet you don’t know about me.”
“Surely. How might I go about learning?”
“Just ask. You’re my king; it’s not like I can refuse.”
“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds like you’re not all that interested in answering.”
“Oh, believe me, I am,” he laughed, and I reached up to rest my hand on his, pinning it between my palm and bicep. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I felt him quiver, which sent all the blood in my body rushing to my core. “Where are we going, anyway?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Wherever you’d like. My home is your home.”
He paused for a moment to think. “What’s your favorite place in the manor?” he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“You mean besides my personal chambers?”
Landon swallowed again, harder this time, but held his confidence. “I’d love to see those sometime too, but maybe not on a first date.”
“How respectably modest of you,” I said with a smile. I couldn’t believe it, but his refusal didn’t disappoint me. For once, I’d met an omega I was more interested in getting to know than getting into my bed, though I wouldn’t have said no to that. “And what’s this about a date?”
He glanced down at our linked hands. “Kinda hard to call it something other than that, don’t you think?”
My smile widened. “I agree.”
I had to hand it to George; his choice of Landon as a potential partner for me was spot-on. The omega struck a perfect balance between cocky confidence and boyish innocence, exactly the attributes that’d drawn me to him the first time I’d seen him at Momma’s Table.
But how did George know I’d had my eye on Landon? He’d never accompanied me on any of my journeys through Bryton, though I didn’t doubt for a second he’d had me followed, both for my security and his sanity. After receiving word I’d fixated on Landon, had George snuck out to learn more about him personally before he extended the invitation, or sent someone else to do it for him?
It didn’t matter. I was just glad to have Landon there. Even if I never saw him again, which I hoped wouldn’t be the case, it was nice to have someone to spend the evening with; it made the manor feel much less empty.
“You never answered my question,” Landon said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “What’s your actual favorite place in the manor? I’d like to see it.”
“The battlements are, though I wouldn’t want to drag you up to the roof on a chilly night like tonight.”
“The battlements? Really? Why?”
I shrugged. “It’s quiet and people leave me alone when I’m up there. They know it’s where I get my best thinking done.”
Landon raised an eyebrow. “Do you think they’d leave two people alone up there to talk?”
I liked his thinking. “They will if I order it. I’m the king, remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“Okay, then come on,” I said and pulled him back down the hall