Chapter 424 Meeting [2]
They settled into the chairs, the polished table between them gleaming with fresh linen and a small vase of white lilies. Arianne rested her hands lightly on her lap, studying him with a calm, curious composure that always seemed to disarm people before they realized it.
"I’ll admit," she said after a moment, her voice warm with wry amusement, "I rather thought you might take longer to arrive."
Michael gave a short, soft laugh, the sort that never quite reached his eyes.
"I pray I never see the day I make a woman wait for me."
The words left his mouth before he could reconsider them, and for one flickering instant he thought perhaps he’d spoken too lightly.
Especially because only yesterday, when he’d returned to Aurora for a few hours, he’d caught his younger sister watching some noisy, melodramatic series. He hadn’t meant to overhear. But his hearing was sharper than most. And he’d very distinctly heard the same line blaring out of her room while she swooned.
Arianne’s brows lifted just a fraction, and he felt a faint heat crawl up the back of his neck.
But then she laughed, soft and clear, and the tension slipped free.
"A dangerous vow," she said lightly, her eyes glinting. "If more men held themselves to such standards, the world would be very different."
She reached for a small silver bell resting beside the vase and gave it a single, musical ring.
Almost immediately, the door opened, and a maid in Evermoon colors entered with a quiet curtsy.
"Bring the tea leaves, please. And the sugar, milk, and hot water," Arianne said gently. "I’ll prepare it here."