Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

Yesterday eveningwith Jake had been magical in its own right. He’d been so sweet, so focused on making me happy. Making love with him had been something out of dreams, fantasies, and wishes. I couldn’t wait until I could have him again, sated and cuddled up against me. I’d tried to keep the world at bay, give us the time we craved with each other. To let us linger in that moment.

The world hadn’t stayed away, of course, as time never worked to my advantage. Still, we’d had two hours to ourselves before reality intruded with a knock on my study door, which had been more than I’d hoped for.

Business had drawn me away, and it had been late by the time I’d made it back to my room. I’d checked on Jake and found him sound asleep in his own bed, which was fine. I didn’t want to tire him out, even though I was sad I didn’t get at least a goodnight kiss.

Now I sat in my own room, a glass of wine in one hand, staring sightlessly at the flames as I ruminated on it all.

I’d not expected Jake to agree so wholeheartedly to a relationship with me. I really had thought him too overwhelmed to even contemplate it. He ever surprised me, that man. His fortitude was something else. Even though that was the case, I didn’t want to take anything for granted or assume he was all right. Moving forward, I’d have to check in with him on a regular basis. I’d also have to make sure he didn’t work himself into the ground. I wanted him to share my heart, not my exhaustion.

That said, there were things I wanted to do for him. Things I thought might make his life easier, or at least help him get more settled. My first thought was family.

According to my parents, I was a little old to be unmarried still. They’d take the news of Jake with positive delight. Especially when they learned how kind he was, how intelligent and resourceful. They’d no doubt welcome him with open arms. For Jake’s sake, I almost wanted to invite my parents to come visit now. I felt he needed parents who would love him unconditionally. From all he’d told me, he’d never had that before.

I wanted to do so much for him, all at once, and was limited by either time or finances. It grated. He had done so much for me. Simply giving him a place to live didn’t feel adequate in return.

A knock sounded on my door, and I called out, “Enter!”

My cousin waltzed in and one look at her expression said she knew.

“You finally made a move?” Ara asked without segue as she came right in and plopped herself in the other armchair. “Jake mentioned you two are now courting.”

“We are,” I said with immense satisfaction. “In truth, the Fae coin made a move. It shoved Jake down on top of me. Things progressed from there.”

Ara snickered. “So do you owe it a matchmaking fee?”

“Not on your life. Jake whizzed it out the window for being meddlesome.”

“Sounds like him.” Ara’s smirk faded into a sincere smile. “You really are happy. I can see it clearly.”

“I’m ecstatic. Finally, I’ve met someone who makes my heart sing with joy.” I sipped my wine, eyes turning back to the fire.

“You’ve waited a long moment for this.”

“I have. Decades. Which for us, is barely any time at all, but still I felt the weight of those years.” Ara had been my closest friend since her birth, and I didn’t want her to feel less. “I’d not have made it this far if you had stayed home.”

Ara snorted. “Damn right you wouldn’t have. But I knew you were lonely from the get-go. You wanted a true life partner. No one can blame you for that, Theon. It’s a natural desire.”

True enough. “I think I felt guilty for harboring such a desire because it meant drawing someone else into my madness.”

“Ahh, now that makes sense. I would have too in your shoes. But Theon, please don’t do that with Jake.”

I shook my head, reassuring her. “No need. Jake’s got more mettle than I do. I can try and protect him all I like, but in the end, he’s fully capable of handling everything himself.”

“You find that confidence sexy, don’t you?”

“Unbelievably so.” Pausing, I remembered the last letter from home and almost laughed. “Well, at least I can honestly tell my parents I’m courting someone. Mother’s last letter to me indicated she’d try a matchmaking service if I didn’t find someone this year.”

“Oh gods above and below, I’m very glad you met Jake, then.” Ara shuddered, the gesture only somewhat staged. “Matchmakers? No, thank you.”

“I feel much the same about it.” Since this was Ara, I felt comfortable enough talking to her about my main concern. “I want to do good by him, but I don’t know what that means in his culture.”

“None of us do. But Theon, no matter the gesture, he’ll understand the sincerity. You two likely have a lot of conversations and compromises in your future, that’s inevitable for two people coming from different cultures. So long as you talk and recognize the other person’s sincerity, you should be fine.”

I appreciated the solid advice. Since she was in the mood to give advice, I decided to capitalize on it. “I think it’s only right I give him a proper courting gift. I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot.”

“I absolutely agree. In fact, I know just the thing.”

She did? Because I was stumped. “What do you suggest?”

“Signet ring.”

The moment those words left her mouth, it made perfect sense to me. A signet ring would give Jake not only a way to pay for things—my name alone was like currency, a way to bill me later—but protection. The ring would tell anyone looking at him that he was mine. Also, in a more romantic sense, it would tell him how serious I was about this relationship. The ring would act as a promise.

“You’re kicking yourself for not thinking of it earlier,” Ara said smugly.

“I am.” I made a face at her, which made her laugh. “I blame exhaustion. Hard to think of good ideas when your brain is spent.”

“True. Are you going to give him a standard courting offer?”

“I think I will. I’ll probably have to explain it all first, but knowing how he likes contracts? He’ll be glad to see it.”

Ara’s brows quirked up in question. “Contracts?”

“You didn’t know? The second he figured out he had divine power, he wrote up a work contract and had me sign it.”

For a full second, she stared at me, aghast, then busted out laughing, listing sideways in the chair.

In retrospect, it was rather funny. A holy maiden who insisted on a work contract. That had to be one for the history books. If there was ever job security, that was the position which had it.

“I love him,” Ara croaked out, trying to breathe and laugh at the same time. “Only Jake would do that. He’s so practical it’s entertaining.”

“He is that.” It was one of the many things I liked about him. His practical nature had already saved our financial hides a few times, so I was more thankful for it than anything.

“I think if you offer him a written courting offer, you’ll be speaking his language. I’d do it soon, too.”

I didn’t understand this last bit of advice. “Why?”

Ara looked at me like I’d become dim-witted. “Because half this duchy is in love with him already?”

“EHHHHH?!” Since when?!

“Theon, for the love of all the gods, pay better attention. Do you not realize Jake is speaking to literally everyone here, trying to stir up commerce and business? He’s even got a contract set up with a merchant company for distribution rights.”

“He’d told me about that last thing, but—” I still spluttered. It made sense. Jake was a man who nurtured others, so of course he was looking out for everyone, but I hadn’t realized he’d done so much.

I wasn’t going to have to fight off my own people as potential suitors, was I?

By breakfast the next morning,I had the proposal all written out and ready to go. I trusted Jake to look it over thoroughly, as that was just how he was, and I had no issue with it. I did give him time to drink some tea and properly wake up before springing anything on him.

When I judged him mostly awake, I cleared my throat and put my toast down. “Jake?”

“Hmm?” He glanced up with a smile.

I was not imagining that his smile had gotten warmer when he looked at me. That smile of his made my heart pitter-patter without fail every time.

“I know I asked you yesterday if you wanted to court, but I didn’t do it formally. And I want to rectify that now.”

His knife and fork paused over his plate. I had his full attention now.

“There’s a formal way to do that?”

Oh dear. Seemed the gap between our cultures was larger than I’d realized. “Yes, there is. In Fae culture, if we find someone we like, someone we want as a life partner, we give them a proper courtship offer. It lists what we want to give them, the duration of how long we want to court before finalizing an engagement, and what terms will break the courtship.”

“Huh. Much like a marriage contract?” Jake’s eyes narrowed, shrewd. “But it’s entirely up to us how the relationship goes, correct?”

“Correct. I know you’re adamantly against arranged marriages, and this isn’t anything like that. It’s a mutual understanding of what we want, of where we want our relationship to go, and what’s unacceptable to us.”

I held my breath, as I wasn’t sure how he’d take this. Knowing his history, this might touch on newly healed scars.

“Can I see it? Your courting offer.”

“Of course.” I promptly fished it out and handed it over.

Jake unfolded it, abandoning his breakfast altogether, and focused solely on my offer. I watched his expression anxiously, and it stayed utterly neutral as he read.

When he finished, he looked up again, lips pursed in a thoughtful manner. “Theon. This doesn’t read like dating to me. This reads like dating with marriage in mind. Is that what this is?”

“Well, yes.” I’d thought that obvious, but perhaps this was one of those cultural gaps. “Why would I only court you? That seems like such a waste to date and not marry.”

“You smooth talker, you.” Jake took my hand in one of his, placing a soft kiss on my knuckles. He did seem pleased, but also somehow wary.

I suspected I may have jumped further ahead than he was prepared for. “Is this too much?”

“A little bit,” Jake admitted freely. “I like you very, very much. I’m strongly attracted to you. I don’t know if that will lead into love or not, but I also want to date and find out. That’s where I am emotionally right now. Is that all right?”

I was half in love with him already and willing to try anything to keep this man, so… “Yes. That’s fine. Take things at your pace, Jake. And if this offer is too much?—”

“No, no. You know me, I like written agreements. Don’t try to take it back.” Jake hugged the contract to him like I might actually try and do that. “I really like what I just read. I think a lot of couples wouldn’t split up if they communicated like this from the outset.”

I breathed out in relief.

“I just have a few questions. First, you left the term of this courtship without a set date.”

Trust him to notice that first off. “I did. I wasn’t sure how long people in your culture court. I don’t want to rush you.”

“That’s fair.” Jake tapped the page with the tip of his finger, clearly thinking. “Honestly, people in my culture don’t have a set time limit. Anywhere between two months to several years is normal. I think, in this case, I’d like to date at least six months before making any decisions.”

“Then six months it will be.”

“You don’t mind?”

“I don’t. As I said, we’ll take it at your pace.”

“Perfect.” Jake whipped a pen out of his pocket and jotted in a date. “Not that we have to strictly adhere to this date, but I’d like to at least revisit everything and talk it over when the deadline hits us.”

“That’s fine.” I truly did not care. Jake’s well-being was a higher priority. “What other question do you have?”

“It stipulates there must be a token given to start the courtship? What token?”

I stood from my chair, coming around the table so I could give it to him. I had a signet ring—an heirloom from a previous generation—that had been in the treasury room. I could only hope it fit, but if it didn’t, there was a resizing spell. From my pocket, I fished it out and displayed it in my hand.

“That’s a signet ring,” Jake blurted out. He looked surprised, jaw dropping.

Was this something else that was strange for him? “It is. It symbolizes my commitment to you, but it also provides you my name and protection.”

“My god,” Jake breathed, eyes locked on the ring. “Theon, you really don’t do anything by half measures.”

Was he okay with this or not?

A slow smile spread over his face and he popped up from his chair, offering me his left hand. “Put it on me.”

“Uh. Why are you offering your left hand?”

“Should I be offering my right?”

“Uh, well, yes? Do you wear the ring on your left hand in your world?”

“Well, in the western countries, we do.” Jake swapped hands immediately like a stage performer. “I don’t really care which hand it’s on. Wait, which finger?”

“Usually the middle finger.” I mentally hoped again for a good fit and slid the ring on.

The gods of romance were listening, as the ring seemed to fit rather well. Phew, good.

Jake lifted his hand up to see the ring better, smiling. The ring was a bit old-fashioned, wrought of platinum. It was flat on the top with the coat of arms engraved into it, a single diamond on either side of the ring its only decoration.

“It’s perfect,” Jake murmured.

I startled as he threw both arms around my neck and kissed me soundly. I smiled into the kiss, sinking into the moment. I could taste his happiness, his delight, and it made the kiss ever so much sweeter.

With a last, lingering kiss, he pulled back, eyes shining.

“You really make me happy.”

I was trying. “You’re the one making me happy. I’m trying to return the favor.”

“You are succeeding.” Jake nodded toward the offer sitting on the table. “I’m definitely signing that. But first, I want to set up a time for a date. We need a proper date.”

“We do. I agree wholeheartedly. How about a picnic later today? We can sit out in the garden for dinner.”

“That sounds delightful.”

I didn’t really care what we did. I just wanted more time with him. I had a feeling Jake felt the same way.

Jake left my arms long enough to sign, then offered me the pen. I promptly bent and signed as well along the bottom. We were officially courting with marriage in mind.

I had a feeling there would be no living with me for the rest of the day. Quite possibly the year.