Chapter 113: Just Cassian

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Just Cassian

Marian checked the menu for the third time.

Nothing had changed.

The tea was still tea.

The pastries were still pastries.

The prices were still offensive.

And Cassian was still not here.

Well.

Not late.

Not technically.

She was simply early.

By a perfectly reasonable amount.

A completely normal amount.

An amount that absolutely did not suggest she had been looking forward to this meeting.

The waitress passed by again.

Marian smiled politely and lowered her gaze back to the menu.

She already knew what she wanted.

She had known ten minutes ago.

Yet somehow she continued staring at the same page.

Outside, the afternoon streets bustled with life.

Carriages rolled past.

Merchants called out to customers.

Nobles drifted from shop to shop.

People continued living their lives with all the confidence of individuals who were not currently waiting for someone.

Lucky them.

The bell above the restaurant door chimed.

Marian looked up immediately.

Then immediately pretended she hadn’t.

Because she possessed dignity.

At least occasionally.

Across the street, Cassian paused.

And smiled.

There she was.

Seated near the window.

Pretending to study the menu with remarkable concentration.

He knew perfectly well she wasn’t reading a word.

A realization he found embarrassingly endearing.

For a moment he simply stood there.

Watching.

Not because he intended to.

Because after the past few weeks, seeing her still felt strangely unreal.

Then Marian looked toward the window.

Their eyes met.

And immediately her expression brightened.

It happened so quickly she probably didn’t realize it.

Cassian did.

Something in his chest loosened.

Ridiculous.

Entirely ridiculous.

He had negotiated with stubborn nobles and difficult ministers with less difficulty than seeing Marian smile at him.

An embarrassing truth.

One he intended to deny if questioned.

Then he crossed the street.

The bell chimed again.

This time Marian allowed herself to look.

And immediately regretted it.

Because apparently Cassian had decided to be handsome today.

Unreasonably handsome.

Offensively handsome.

The sort of handsome that should require government regulation.

How was that fair?

Genuinely.

How?

Tall.

Dark hair.

Sharp features.

Broad shoulders.

And entirely too comfortable looking like that.

The worst part was that he wasn’t even trying.

If he were trying, she could at least be annoyed about it.

Instead, he simply existed.

A menace.

Cassian stopped beside the table.

Marian stared at him.

Cassian stared back.

Then:

"You look lovely."

The compliment arrived so naturally that Marian nearly forgot how words worked.

"Hello to you too."

A smile tugged at his mouth.

"Hello."

The smile made things significantly worse.

Naturally.

Marian pointed accusingly at the chair opposite her.

"Sit down."

Cassian obeyed immediately.

Which was honestly suspicious.

Tea arrived.

Conversation followed.

Effortlessly.

As it always did.

No awkward searching for topics.

No careful consideration of what to say next.

The words simply flowed.

From city gossip.

To noble scandals.

To a merchant who had apparently attempted to convince Marian to purchase a decorative vase.

"Did you buy it?" Cassian asked.

"No."

He looked impressed.

"That bad?"

"It was hideous."

"I see."

A pause.

Then:

"So you considered it."

Marian gasped.

Offended.

"How dare you."

Cassian laughed.

The sound sent a ridiculous amount of satisfaction through her chest.

A terrible development.

One of many.

At some point Marian became aware of people looking.

Not openly.

Not rudely.

Just enough.

A glance here.

A whisper there.

A moment of recognition.

She noticed.

Then dismissed it.

What exactly was left to hide?

The audience had already been requested.

Her father knew.

The Emperor knew.

Adrian knew.

Half the capital probably knew.

At this point, gossip felt almost irrelevant.

Cassian seemed to arrive at the same conclusion.

Because neither of them moved apart.

Neither lowered their voices.

Neither pretended this meeting was accidental.

And strangely enough—

that felt freeing.

Later they left the restaurant.

The afternoon sun warmed the streets.

The city moved around them.

Busy.

Alive.

Unconcerned.

They walked slowly.

Without urgency.

Simply because neither wished to end the afternoon yet.

The conversation drifted from one subject to another.

Some important.

Most not.

Marian complained about waiting.

Cassian claimed this was unsurprising.

Marian informed him he was rude.

Cassian informed her she was impatient.

Both statements were apparently accepted as fact.

Too soon, the carriage came into view.

Waiting at the curb.

Patient.

Unfortunate.

Marian regarded it with immediate suspicion.

The carriage remained unmoved.

Traitor.

Cassian’s mouth twitched.

"You appear offended."

"I am."

"By the carriage."

"Very much."

His laughter was immediate.

And Marian decided, once again, that she liked that sound entirely too much.

A footman stepped forward and opened the carriage door.

The moment had arrived.

An unfortunate development.

Neither moved immediately.

Which was probably a bad sign.

Then Cassian offered his hand.

Marian took it.

Naturally.

The problem was that neither seemed particularly eager to let go afterward.

A second passed.

Then another.

Cassian’s gaze dropped briefly to their joined hands.

Then returned to her face.

The air suddenly felt strange.

Marian became aware of her heartbeat.

An irritating development.

Cassian looked perfectly composed.

Which meant he was almost certainly not composed at all.

By now, Marian had learned that particular lesson.

"Marian."

Her name sounded different when he said it quietly.

Not softer.

Worse.

Better.

Both.

She really needed a more useful vocabulary.

"Yes?"

For a moment Cassian looked as though he intended to say something.

Then thought better of it.

Which immediately made Marian suspicious.

The silence stretched.

Then:

"Oh, for heaven’s sake."

Before courage could abandon her, Marian rose onto her toes.

And kissed his cheek.

Brief.

Warm.

Gone almost immediately.

The world stopped.

Cassian froze.

Completely.

Marian stared at him.

Cassian stared back.

For perhaps the first time in his adult life, he appeared entirely speechless.

The sight was deeply satisfying.

"Goodbye, Cassian."

She turned immediately.

Because remaining any longer seemed unwise.

And because her face was becoming alarmingly warm.

She had reached the carriage step when a hand gently caught her wrist.

Not restraining.

Questioning.

Marian turned.

Cassian’s expression had changed.

Not dramatically.

But enough.

Something warm lingered in his eyes.

Something that made her heartbeat considerably less cooperative.

Then, very carefully—

giving her every opportunity to pull away—

he bent and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

Soft.

Brief.

Reverent.

When he stepped back, neither spoke.

Because neither trusted themselves to.

Marian stared at him.

Cassian stared at her.

Then:

"Now," he said quietly, "goodbye."

And somehow that was worse.

Marian climbed into the carriage.

The door closed.

The horses started forward.

She looked back through the window.

Cassian was still standing there.

Watching.

The sight made her smile.

A ridiculous smile.

A happy one.

The sort she could never seem to suppress around him.

She had missed him.

And somehow, before the carriage had even turned the corner—

she already missed him again.