Lily angled her head this way and that, trying to understand what type of food she might be about to eat. A solid layer of pale blue…something rose halfway up the bowl, and a variety of fruits and nuts topped it.
Noticing her reticence, Verakko sat across from her and scooped a bit of the concoction onto his flat spoon. To Lily’s surprise, the solid blue layer cracked. “Mishun bowl. It’s a common first meal for Mithrandirians. The cool temperature of the mishun is supposed to help wake you up.” He ate the blue food and held it in his mouth for a moment before swallowing. “The nuts the mishun is made from also help boost energy.”
Lily took a small bite and grinned. “It’s like ice cream, only…harder, maybe?” She scooped out a larger spoonful and savored the burst of flavor and texture created by the mix of sweet and salty toppings accompanying the minty mishun.
“Do you like it?”
“What’s not to like? You guys eat ice cream for breakfast.” Lily eyed him as he watched her eat. “You weren’t lying about being a good cook, then.”
His mouth twitched downward briefly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The glass orbs hovering near the ceiling flickered just before a small chime sounded.
Lily glanced at Verakko questioningly, her mouth too full of the delicious breakfast to use words.
“Your escort for the day,” he explained, rising.
Lily realized he was heading toward the door, and she hastily tugged her shirt farther down over her thighs. Choking on her mouthful, she wheezed, “Hold on!”
Verakko paused, turning to her with raised brows.
“Who is it? I thought no one was supposed to know about me. Shouldn’t I change first or something?”
“She brought something for you to wear, seeing as I broke part of your outfit yesterday.”
Lily flushed, thinking about his strong hands undressing her. Then with a start, his words registered. “She?”
Verakko was already opening the door by the time she stood. “Thank you for coming, Ziri,” he said, blocking Lily’s view of the woman.
Ziri? Lily searched her mind. She knew she’d heard the name before. The cold mishun curdled in her stomach, and her whole body crackled with electricity.
Lily shot mental daggers toward the back of Verakko’s head. How could he do this without warning her? Shame and guilt tore at her. She was the homewrecker, and now she’d have to come face to face with the woman whose life she’d screwed with.
In a fleeting moment of cowardice, Lily bolted toward the stairs. When her foot was on the top step, she halted. You need to face her. You slept with her fiancé. She deserves a little more respect than this.
“Lily?” she heard Verakko call from the doorway.
She kept her eyes trained on the ground and took a deep breath. In. Out. In— Dammit! She realized she was still wearing nothing but underwear and Verakko’s shirt.
She smoothed her wrinkled top and forced herself to look toward the person Verakko would marry if she didn’t accept him.
Her heart stuttered. The woman before her was stunning. Half of her mass of tight, icy-silver curls was pulled back, while the rest fell down her back and over her shoulder. Her light-blue skin and gauzy white dress made her look like a goddess who might spend her time sculpting the clouds.
Ziritha regarded her with sparkling blue eyes, and Lily felt like crawling into a hole and dying. She glanced between the two of them, their eyes watching her warily. How could Verakko really want her instead of the creature standing next to him? They looked so perfect together.
“Hello.” Ziri held out a white dress identical to her own and smiled gently. “I brought you a change of clothes. It’s a spa gown and mokti.”
Lily’s body thrummed with apprehension as well as annoyance directed toward Verakko. Although the word spa registered in her consciousness, she was still too taken aback to comment on it. She crossed to them both and took the dress and small bag Ziri held out for her, while berating Verakko with her lack of eye contact. “Thank you. You shouldn’t have… I mean, I should’ve…”
“Yes, I know it’s quite odd.” Ziri eyed Verakko disapprovingly. “He really should’ve fetched these things for you himself, but seeing as these circumstances are quite unusual, I offered to do it so he could be here when you awoke.”
She needed to get away to mentally prepare for what would be an unquestionably awkward day. Wiggling the dress in front of her, she sputtered, “I’m gonna go put this on. Be back in two shakes.” Only just preventing her eyes from rolling, she wanted to shrivel in mortification. Two shakes? She’d never used that phrase once in her life.
Both aliens peered at her with a look of concern. Lily spun and fled up the stairs, desperate to be out of sight before they saw her cheeks turn bright red.
***
Verakko watched as Lily practically cleared the steps in her attempt to get away. Maybe he’d made a mistake asking Ziritha to come.
“She’s a little skittish, isn’t she?” Ziri said from next to him.
“Not for many things, but when it comes to me, I suppose so.” He frowned at her. “You’re too early. I didn’t have the chance to tell her you were coming.”
Ziri tsked. “It’s a wonder your mother was able to negotiate a contract with any female if this is how you speak to them.”
Verakko bit his tongue. He’d forgotten how proper he was expected to be when it came to Clecanian females. He’d relaxed with Lily. Spoken to her honestly and without the restrained politeness he’d learned in
