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There was one thing he and my husband did have in common, though.
“So,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I see that you and Silar both subscribe to the Doctrine of Eternal Shirtlessness.”
Fallon’s smile vanished, a fiercely thoughtful look coming over his features. His pale blond brows furrowed over his eyes.
“The Doctrine of Eternal… That last part did not translate. I do not think I read about this in the book.” He leaned forward in earnest. “Please tell me if this is a belief system my future wife adheres to. I would like to honour it.”
“Oh. No, I…”
God. It was like kicking a puppy. Not that I’d ever had a puppy on Terratribe I. But I’d seen pictures. And I had to imagine that kicking one would feel the exact same as telling Fallon I was kind of fucking with him.
“You know what?” I said as gently as I could. “You’re already honouring it just fine. Since you’re all bare-chested and whatnot. Shirtlessness just means being without a shirt.”
He gave a relieved sigh. “Good.” He paused, then gave me an astounded look. “Does this mean my wife also will not wear a shirt?”
Good job Cherry.
“She will definitely wear a shirt. The no shirt thing only applies to, erm, males. Like that whole tail around the neck greeting you were so kind to explain to me before.”
He looked bashfully down at the table, like he was guilty for the lie.
Seriously. Puppy. Foot. Face.
To break the awkward silence that had descended, I cleared my throat and asked, “So! Fallon. Who is your wife? What’s her name?” I remembered Magnolia and Darcy receiving their husband name cards when I did, but I couldn’t remember who got whom.
Fallon’s smile instantly returned.
“Her name is Dar-chee.”
“You mean Darcy?”
“Ah! Is that how you say it? Yes. Darcy.” He rolled the sounds around his mouth experimentally, then grinned. “I love the sound of it.”
“Yes. Sounds a little less…Um… Starchy.”
“Tell me,” Fallon said, his eyes suddenly blazing white. “Have you met her? What is she like?”
“She’s…”
Darcy wasn’t actually who I would have pictured for him, to be honest. With her gentle nature and sweet optimism, I actually thought Magnolia might make a better match for a friendly guy like Fallon.
“She’s… a bit quiet,” I improvised, remembering Darcy’s downright frosty demeanour. “Reserved.”
“She sounds very elegant,” Fallon said dreamily, and I let out a sigh that he seemed happy with my description of her.
“She’s taller for a human woman. With pink hair, green eyes, and freckles. She’s absolutely gorgeous,” I added, remembering Fallon’s earlier comment about her being half as beautiful as me. I gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Definitely prettier than me.”
Fallon looked like I’d just about blown his Zabrian mind. It was kind of fun seeing how absolutely banana-pants excited he was getting. So fun I almost missed Silar’s quiet, incredulous growl of, “Unlikely.”
A hot thrill caught low in my belly.
Silar thought it was unlikely that someone could be prettier than me? Seriously? I mean, I was alright. Could definitely qualify as a very solid “cute” when I made some effort. But he honestly thought, on a balance of probabilities, that I was prettier than… Everyone? Ever?
I mean the man hadn’t seen another female in the lord knew how long and there was certainly no accounting for taste, but…
I kind of fucking loved it.
“I think it is time you be leaving,” Silar said flatly to Fallon, his patience with this chat apparently running out. “Go check on your herd after everything that’s happened.”
