Free To Love a King (Court of Annwyn) by Shona Husk Page A

games was over. He needed to go back to Jacqui and ask outright if she would be his Queen.

Chapter 6
    A fairy wren fluttered onto the footpath in front of him and hopped around as if looking for crumbs. As Felan walked into the coffee shop, it followed, landing on the windowsill and watching. As before, Jacqui and the other girl were behind the counter taking orders, making coffee and serving cake, and then carrying the offerings to their respective tables.
    It took a moment for Jacqui to notice him. When she did, her body stiffened and she glanced at the blond girl. Was she worried he would look at her coworker the way he had once looked at Jacqui? Or had they been discussing him?
    He walked over and placed his order. The girl handed him a table number, her fingers deliberately contacting his, her smile a little too wide. The whole time Jacqui watched, and he had the distinct impression he was being set up. At Court, he might’ve had some fun and returned the blond’s smile, maybe even flirted a little to see where the game was leading and if he could turn it to his advantage. But not here and not in front of Jacqui. He didn’t want her viewing him with suspicion. In truth, he didn’t feel like flirting or laughing. He had nothing to laugh about.
    The table he’d used last time was empty, so he sat there and watched the waves. So far it was only the rivers affected by the tearing veil. He was sure the oceans hadn’t been affected when his father had taken over. His stomach rolled like the waves on the shore, and he looked away. Even looking at that much water was uncomfortable.
    “Latte?” The blond tilted her head and smiled. He was sure it would have worked on a human male, but he’d seen it all before and on a hundred different faces.
    “Thank you.” He purposefully added sugar to his drink and stirred, aware she was still standing there. Waiting for him to acknowledge her. “Can I help you?”
    “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay?”
    “It is.” He held her gaze until she looked away. “Maybe you could get Jacqui to send over a piece of cake. Her pick.”
    That wiped the smile of the blond’s face. “You know she’s not interested.”
    “I never said I was. We have a past. I still consider her a friend. And friends don’t date another friend’s ex. It gets messy. I don’t like messy.” He had enough of that at Court. Here was supposed to be simple. It had always been simple with Jacqui. He wished he could take the watch off and start rewinding time. He’d do things so differently. “Actually, tell her to wait five minutes until she finishes, then she can join me. My treat.”
    She took a moment to process what he’d said, and when she’d worked it out, all sweetness left her face. “Fine.”
    He looked at Jacqui as the blond relayed the message. It was clear the blond was unimpressed—she hadn’t expected to be brushed aside so quickly. When Jacqui lifted her gaze and looked at him, it was as though she was steeling herself for battle; that was much better than running.
    Five minutes later, Jacqui came over with one piece of cake. “Carrot cake okay?”
    “Perfect. Thank you.” He smiled.
    She didn’t return his smile, but she sat opposite him. “Why are you doing this?”
    “Having cake?”
    “Don’t be like that. Why are you here?” Her fingers flexed against the table but that was the only sign she was nervous. She didn’t trust him.
    That was nothing new. Even his son hadn’t trusted him completely because he was fairy. But Jacqui knew him better than that. She knew who he was. Maybe the easiness they’d once shared was gone, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t build something new. The old attraction was there; it was just buried under layers of old hurt. He had to start peeling back the bad stuff. And that started with admitting he’d screwed up and apologizing properly.
    He would never admit anything close to that at Court, even if he was at fault. He took