Dumped Omega? Now Their Alpha King Begs at My Feet novel Chapter 58

Kai's POV

She watched me from across the table. Her gray eyes were sharp, trying to figure me out. She was waiting for the politics to start.

"It worked," she finally said, her voice low. "The magic is coming back. Slowly."

"Good," I said.

Two servers appeared, put plates in front of us, and then disappeared. The plates held seared scallops on a bed of rice.

Valerie looked from her plate to me. "I'm guessing you have a chef hiding somewhere on this mountain."

"I do," I admitted. "I told him to take the night off."

Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. She looked down at the scallop, then back up at me. "So you cooked this?"

"I did," I confirmed, taking a bite of my own. "Cooking relaxes me. It's a process I can control."

I saw a flicker of real surprise on her face. The tense line of her shoulders softened just a little.

I decided to keep going. I put my fork down.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk about," I said, keeping my voice casual. "I had my people look into Echo of the Moon."

She went completely still. Her hand holding the fork froze over her plate. Her eyes got guarded again.

"I saw the file on your work," I continued, pretending not to notice her tension. "There's a combat jacket, the Shadowalker model. The silver stitching on the shoulders is a really smart design. It's tough, but it looks good."

I leaned forward. "How do you get that much detail into the stitching without wrecking the leather?"

"And it's why I can't stand the council," I added, letting some real frustration into my voice. "They're all so busy talking, they never see what's really happening."

She was quiet for a second, just looking at me. Then, a small, real smile touched her lips. It wasn't for show.

It completely changed her face.

"What?" she asked, seeing me staring.

"That smile," I said, my voice a low rumble. "That was harder to get than the Moonpetal."

A faint blush crept up her neck. She immediately looked down at her plate.

I pushed my chair back and stood up.