Chapter 370

• Cassia looked around the restaurant again. Holding her back so straight and being on her guard was exhausting. like her see-sawing emotions. One minute she’d feel herself start to open, like a flower turning towards the sun, and the next she’d remember and close up. Calix was so much harder to handle when he was Cassia had been about to say nice things to herself, but he wasn’t even being particularly nice; he was being polite and civil, and she was like a pathetic mouse, picking up crumbs.
• The dinner had been exquisite, and the surroundings were beautiful. They’d been treated like royalty since they’d arrived. But this seesawing wouldn’t stop. As if a force bigger than her was playing with her like a puppet on a string. What made it even harder was that their conversation hadn’t strayed into any dangerous areas, and she’d found herself genuinely enjoying talking to him. She felt herself relaxing, ever so slightly. I was even laughing briefly at one point, which felt great after weeks of tension and pressure.
• Dessert had just been delivered. Cassia took a spoonful of ice cream and savoured the way it slipped down her throat. For some reason she’d never felt the experience of eating ice cream before as sensual but, sitting opposite Calix, she had to concede that she’d never ever been so aware of everything.