Analise's POV
The sweet smell of syrup and waffles along with pancakes and fresh fruits filled my nose as I stepped out of the walk-in closet. My mouth fell open slightly at the sight in front of me.
The small seating area had been converted in what could be paradise on earth for me. The coffee table had different plates of food- each looking more delicious that the previous one- placed on it. I could feel my mouth water at the food that was basically calling for me.
The table was covered with a white tablecloth and the table groaned under the weight of a full breakfast spread. There were waffles, syrups, toasts, jams, fresh fruits, bacon, scrambled eggs and different drinks in glass pitchers. In the middle of the table, there was a vase with blue and teal roses- my favourite colours. Pillows were arranged on the floor around the table to act as a seating area.
I was so engrossed in the whole arrangement that I did not realise there was someone else in the room until they spoke, slightly startling me, "Good morning."
"Alexander?" I said, half surprised and half confused. "What are you doing in my room?" He was leaning against the doorframe of the little balcony area, looking like the handsome devil he was in his black suit and messy hair.
"Breakfast." He said as he stood properly and motioned to the table.
"How? How did you do all of this without me hearing anything." I was in my closet for the past thirty minutes getting ready and I had not heard a single footstep in my room.
He shrugged but I saw his lips quirk into a small smirk as he walked towards me. "Let's eat." He simply said as he placed his hands on my shoulders before turning me around and guiding me towards the seating area.
I took a seat on the pillows, pulling one onto my lap as he sat on my opposite side. I took in all the plates displayed on the table again. "When did you get time to do all of this?"
"It's nothing." He said casually
"It's a lot actually." My eyes roamed around the table before finally they landed on the plate in front of me. Unlike the others, this one was covered with a lid. "What is this?"
Again, he shrugged before motioning for me to lift the lid. My brows furrowed in confusion as I cautiously lifted the led, half expecting something to jump out from underneath it. I took in a sharp intake of breath as its content got revealed.
I am sorry
There was stack of pancakes on the plate with I am sorry written with chocolate sauce and a small smiley face underneath the words. Blueberries sat around the bottom along with some blackberries. I looked back at him to find his eyes fixed on mine. Yesterday's dark blue eyes were gone, replaced by his sharp blue icicles.
"I am sorry." He said out loud, his eyes softening a little. "For everything." I found myself smiling slightly at his initiative.
"Alexander." I did not know how to respond to that. I already forgave him yesterday and all of this was overwhelming. It was probably the first time someone did something like this for me and I would be lying if I said I didn't love every part of it- from the food to the flowers. "Thank you." I finally said.
"It's nothing." As soon as he said it, my stomach grumbled and I felt a slight blush creep up my cheeks. I coughed awkwardly as a light chuckle escaped him. "Eat Analise."
Not wanting to my stomach suffer a second longer, I took a bite from the stack delicious pancake. I let out a pleased moan as my eyes widened slightly at how good it tastes. I was so close to doing a happy dance. The pancake was perfect on its own but combined with the chocolate syrup and the fresh blueberries, it was simply heavenly. "This is so good." I said, my mouth stuffed with pancake.
A small smile played on his lips as he watched me eat. Mouth still filled with pancakes, I looked at his as he removed his blazer before setting it on the side and rolling up his sleeves up, revealing his inked arms. He raised an eyebrow at me when he realised I was looking at him but I just shrugged and went back to eating as he started eating.
Unlike the usual breakfast we ate every day, this one was way more delicious. Everything was perfect and it felt like the person who cooked it actually wanted to cook and not because it was their job to do so.
I have been at the palace and eaten its food for long enough to know that this was not prepared by the workers here. Either we got new workers or he ordered it from a breakfast place in town. But then, the town was pretty far from here and by the time the food got here, it would have been cold and soggy. Also, I doubted that any restaurant would write I am sorry on their pancakes on a request. And as far as I know, there have been no changes in staff.
His hobby
I froze as I was about to take the next bite. Realisation dawned upon me as my eyes darted from the food to Alexander who was eating. No wonder he was not giving me any details about where and how he did all of this. Just like in the car last time, he felt slightly shy and embarrassed that his hobby was in cooking.
"You made all of this." I stated and he lifted his gaze from his plate, meeting mine and I saw the slight blush making its appearance once again. "This is so good Alexander."
"Glad you like it." He cleared his throat.
"Like it? I love it." I smiled at him. "Thank you so much. This is probably the best breakfast I have had in years." I took another bite of the pancake before placing a waffle on my plate and poured some of the syrup on it. "Where did you learn to cook?"
"My mother." He answered, a faraway look on his face but a tiny smile played on his lips. "Whenever my father would not be around and I was free from training, she would get me to help her cook. I picked up a few things from her."
"A few?" I rolled my eyes. "I cannot even cook to save my life."
"You never cooked?" Amusement lingered in his eyes as he took another bite of his food.
"No." I said as a matter of fact. "When I lived with my nanny, she would take care of the food. Once I entered school, food was provided to us by school. All I had to do was go to the dining halls, take a plate and fill it up with the food. So, I never tried cooking." As soon as I completed my sentence, I remembered an incident. "The one time I did try was when I had missed dinner and I got hungry. We had access to the kitchen in case we got hungry. I tried cooking something but I nearly burnt down the entire school and after that incident I never missed any meal and I was no longer allowed to enter the kitchen." That earned me a small chuckle from him.
"Remind me to never be in a kitchen with you." He joked.
"Don't worry that won't happen because kitchens are a no entry place for me." I reassured him. "Anyway, how did you manage to prepare all of this?"
"I had my guards restrict the access to the kitchen in the morning while I did my thing." He said nonchalantly.
"You did all of this on your own?" I kept getting surprised.
"It's not a big deal."
"How come none of the workers went to the kitchen even if you restricted the access? They should have been there to prepare breakfast for the rest."
"It was early."
"They start cooking at 6 in the morning and judging by all this food I would say it took you a good thirty minutes for the preparation, another hour to cook and 30 minutes at least for the plating." I said out loud as I motioned to the different plates. "When did you start cooking?" I asked curiously.
"You don't need to worry about that. I told you I will make it up to you and that is what I am doing." He dismissed the subject and I shook my head and continued eating, each bite tasting like heaven in my mouth.
"I am afraid I underestimated you." I said lightly. "You seem to know about this pretty well."
"I just know you pretty well." He said, shooting a small smile. "Thanks to your endless talking during our little trip." I felt a little flutter in my stomach at the fact that he still remembered what we talked about during that time.
"Maybe you should ask for more chances to prove yourself. This way, I would get this delicious breakfast every day." I said as I finished my waffle before reaching for some fruits.
Soon we finished breakfast with a few mundane talks here and there. The few times we were quiet, it was not awkward. It was peaceful and just perfect. This was probably one of the best ways I could start my day with.
"I need to leave. I have to take care of something." He said as he got up. "I will have someone come clean this up." He wore his blazer.
"Don't worry about that." I got up, adjusting my clothes. I clicked my fingers and everything disappeared in the blink of an eyes. He shook his head as he started walking towards the door and followed him.
A few feet away from the door, I stopped him. "Thank you so much for all of this. It was perfect." I gave him a smile as I took a few steps closer to him. I did not know what I was going to do but I wanted to do something.
My hands felt clammy and slightly shaky I placed them on his shoulders. His eyes remain fixed on mine, slightly dark as I raised to the tip of my toes. Before I had any change of mind, I pressed a small kiss close to the corner of his lips but making sure our lips did not touch. I was not ready to just kiss him right now.
Not waiting to see his reaction, I all but pushed him out of my room, slamming the door shut when he stepped out as I felt my whole body heat up, especially my cheeks.
"Oh god." I groaned to myself.
***
"What!" Evelyne half exclaimed and shouted while I buried my face in the pillow, letting out a groan.
"I told you to keep it down." I told her.
"Quiet? You want to stay quiet Analise?" She said and I knew she was pissed given that she used my name.
"Evie-"
"I am not done talking Analise." She glared at me and I stayed quiet, letting her remove all her frustration. "First you meet your mate but you did not tell me. Then it turns out he is an asshole and still you don't tell me. Now you guys are together. I told you about my mate as soon as I could but you did not. You had all these times where you could have told me but you did not. Do you really take me for your bestfriend Analise?"
I was taken aback by the last part and I felt really guilty. After all these days, I finally told her everything about Alexander. I have tried to tell her previously but then at times I was confused myself. "Evie you know I love you." She scoffed but I could see the tears in her eyes. "Trust me I was about to tell you the day you told me about Rayna and Axel but then my mother interrupted us. Later, things got messy between Alexander and me. I did not even know where we stood at that time. You are my best friend and will always be Evie. I am really sorry. I know you are angry right now but please try to understand me."
"If you leave me right now, I will lose another person I love, just like I did when I was 5 and I can't take it Evie. Please." By the end, tears were falling from her face.
She pulled me in a bone crushing hug. "I won't leave you Ana. It's just that, you could have told me earlier but I understand. I just regret not being by your side when all of that happened. I love you too."
"I am sorry. How can I make it up to you?"
She pulled away, the teary Evelyne gone, leaving behind an Evelyne with mischief glowing in her eyes and a grin on his face. "I want a girl's day and night. During the day we go shopping, eat, get out hair and nails done with no interference from anybody. Not even our mates. Then at night, we go out clubbing before coming back here and binge-watching movies till the morning. And, you pay for all of them."
"Done." I said. "And one more thing, Alexander and I are not together."
"You just said you cleared things out and had breakfast."
"Well, I told him I could not forget what he did and he asked for a chance to prove himself." I shrugged.
"You better make him work for it." She glared at me playfully.
"One more thing Evie, no one can know about this okay. Not about me and Alexander. Not about my powers."
"Got it and I need you to promise me you will no longer keep anything from me."
"Promise." We sealed the promise with our littlefriendship hand trick.