Luke tilted his head slightly, his lips curving into a smile filled with smugness. “What am I if not full of surprises.” Being full of surprises wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he thought. The fact that she had not yet asked every person in the establishment to please give them some privacy was telling something. Maybe he’d done good in her eyes by indulging her very unhealthy craving, though it was no surprise that he’d yet to deny her tastebuds’ desires. Honestly, what made her happy made his life a little less tedious.

Then she held up a bar of torrone asking if he’d like to try. Being one who did not really enjoy too much sweets, he was inclined to say no. However, there were eyes everywhere, watching them. Her warning that it would be more difficult to convince these people that their charade had even a morsel of truth in it came to mind. What would they think if he declined the sweet little gesture of their princess? Perhaps that the crown prince thought himself too good for the local bakery’s products, or that the crown prince rejected the princess elect’s tastes. On the other hand, if he did take a bite and pretended that he liked it, it was the noble lords’ wives who would be whispering to each other how their future king had lost his expensive taste. 

For the first time since they entered the bakery, he regretted being swayed by the feeling that he needed to appease Rhiane Black because of what her brother-in-law said about the sacrifices she was willing to make for Luke’s sake. Because there was no correct way out of the situation she put him into. If he rejected her offer, the peasants might think it was an act belittling the little town’s produces. Then again, if he accepted, the nobility would talk about how the heir to the most powerful nation in Europe had succumbed to the will of his commoner soon-to-be bride that he took off his elitist robes in exchange for commoner clothes. 

A moment’s hesitation, then he leaned towards the sweet delicacy and took a bite. To more accurately place it, he chomped on the nougat, breaking away more than half of the bar. Then, he grinned at his fiancee like a schoolboy who succeeded in teasing his crush. “Not bad,” he admitted.

With a hand at the small of her back, the prince guided Rhiane towards the exit. “Not bad at all.” The words were muffled as the words came out in between chewing the treat and grinning. His eyes slid back to the remaining torrone with a purely mischievous intent. They could buy more, but where was the fun in that?  

Nolan gave instructions to his team as the couple moved towards the exit. A couple of the royal guards exited the establishment before Luke and Rhiane, signaling the others about the development. The door was opened for the couple. Luke stepped out after his fiancee. “It is improper to eat while walking,” he leaned against her ear to whisper. “I will not let you be criticized by yourself, so you have to give me some more of those.” It was not entirely a ploy to get a reaction from her. In fact, it was true. It may be his idea to grab something to eat before they officially begin because she was upset, but his people would not understand. They would not even try. All the good that the princess elect’s presence brought to the ruling house was not important to the upper class, what they saw more clearly – what they looked out for – was her missteps. Any flaw, any possible criticism. Luke’s intent was to shield her from their words by being the first offender of the protocol. Because by doing so, they couldn’t really say that she was being inappropriate without saying that their prince was inappropriate. 

Though, his critics would probably enjoy that. Just like they would enjoy talking about how the commoner princess had changed their future king.