The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 255: Winter party (4)

Hazel parted ways with Alessandra after the Collins couple was finished with an unpleasant conversation with Grant. Hazel couldn’t believe she was so eager to get out of Grant’s party. Times were truly different as things that once excited her no longer did so.

"Is there trouble with Grant?" Hazel inquired.

Hazel could see Grant as the reason why Kenneth and his family were not at the party. It wasn’t like them to have a trip at the same time as this party. Grant had always been a little too much to handle though she loved him. She had always noticed some tension between him and Tessa, but it wasn’t her family so she couldn’t say anything.

There were already so many rules to follow and Grant added more from what was around in his younger days.

"I said that we shouldn’t get involved in their family troubles," Tobias answered. He knew that Hazel was going to notice something eventually as she was smart, but he couldn’t give her an answer yet.

"You are hiding something from me. I thought we should not have secrets?" Hazel asked, trying to use his words against him.

"You have plenty of secrets from me. Like the guard, you and Linda think you remind you of a character in your book. Who is this character you speak of and do I need to send this guard from the palace?" Tobias asked. He couldn’t have any men getting her attention.

Hazel smiled. "Perhaps it is best that we have our little secrets. You are the only man I am smitten by. Why don’t you sit beside me?"

Hazel was against it at first because Tobias mentioned fooling around in the carriage. It sounded like the perfect way for her back to ache tomorrow and be sitting in an awkward position before her guests.

Tobias stood up to go to the other side of the carriage before Hazel could change her mind. He took this as an opening to hold her hand. "You can lay your head on my lap if you are tired. You’ve spent all day putting together the party tomorrow and then getting ready to come here."

"I need it to go well. It’s the duchess’s first time sitting with her peers and I want to try making more friends. Again, I have invited women of different statuses to join me tomorrow. I still think you should call upon more of your friends to sit with you," said Hazel.

While Hazel would be busy being host to a party, Tobias would have three of his friends visiting.

"You should invite the Viscount Kingsley or the marquess. I hear he is looking to get married and needs some advice. Do you remember the year of our selection?" Hazel asked, thinking back to it now as another season was well on its way.

Many were getting engaged so it was a time for planning many weddings. Soon there would be more women for Hazel to invite to the palace. Some with noble titles.

"How can I forget it? It was the time that I was dragged back here, but also found the woman I love," Tobias said, raising Hazel’s hand to kiss it. "I remember it most as the time I got what I truly desired. I have thought about what a big mistake it would have been had I run away."

"That is good to know. I think back to the time I slowly fell in love with you. Still, I look forward to the day the selection is no more. I must take up your offer," Hazel said, leaning to the left until she was lying on his lap. "I am a little tired."

"Sitting before the fireplace with a good book and something warm is just what you need," Tobias said, already putting together how they would end the night.

This was far better than being at a party with Grant and the others they left behind.

"You know me so well. Your birthday is coming up. What do you want for it? Besides what you always speak of," Hazel quickly added as she wasn’t too fond of being intimate whilst surrounded by mirrors.

Tobias seemed more of the one in their relationship who read dirty books. Where else could he have gotten such an idea?

"One day I will get you to agree to it. For my birthday, I would like it to be just the two of us somewhere outside the palace. We can meet with our families another day. I know that you would have liked to take a trip like the duchess did. We can go wherever you like," Tobias proposed.

"It is your birthday. It is for you to decide," Hazel replied.

Hazel would love nothing more than to visit another town. To walk around like a normal couple and not have to hear about the palace. Many wouldn’t believe the king and queen were casually taking a stroll in town so they could have peace for a moment.

Being away from the palace, they might have the time alone they needed to try for a child once more. Hazel had something she wished to say to Tobias which would upset so she was keeping it for another day.

Hazel couldn’t tell him now when he was excited to see a friend coming from another town.

"Then I will do all the planning and you just need to be present when it comes time to leave. One of Edgar’s homes would be nice for us to use. No one would be able to reach us so easily there. You can’t go back on your word now. Make a promise with me," Tobias said, showing his pinky finger.

Hazel joined in making a deal. She always wanted Tobias to enjoy his birthday so she would gladly take the trip with him.

Hazel yawned, now more sleepy than she was before. It could be from Tobias’s lap being the perfect place for her to nap or the sounds creeping into the carriage sounding like a lullaby. She closed her eyes, feeling perfectly safe as she knew Tobias would protect her should there be any kind of trouble on their way back.

Hazel reached for his hand to hold once more as laying on his lap just wasn’t enough. "Wake me this time instead of trying to be secretive with carrying me out. I am heavy."

"Nonsense. You are as light as a feather. If I cannot lift you then it is time that I go back to training. Sleep well," Tobias said, raking his fingers through her hair to push her hair behind her ear.

She was more relaxed than she had been for the last few months and seeing this, Tobias could relax a little though he was quite close to going to war to keep her as the only woman by his side.