“Oh Claudia, honey,” I muttered back then I burst out crying.
After we did this awhile, I pulled back, framed her face with my hands, grinned into her wet, twinkling eyes then I let her go and threw myself at Valentine.
“Valentine,” I whispered, holding on tight.
“My goddess of love,” she whispered back, giving me a squeeze.
We said no more, just held on. I hadn’t seen her in ages, she left shortly after Frey and his dragons routed the enemy and I hadn’t heard from her since.
Finally, I pulled away, smiled at her and held her upper arms then my eyes caught on a flash at her throat, they dropped there and I saw a very, very large Sjofn ice diamond, what I had mistaken as aquamarines in my crown and the jewels I wore on my wedding night but what were actually very sought after, very expensive diamonds found only in the depths of Lunwyn. Diamonds that legend held were touched blue by the elves.
I looked at the diamond then at her.
Then she whispered, “I told you, love is everything and your husband knows this.”
I blinked.
Frey had given her that diamond. Somewhere along the line, Frey had given her an expensive diamond from another world in payment for her bringing Claudia to me.
In payment for her bringing things I loved from my old world to my new one.
I released her and slowly turned to Frey who was watching me.
“You did this,” I whispered.
“Indeed,” he replied.
I stared into his green-brown eyes.
Then I burst into tears.
About half a second later, I was in my husband’s arms, my face shoved in his neck.
“Is that her husband?” through my tears I heard Claudia stage-whisper to Valentine.
“Yes, dear Claudia,” Valentine answered on a beleaguered sigh. “How, in your infinite insightfulness, did you fathom that?”
“Well, he’s hot,” Claudia shot back. “I mean, like, hot hot. Like otherworldly hot. Not that Finnie couldn’t get hot but… I’ve never seen that level of hot.”
“Otherworldly hot,” Valentine murmured, her two words sounding vaguely annoyed in a way that stated Valentine actually found them quite annoying but she wasn’t about to expend the effort to be too annoyed by the likes of Claudia.
Hmm. Seemed things hadn’t changed between Valentine and Claudia.
I pulled slightly away from Frey, wiped my face and smiled like a lunatic at my friends. “Find chairs, sit down, we’re playing cards. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Claudia grinned at me; Valentine looked aghast at the table like sitting in a pub, playing cards was akin to spending the night in a hotel that was any less than five stars, I totally ignored this and shouted, “Lindy! We need horns!”
“Got it, Princess Finnie,” Lindy called back.
“Awesome. Princess Finnie,” Claudia whispered and smiled at me.
I smiled back.
Then my friend from my old world sat down with my friends from my new world, I introduced everyone, we played cards and drank ale.
Well, except me, I played cards but Lindy brought me apple juice in my horn.
* * * * *
Later that night…
“What is this?” Frey asked as we sat on the mattress in the firelight and candlelight in the loft of his cabin, Penelope curled in a ball asleep at the end of the bed, all our friends gone home to soft beds and warm bodies with Claudia and Valentine staying at an inn in town.
I scooped out some peanut butter then set the jar aside and dipped it into the marshmallow fluff.
Claudia had talked Valentine into bringing gifts.
And she picked good ones.
I looked to my husband who was warily inspecting my movements.
“Heaven on a spoon,” I told him and turned the loaded spoon his way. “Try it,” I encouraged and his eyes came to me.
Then his mouth opened and I fed him heaven on a spoon.
When he was working the delicious goo down his throat and I had started to dip the spoon back in the jars, I asked, “Do you like it?”
“Its… interesting,” he replied, I looked to him, grinned big then shoved a giganto spoonful of peanut butter and fluff into my mouth.
My eyes closed slowly in abandoned rapture as I sucked the spoon clean.
“Gods,” Frey muttered and I suddenly found myself without spoon or jar and on my back in our bed with my husband on me.
“Frey, I wasn’t done,” I told him as his fingers pulled my nightgown up.
“You’re done,” he told me as my hands slid around his back.
“No, seriously, I wasn’t –”
His lips came to mine, his hard hips pressed into my soft ones and he growled, “You can have more later.”
“Okay,” I breathed against his mouth, I felt his lips smile then he slanted his head and he kissed me.