"I should have come to see you when you were out, Clement. I'm sorry."
No chance for any awkwardness to brew. Right to the point.
"I don't expect you to play nursemaid, Princess Claudette."
Clement could not see her smirk - and Claudette knew him well enough at this point not to rankle at his coarse tongue.
Yet, she could tell by his subsequent sigh that he regretted his choice of words. She'd let him have that. He then spoke again, voice deliberate, softer, "I know you've been busy. I have, too. I think it would've been difficult to meet even with a concerted effort."
He shifted, moving closer to her. Tingles and shivers spread along her arm as he came to stand cater-corner to her elbow, leaving only a few inches between them.
"I spoke to Princess Pacifica."
"Yeah. I heard from Prince Eric. How did that go?"
The unspoken 'why' clung to his words.
