15
" love not mattering to you?” “I want to marry you.” “What?” “If you’ll have me. I’m aware I will need to grovel for a few months to make up for it.” “Yes,” Gabrielle agreed. Puss increased his pace a bit, but still affected an air of disinterest. “But,” Steffen sidled up to her. This time Gabrielle didn’t pull back when he caressed her cheek. “I can promise to be devoted to you, to love you not because of your appearance—even though you are the most beautiful woman I have set eyes upon—but because you’re you. I promise to adore you, and treasure you, to buy you new swords and plum rolls until you are sick of them, and to get along with that cat of yours. I’m not the hero you are, but I’ll do everything in my power to support you. And if I’m left behind, I will be every bit as heartbroken as my father, but I will still be grateful that I had you for a time. "
― K.M. Shea , Puss in Boots (Timeless Fairy Tales, #6)
16
" I missed you so much it hurt.” “Did it make you regret loving me?” Gabrielle asked, her voice small. This was, after all, what Steffen had feared when she first met him. Steffen laughed before choking off the sound. “Never,” he said. “It made me realize how much I need you. You are my sense of adventure, my gentleness, and my haven. Without you…I-I can’t put the country before you.” “You can, and we will. Being the king and queen is a calling we must fulfill. It isn’t fair to the people if we make all our decisions based on our personal whims,” Gabrielle said. “I’m starting to think you’re my intelligence, too,” Steffen muttered. Gabrielle laughed. “Well, we knew that already. "
― K.M. Shea , Puss in Boots (Timeless Fairy Tales, #6)
