What why not what if he WANTED her to shut UP and stop THINKING about this. "I am not, exactly, worried about anything." Gods below how does he even explain this.

"..... All right? Good??"

Look at her, so confused and innocent, and completely uncomprehending of some of the potential ways lovers can share.

"No, I, I cannot, you will have to ask Zakary. Without me around. Later." He is now completely red, his skin might be actively boiling from the temperature of his blush.

"... I, very well, darling? But... I respect and cherish you and doubt I could have picked a better husband out for myself if I somehow had every potential suitor in the world show up and ask for my hand, if for some reason I were entirely free from practical and tactical constraints."

He laughs a little bit, into his hands. "'Tis nothing you should worry about. I am just—it is—" Argh even saying this is awful. "Embarrassing," he manages to spit out before his courage leaves him.

"Oh, you can ask my uncle or Lysa for horribly embarrassing stories about me if you're worried he'll be gleeful about telling all of your worst moments from your childhood? Then we could tidily threaten each other into silence."

"That is not it and I think you are unlikely to guess what it is and should suspend any such attempts until you can ask Zak," he says, tightly.

"Then... I will endeavor to stop thinking about it?? Do you want breakfast, dear, I asked for things that'd keep a while."

"Yes, please," and he also wants half a minute to unred.

Breakfast! It's delicious and, as promised, has kept pretty well for having waited for his awakening. And had several portions absently nibbled on by his wife, who absolutely has been only partially paying attention to breakfast's existence while she's been busy embroidering and thinking about schemes.

And Alis can in fact recover from being tomato soon enough, so long as he studiously does not think about Anavett and Zakary existing in the same room as him at the same time.

Possibly unfortunately, his wife will eventually ask questions related to such things as when she and Zakary will exist in the same room as him at the same time.

"Is sometime today for tea a bit too impromptu? I'd usually give more notice, and care towards scheduling, but ah, things are rushed right now."

"Our next proper meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, when we will reconvene with the other lords to take stock of all that we've been able to acquisition and then plan our next steps, so today is probably perfect actually." He is blushing again but only a little bit.

"Oh, excellent, then with your permission I'll go have a note sent requesting tea with him sooner rather than later."

"You have it," he says, which even though he thinks is very silly is still a proper canned answer that he doesn't have to think very hard to give. Thinking hard is a bad idea right now.

My Lord Husband Alisander Stark would like to request tea with Lord Zakary Baratheon sometime today, should their schedules allow, so that he might properly introduce his bride to his battle brother before any chance of circumstances prevent it.
- Lady Anavett Stark

...huh.

He is... honestly not sure which possible interpretation of this note is the true one. His main theory is that it was Anavett who wanted it, but it's separately unclear if she's aware of the connotations, there, it depends on whether Alis was able to mention his threesome fantasies or whether Anavett guessed it or what.

Regardless, he does in fact want to meet her, so he pens his own response:

It would be an honour to properly meet milady Stark. Pray inform Lord Alisander that I would be pleased to meet at the fourth candle after noon for tea.
—Zakary Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands

He gets a lovely little note saying that it will be her pleasure to host him in her personal chambers in the westward sitting room at the aforementioned time, and she has absolutely no idea that this could also be read with certain connotations.

But she does make sure to A: use the gossip network of Riverrun to figure out what kind of sweets he likes best, (soakberry based sweet pastries, how convenient!) and B: request more than the necessary portions of them to be made, cost of time and materials generously over-covered by this little bundle of silver, and C: also request that some fraction of both to please find its way to poor beleagured Corren, whom she has not forgotten about, thank you. Of course, this is not the sort of task that she'd trust to just anyone, but she and Riverrun's head chef have long had a mutually beneficial understanding. Absolutely no servant in their right mind would ever cross the cook by skimming money from him, and she knows he will cooperate with being her present dispensing minion with perfect grace and some amusement. It's only practical, and furthermore it solidifies his own, much smaller power base, quite neatly.

(Figuring out her own husband's tastes is much harder, he's both from further away, with slightly different culinary staples, and less outgoing about his own preferences. She'll figure it out eventually, but the Riverrun gossip network will not avail her and she knows it. Instead she'll just have to pay attention.)

Soon enough: it is the appointed time, and both tea and pastries are available.

Is she flirting with him???? She must be, right???????? He's really not sure!!

Well, only one way to find out. He knocks.

Alisander Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, opens the door, then steps out of the way and bows slightly to let him in.

"Lord Stark literally every living soul in this keep is aware that we are battle brothers and you do not need to stand at such attention," Zak says, pulling Alis into a tight, manly, brief hug. He does step into the room, though, and turns a seeking smile to Anavett.

She returns his smile with one of her own, perfectly innocent and completely oblivious to all possible flirtatious interpretations of sent notes, and curtseys politely.

"Hello and welcome, ser, it's a pleasure to meet you properly."

...ah.

Oh dear.

His face betrays absolutely nothing of his thought process, even though he's certain Alis knows exactly what he's thinking.

(He does.)

"And likewise, milady," he says, bowing to her and then following after Alis to the table once the door has been shut. "I must confess I am very curious about the woman who stole my Alis's heart."