Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Ash and Tess busied themselves with finishing up Hattie’s autumn arrangement, a gorgeous mix of fall-colored blooms in a pretty handmade wicker basket I’d sourced from a witch down the street while I finished up Caelan’s arrangements.
I cursed myself for not looking over that contract earlier, assuming Simone, Caelan’s Omega, had taken my restrictions to heart before bringing it to the shop.
But blaming her wasn’t right. She was beholden to the Shifter Lord, and he was infamous for pushing boundaries to get what he wanted.
For hours now, I’d mulled over my friends’ words, and as much as I desired to push back and deny everything, they were right. Hiding became a way of life for me, and I’d diminished myself. Not only when I arrived in Joy Springs, but years prior, right around the time my marriage had fallen apart.
For so long, I’d prevented myself from doing the one thing my body craved.
Bloom.
I’d used my magic to coax other things to bloom and had held myself back from doing the same. First, because my world had fallen apart after I fled Seattle. Or so I’d thought. Only after Scotland had I truly diminished myself, became someone small and meek and afraid.
Disgust at myself filled me, and I shook my head, even as I tried to shake those thoughts off. But they stubbornly refused to go.
Look at me, they whispered.
Look what you’ve become.
The bloom in my hand turned to ash, a gentle wind blowing its remains across my worktable.
“Shit,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”
And that was the other side of the coin, the one I’d been hiding. Moira and the others knew my magic had been malfunctioning and encouraged me to allow my Chimera to fully merge with my body. Even Cernunnos, who may or may not be my father, said I’d die if I kept the beast at bay any longer.
I’d done it and found a new power I couldn’t have imagined.
But…as with all wonderful things concerning magic, there were some side effects.
A few, like the amount of meat I ate daily, were harmless, except for the pain my new appetite caused my pocketbook.
Others, like the ferocious boost in Floromancy power and how much more upper body strength I had, were a little more concerning.
I could probably lift a car if I wanted to now. Not that I’d ever had the urge, but I could probably rage out properly if ever given the motivation.
Which is why I should stay away from the Shifter Lord. The male could push all my buttons in all the wrong ways, and I’d done some stupid things over it.
Then again, the amount of money he was offering for me to show up at this stupid gala was nothing to sneeze at.
I could fund Tess’s retirement account, give everyone a healthy bonus, and expand my property quite a bit if I wanted to.
All I had to do was show my face, set the arrangements up, smile and wave, and haul ass home.
That’s all the contract said, in not quite those words, but close enough.
Show up half an hour early. Stay for dinner. Remove the arrangements once the event was over, and I was free to leave, no earlier than twenty minutes after the set closing time. If I played my cards right, I’d be out of there by ten thirty.
I pulled the contract back over and read through the clause again.
My contract has a no-delivery clause, I texted Caelan.
He responded almost immediately.
I’m aware. Exceptions are common in contracts.
Not mine.
A beat of silence before three dots appeared again.
An addendum, then.
I thought about it.
Alright. Here are my terms. Non-negotiable.
Everything in business is negotiable.
Keep pushing me, and I’ll flood your land with poison ivy and man-eating vines.
I could almost see his manic grin.
Very well. I reserve the right to decline.
First, I doubled the amount of money in the contract to an eye-popping amount.
Done. What else?
I almost swallowed my tongue. “Dammit. I should have tripled it.”
Every time you try to speak to me, you’ll pay a day’s worth of triple-time wages.
That’s unreasonable.
I never claimed to be a reasonable person.
I’ll think about it.
I’m not done.
Evie.
Every time you try to touch me, the contract fee increases by 25%.
Evie. Goddammit. I am not a monster.
You will send me a dress to wear.
With pleasure.
And matching jewelry.
Amethyst?
Ass.
Yes. and Aquamarine. Make sure the dress matches the stones.
Done.
I hated myself for loving the dresses he sent and his jewelry.
And you will find another florist to do business with in the future.
Absolutely not.
Remember how non-negotiable this is?
No.
Yes.
This is beyond unreasonable and borderline foolish.
Anger spiraled through my veins.
My shop did just fine before you came into my life. I don’t want people coming in here because of morbid curiosity. I want them here because of my talent.
We both know that’s not the only reason people come in. But you’re also smart enough to know that my patronizing a business often brings a boost to the shop owner’s bottom line. Having a Shifter Lord plug a business can turn the place into gold.
I didn’t care about any of that.
Then I will send the arrangements by courier this evening, Lord. I hope you have an enjoyable event.
Goddammit, Evie!
I turned my phone to silent and placed the screen face down.
Moira brought me a steaming cup of coffee. “You look like you could use this.” She jerked her head toward my phone. “Were you texting Caelan?”
“Yup. We could not come to a mutual agreement on the contract addendum.”
Moira pressed her lips together, her eyes sparkling. “Oh?” she breathed after a beat of silence. “Mutual, huh?”
“I didn’t say it was mutually beneficial,” I said primly.
Moira snickered. “What was the dealbreaker?”
“Finding another florist for the future.”
Moira blinked. “Oh.” She leaned against the register desk and studied me. “Are you sure that’s what you want him to do?”
“I can’t disagree with anything you said earlier.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
“But Caelan is famous for sailing through whatever personal boundary I’ve put up. I want peace, Moira. And he brings me stress.”
Her lips turned down. A beat of silence, then a thoughtful nod.
“Okay. That’s both true and fair. Caelan has brought a ton of chaos to your life since he walked in here.
” She reached over and touched my hand. “But don’t count the Shifter Lord out yet.
It’s fair to ask him to patronize another business, but it doesn’t mean you have to cut him out of your life completely. I know you like the guy.”
“Ugh.”
Moira laughed. “You do.”
“When he’s not being a controlling dick, sure.” The words were harsh but true. Caelan was used to being in control, and he made things difficult when he didn’t get his way. But when he was relaxed and calm, he was sexy and charming and…
Moira snorted. “You do,” she repeated. “No use lying to a born liar.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ve had this conversation a dozen times. I can’t pursue anything with Caelan or anyone of prominence.” My lips twisted. “Maybe no one at all.”
Her eyes softened. “Evie. That’s not true.”
“How can I trust anyone not to give me away? I’d risk my own life and all of yours if I trusted the wrong person.”
Moira nodded. “I get it. I really do. But you took a chance on me. On Ash and Tess. And we’re worth it, aren’t we?”
My heart softened. Trusting them hadn’t been easy, but it was the best thing I’d ever done. We’d built a life here. A good one. “You know you are.”
“Good.” She refilled my mug. “There are other people out there worthy of your trust. Don’t forget that.”
I sipped my coffee. “Why are you being so sage? You’re a regular vampire Gandhi today.”
Moira grinned. “My best friend hasn’t been up to the task lately, so I thought I’d step into her shoes for a bit while she gets her groove back.” With a light shoulder nudge, Moira tipped her mug at me and winked.
I waved her away. “Can you call the courier and have her pick these up at six?”
She gave me a searching look. “Are you sure?”
“Yep. I have a few more things to do to these, but I’ll be done by then. You all can head out early this evening if you want.”
“I want!” Ash shouted.
Tess followed.
Moira slid behind the counter. “I’ll head out right when the shop closes, so you don’t get interrupted too much.”
“No hot dates on the schedule?” I slid in a fiery orange bloom next to the Moulin Rouge sunflower. Next to it, a few deep orange dahlias.
“Nah. No one has tickled my fancy for quite a while.”
I gave her a sly glance. “Not even Soren?”
Moira’s eyes tightened, the gesture there and gone in less than a heartbeat.
My hands stilled. “Moira? Everything okay?”
She flicked a hand. “Totally fine. Soren left for his territory a long time ago. We barely spent any time together, and after seeing the chaos Caelan caused, I’m not sure I want to entangle myself with a Lord.”
Moira was lying. “Oh. Not even for a brief tete-a-tete?”
“I don’t do those much anymore,” Moira said as she plopped down onto the stool. “Maybe I’m finally feeling my age.”
“Heaven forbid,” I said with a gasp. “The sky must be falling.”
She snorted and opened her mouth to retort when the bell jingled.
In breezed a frazzled Simone. She wore casual clothes today—a pair of slim, straight-legged jeans, topped with a cream-colored cable knit sweater, and brown leather loafers.
“You look decidedly non-wolfish today,” I said by way of greeting.
The Omega was the picture of quiet luxury, looking like she stepped out of any Ivy League university. Her blonde hair was caught up in a small claw clip, strands of hair arranged artfully around her face with careless elegance.
But that was the extent of her normalness.
Simone had death in her eyes and those pretty baby blues were locked on their target.
Me.
I took a step back and held up my hands. “Whatever this is, I want no part of it.”
“You,” she hissed. “Can you play nice just once?”
“Um.” I turned wide eyes to Moira, who turned her head and coughed.