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“I’m sure she’s a lovely girl.”

“She is. I think you two will get along great.”

“Then I look forward to meeting her.”

Keiko’s kindness smooths out the wrinkles in my anger caused by Airi. I knew it would be an unpleasant experience using Daisy to force a severance from my toxic family. It’s only now just dawning on me how much I’m going to have to protect Daisy from them, and I will. With whatever small amount of decency I possess, I’ll use it to ensure my blossom remains as sweet and happy as she was today, and not let their derision taint her.

Over my dead fucking body, will I let that happen.

~Daisy~

“And then he kissed me!” I tell Delphi. I’ve been regaling her with the story of Kai and I’s adventure to the bookstore yesterday and she appears to be hanging on every word.

Delphi’s little fanged mouth drops open as if shocked by my revelation.

“I know right? I couldn’t help myself, I had to kiss him back. His lips were so soft and warm, I just melted into them. I’ve never been kissed like that before. Like if he didn’t do it right that second, he may disintegrate from the lack of my touch. It was…” I sigh loudly, “amazing.”

It's midafternoon and all day I half expected to see Kai strolling through the gardens and was only mildly disappointed when he didn’t. Okay I was very disappointed when every male I heard wasn’t him. I want to see him again but thought better of knocking on his door. I don’t know who else is staying there with him, or how friendly they are. They are still the Kingsley’s and I don’t want to risk encountering one who is less than accepting of non-pure-blooded nymphs.

I hadn’t thought about the fact that his family normally doesn’t associate with us. Being with Kai is so different than with anyone else. Sometimes it’s a little hard to think straight around him.

Delphi crawls over my lap and plucks a grape from the bowl on the table next to me. Sitting on the back porch my view is of our private gardens and the forest beyond. I decided it was time for an afternoon snack break and when I saw Delphi sniffing around the tree line, I decided to sit back here so I could visit with her out of sight.

I grab a few grapes and pop them in my mouth, sitting back in the bench swing hanging from the back porch rafters. It creeks quietly as I listen to the sounds of the forest and tune out any of the chatter from the nursery on the other side of the house.

The soothing sounds lull me into a hazy doze while Delphi crawls into my lap and curls up inside my oversized cardigan. She tucks in and we both settle for a peaceful nap in the balmy autumn afternoon.

Nearly silent footsteps rouse me from my half-asleep state not ten minutes later and I open one eye to see flaming red hair appear from around the side of the house. My heart instantly picks up its lazy beating, waking Delphi when I shift to get a better look.

She perks up and makes animated noises that sound excited to see Kai. She likes him almost as much as I do. Jumping from my lap she bounds towards Kai and scurries up his leg and around his body like a tree trunk stopping only once she’s in his arms at his chest patting her little clawed fingers across his cheeks. Kai smiles and laughs.

“Hello Delphi, it’s nice to see you again too. Have you been behaving yourself lately? No? Well, I can’t blame you for that. I don’t like behaving either,” Kai chats with Delphi as he carries her all the way to me on the porch.

Pulling the sides of my cardigan together, I readjust my tail up my back and over my shoulder, the most comfortable way to carry it when wearing fitted denim jeans, the knitted coverage easily concealing it.

“You are not an easy girl to find. You know that?” he says in greeting, his eyes sparkling like flickering fire.

“No. I never leave so it should be fairly easy to find me.”

“I searched every bush and corner of your greenhouse before I thought to check the house. If you weren’t back here, I was going to start knocking on doors to find you. This would be a lot easier if you just gave me your cell number. Then I could just text you to find where you’re hiding.”

Delphi leaps from his arms and positions herself on a stool next to the bench swing. Kai makes himself comfortable next to me, sitting back in the seat as if he’s done this a hundred times before.

“Wow, this is a really nice view. Your land is beautiful. I guess I shouldn’t expect any less from a talented earth nymph like yourself and your brother.”

I blush at the compliment. He’s always doing that, and I don’t always know how to respond.

“Thank you, but I don’t have a cell number to give you.”

Kai turns away from appreciating the backyard to frown at me. “What do you mean you don’t have a cell number? Don’t you have a cell phone?”

“No.”

“Seriously? I didn’t know there was anyone left in the world who didn’t have a cell phone. How do people get ahold of you?” Kai asks this as if I have tons of friends constantly trying to reach me. When in reality, I don’t think anyone has called for me since mom and dad last called to check in on things a few weeks ago.

“We have a landline, but no one ever calls for me,” I admit.

Kai’s frown only deepens. I distract myself by picking at a stray thread on my sweater. At least today I have on something thicker to conceal my reaction to Kai’s virility.