Page 17 of Shift of Heart (Shifter Lords #1)
Caelan shrugged. “I’m paying the cost.”
“What kind of magic?”
He spread his hands out. “Don’t care.”
I snorted, a wicked idea forming in my mind. “I can do anything I want.”
A grin tipped his lips up. “Anything at all.”
“I don’t want any credit for it. If anyone asks you who did the centerpiece, you will give anyone else but me the recognition.”
His lips thinned. “Why.” It was a demand, not a question.
I didn’t want to get a reputation for being a Lord’s sycophant. “Those are my terms, Lord.”
“Caelan.” He exhaled a heavy sigh. “Difficult woman. Fine. But I expect your best work.” He handed me a business card. “My email and cell phone are listed. Text me the invoice once you have it.”
“I require half up front?—”
“Don’t care. I’ll pay the entire thing once I receive it.”
“And if I make an error on the invoice?”
He waved my concerns away. “I’m good for it.” Caelan stepped away and went to pick up the box. His sharp gaze skimmed over the plants before he looked at me. “Do you have any extra of the pink one?”
I blinked. “You want a plant from me?”
A slow grin curved his lips. “I want much more from you, flower girl. But I’ll settle for a plant to begin with.”
Color bloomed in my cheeks. I spun on my heel and hurried to my cutting shelf.
Caelan’s wicked chuckle stiffened my spine.
I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally pushed his suggestive laughter from my mind, and took one of the Pink Lady turtle vines down.
Even though I was pissed, it wasn’t the plant’s fault.
I bent over the little round ceramic pot and pushed a thread of power through the roots and soil, fortifying the cutting for the journey to Caelan’s castle.
Then, because I was feeling a little salty, I leaned and whispered a command to the plant and tipped my palm over the pot, depositing a glowing kernel of magic.
Nothing naughty or mean, but something that might freak Caelan out.
When I turned, all traces of embarrassment had faded from my face. “I’ll email you the care instructions.”
He looked down at the teal pot I held. “The rest are in plastic. Are you sure I can take the pot?”
“She’s still too young to move. Consider it a truce.” I smiled tightly and handed him the cutting.
A tanned finger brushed over one of the small leaves. “Hello.”
If he were anyone else, my heart would have melted, and I would have thrown myself at him for treating my plant like a sentient being.
That’s what people don’t understand. All plants are sentient.
They feel things, maybe not in the same way we do, but plants know love and pain and hunger and thirst.
The little turtle vine reached up and curled around Caelan’s finger. The Shifter Lord gasped and, instead of freaking out, burst into delighted laughter.
Dammit.
“Is this your doing?” he asked, still fascinated by the plant.
“Yes and no. Plants require a lot of energy, and most of it is used for growing. They don’t have any extra for other things.”
His gaze lifted. “You gave it a boost?”
I tilted my head. “Perhaps.”
The vine uncurled from his finger and folded in on itself. “This is amazing, Evie. I will cherish her.”
Color touched my cheeks again. “You’re welcome.”
He offered me a tiny bow. “I will show myself out. Simone will send over the number of arrangements we need and the exact measurements for the main showpiece.”
“Thank you for your business.” I planned to charge him out the ass. If Little Shop of Florals was the worst deal in town, maybe the Shifter Lord would take his business elsewhere and things would get back to normal around here.
Caelan chuckled and left the room, his plant and Simone’s box in his hands.
I waited until I heard the bell jingle before I let out a long groan of frustration and scrubbed my hands over my face.
A soft croak sounded. Poe popped out from under the desk and hopped onto the wrist I extended. “Hey. Sorry about that.”
“Wolf man.”
I chuckled. “Yes. The wolf man.”
“Dangerous.”
“He is.” I stroked the back of his neck. “How’s the baby?”
“Warm.” Poe hopped off my wrist and flapped to the desk, then looked back.
“I’ll get her.”
Once Poe and the egg were situated close to the window, I shut the door and headed into the main area.
Moira and Ash fell silent when they saw me. A massive basket of shiny red apples sat on the counter. Break the news first. Pie second.
“We have a big job,” I began.
Moira nudged Ash. “Pay up, bark boy.”
I rolled my eyes as the dryad reached into his pocket and tossed a bill at her. “I thought you were better than that, Evie,” Ash grumbled.
My jaw dropped. “Ash!”
“I knew you wouldn’t say no,” Moira said with a devilish glint in her eye. “Ash is just a sore loser.”
“He sure is,” I muttered, giving him a dark look.
“In my defense, we’re going to charge him so much that all of us can afford to shut down the shop for an entire month and take the trip to Europe we’ve been dying to go on.
” And then some, I didn’t add. They’d find out when I bumped up their paychecks.
Moira and Ash stared. “Seriously?” Moira said. “You bargained with the Shifter Lord?”
“You have a death wish,” Ash said with a shake of his head.
“I was trying to get him to leave. He insisted on hiring me.” I shrugged. “I thought since he wasn’t taking no for an answer, I could at least make it worth our while.”
Moira grinned. “That’s my girl.”
“I’m not sure what the final numbers will be because I don’t have all the information yet, but he’s asking for a massive centerpiece.” A wicked grin spread over my face. “A magical centerpiece. And I have a plan.”
Ten minutes later, I found out my friends did not quite share the same sense of adventure I did.
“Are you insane?” Ash hissed.
The dryad was usually the voice of reason in our little quad of insanity.
Moira stood there frozen for a long moment. “You think embarrassing the Shifter Lord is a good idea?”
“There’s no way to know if he’ll be embarrassed. He asked for a display of power, and I’m going to give it to him.”
My friend shook her head, but admiration glinted in Moira’s eyes. “It’s been a long time since someone pissed you off this much. Are you sure you want to do this?”
I rubbed my hands together gleefully. “I’m positive.”