Kieran had to admit, they both made good points. Yes, telling Natasha what he was – orshowingher what he was – might be one of the most terrifying things he’d ever contemplated doing.
But the reward…
The reward – having Natasha by his side for the rest of their lives – made the risk pale into insignificance. He’d just have to hope she’d accept his explanation as to why he’d been late, and then he could tell her the rest.
“There’s just one small problem,” Kieran said. “I don’t know where she’s staying.”
“Oh, I can tell you that,” Sylvie said breezily. “As long as you promise to take some pie with you, as part of your apology. Oh, and maybe a bouquet of flowers, too. Gale will have just the thing.”
“I sure do. I was just making some deliveries to some of the local restaurants for their displays, but I have a couple of extras,” Gale said, as he began to head out to the back of the bakery again. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a moment.”
As he disappeared out the back, Sylvie turned to Kieran, cocking her head. “Oh – I think I got a little distracted with you suddenly announcing you were a griffin, and Natasha’s mate,” she said, frowning a little. “But did you say you were staying in the old Holmes mansion? Henry Holmes was some relation of yours?”
“My great uncle,” Kieran said, curiosity stirring within him at Sylvie’s dubious expression. “Is there… some kind of problem with that?”
Sylvie pursed her lips a little, opened her mouth, and then closed it again. “No… no. No, it’s nothing. Let’s just focus on one thing at a time. Like getting you back into Natasha’s good graces. Everything else we can deal with later.”
Puzzled, Kieran was about to ask her what she meant, when Gale returned from the back room once again, having apparently gone out to his car to grab one of his extra flower bouquets.
That’s not just a bouquet, that’s… that’s…Kieran thought, blinking in amazement.
He didn’t have the words to describe it. The bouquet was unlike anything he’d ever seen before, even though he worked full-time with plants and flowers. He’d never seen roses so red, so full, so brilliant, so delicate. The scent of them filled the air, alongside the gorgeous scent of the spices and sugars of the bakery goods.
“I guess what they say about plants tended by unicorns really is true,” he murmured, as he gratefully took the bouquet from Gale’s hands. “These are… these areincredible.”
“It doesn’t seem quite fair, really,” Gale said, with a half-smile. “I have a natural advantage, after all. But if these can help you, then I don’t feel too guilty about having used my unicorn powers to corner the market around here in floral arrangements and garden design.”
“Oh please. As if you had any competition to begin with,” Sylvie laughed. “No onewas selling plants and flowers in Girdwood Springs before you showed up.”
“I guess you’re right,” Gale said, shaking his head. “But still. I keep getting people asking me what kind of compost I use, what my secret ingredients are. I have to be evasive and tell them it’s a secret family recipe.”
“I really can’t thank you both enough for all of this,” Kieran said, marveling again at the incredible bouquet of roses. “Really. You’ve both been kinder to me than I deserve.”
“Hey, there’s nothing I like more than helping shifters find their mates,” Sylvie said. “Just knowing how happy I am – and how happy Kira is, with her dragon – I can’t help but wish everyone could experience the same. Oh, but, don’t forget –” She ducked down suddenly, retrieving something from the display case next to the counter. When she rose again, Kieran could see it was a small, round apple pie, with a bay leaf settled on the latticed crust. “A little pie can go a long way. But don’t be offended if Natasha doesn’t want to eat it today. She already had quite a bit of cake when she was here earlier!”
I guess that’s understandable, if she was upset about being stood up,Kieran thought as he left the bakery, armed with the apple pie, the bouquet of roses, and the address of the B&B Natasha was staying at, scribbled down on a piece of paper by Sylvie.
He was still nervous about what he had to do next, but he had to admit, listening to Gale and Sylvie – and seeing how obviously deliriously happy they were together – gave him heart. Surely, once Natasha understood the truth, they could be at least that happy together too?
And maybe there’s just something about Girdwood Springs that attracts shifters,Kieran thought as he walked. It seemed a huge coincidence that both a unicornanda dragon had chosen to settle here, not to mention that Kieran’s Great Uncle Henry, himself a griffin shifter, had lived here for years and years.
Natasha’s B&B wasn’t a long walk from the center of town – Girdwood Springs, no matter how much it might have changed since Natasha had lived here in her childhood, still only took about fifteen minutes to walk through, and the B&B stood on the outskirts of town, just before the forest completely took over the mountainside again.
It was a cute little place, Kieran thought as he stood looking at it – the kind of place he would have liked to have stayed at, if he hadn’t already had somewhere to stay. A little brick building, with a small, neat garden out the front, and a garage out the back. A paved path that wended its way through the flower beds to the front door.
Well,Kieran thought, taking a deep breath,here goes nothing.
Before he could have any second thoughts, he marched up the path and knocked on the door, hoping that Natasha would be inside rather than out sightseeing.
But he was in luck – after only a couple of moments, the door cracked open, and Natasha’s – incomparably beautiful – face appeared.
And she didnotlook happy to see him.
“Natasha,” Kieran blurted, before she could slam the door closed in his face again. “I’m really sorry – please, if you wouldn’t mind giving me just a couple of minutes of your time, I swear I can explain.”
He held his breath, willing himself not to say anything more as Natasha’s eyes traveled from his face to the roses in his arms, to the pie box tied up with a little ribbon that Sylvie had very kindly made up for him. He could see her reluctance – but he could also see her thinking things over.
“You stood me up,” she finally said, raising an eyebrow as she turned her gaze back to his face.
