Page 72 of Kissed By Songs of Lilies

He cocked his head to the side in surprise. "Perfect, yet it makes you cry?"

"It was a moment that is now gone, and it will never be again."

He stretched his long fingers and laced them through mine. "Tell me about it."

It was the memory that often played through my mind before I went to bed each night. The one that left me with a soft smile on my face as I drifted to sleep. Maybe if I told him, I could begin to let it go.

I sniffed. With no other alternatives, I wiped my nose on the sleeve of my cloak. I knew Forrest wouldn’t mind. He wasn’t exactly the sort of man to carry a pocket handkerchief.

Then I said, "It was a beautiful summer day. My sisters and I were together, all three of us. We were running across the gardens, and our hands were linked. We were laughing. The sun was high, and the ocean wind was warm on our cheeks. We were happy. I don't remember when it happened. Maybe it didn't happen at all."

"Maybe it is yet to come."

I shook my head. "No. Briar has been gone for five years. We’re all older now. We’re not girls anymore."

"Adults can laugh, too."

"Not any that I’ve known."

He looked into my eyes for a long time, and I gazed back into his viridian pools.

"If it’s in my power, I’ll make you deliriously happy one day," he said.

My eyes widened. He’d just made a promise, given freely. He was bound to it.

"Free me," I demanded.

He smiled sadly. "That wouldn’t make you deliriously happy, and you know it. Even if you’re not willing to admit it… yet."

I said nothing but held his hand tightly in mine.

He was right. I would stay for my kingdom and my family. I would stay for Forrest, too, because a part of me longed for that deliriously happy moment with him. Maybe even a lifetime of them.

Eventually, I was strong enough to find Magnolia, drop the shell in her pocket, and whisper a faint, "Happy birthday. I love you."

CHAPTER 36

The Stolen Bride

After the ball, I couldn’t stop thinking of Briar. I knew we couldn’t go back in time. I knew we couldn’t go home again. But I still longed to see her.

All of the plants looked healthy. Everything was planted just as I remembered. Why wasn’t it working? Where had I gone wrong?

Of course, I had been very young in that memory. I might have forgotten a detail, or perhaps, the garden needed to mature.

I trailed my finger along the plush white rose blossoms. Did they need fertilizer? Then I pricked my finger on a thorn, and a drop of blood dripped into the fertile earth. Suddenly, the garden came to life. Whispers rose up from the susurrus, and I kneeled down to listen.

"Hello," I said softly.

"Hello, beautiful child."

The voice was familiar. One I had heard once before in a memory. "Gran?" I asked.

The flowers laughed, and the sound was as gentle as a bee’s buzz. "You remember. How wonderful. Your mother would be so proud."

Hope and longing swelled in me. "Is she here?"

"No, love. I’m sorry. Is there something I can help you with? I’m afraid your spell is very weak. It won’t last long, and goodness knows you didn’t plant this garden to talk to an old lady," she whispered.

---