Page 7 of The Heir

“It’s new,” his eyes captured mine, and I thought I would faint. I tried to act normal, but who was I kidding? Normal? I was not normal.

“Well, then uh, any flower should work then, uhsir.” I motioned to the flowers in the crates beside us.

“Shad,” he said, looking into my eyes, and he seemed to take a glimpse into my soul, making me think that quite possibly, the eyes, very much, werewindows to the soul.

“Excuse me?” I gulped.

“My name, Emma. It’s Shad.”

“Oh, Shad, right—sorry.” I tried to keep my mind off of his soul as well as mine and back onto the subject of flowers and roses.We are talking about roses.Breathing in deeply to clear my thoughts, I continued: “What is your favorite color, then?”

“It just recently became green,” he answered with what was becoming a familiar look from him–his lips pulled up on one side, as if he knew something about his statement that I didn’t.

“Oh, well, there are no green roses. Oh, I know!” I smiled as I awkwardly ran-walked to the register. We had a pamphlet that showed each rose along with the meaning behind each color. I pulled the paper out from a stack behind the counter. “I made these last year and totally forgot about them.” I handed the pamphlet to him, a little out of breath, tucking another strand of loose hair behind my ear. Shad read it over. He wandered over to the display of roses for a little while, and I remained atthe register, watching him. He had an air about him, which I couldn't really put into words, and I wanted to know him,reallyknow him.

Who is he?

It had to be what it felt like in those books I had heard about. I read one vampire and fae book a few years earlier on my best friend’s dare. It felt like that. Was Shad avampire, luring me to him only to drain my blood?

No–

He couldn't have been a vampire–the sun was shining on him. That was a thing I read about in the book, and let’s be honest, I read the entire six book series because there was a love triangle, and I had to know ifsheended up with the boy who I wanted her to end up with. She did; it was a good series, and it fascinated me, all the emotions that were portrayed, all the feelings, feelings I had never had for anyone but secretly wanted to have. Of course, I didn’t tell Ryker my best friend, that I had read the whole series. He only made fun of it, anyway, and I did not need him to pester me daily about liking a vampire, fae romance. Ryker may have been my best friend, but he was a boy, and not someone who I could gush about book boyfriends with.

Anyway, things like vampires and fae of course were not real. They were fiction. Yes, Shad was just a normal human being, andIwas crazy. Hopefully, I could keep mycrazyto myself. He did not need to know what was happening within my mind–that I wondered if he was a vampire or some other magical being, putting some spell upon me–which made me insanely attracted to him.

“I think this one is perfect,” he smiled, waving a lavender rose in his hand.

You’re perfect—I pushed that thought away, worried that it might spill from my mouth.

“Great choice. It’s a beautiful one,” I noted as I rang him up. He caught my eyes again and gave me a wickedly beautiful smile.This boy is going to be my end for sure. Gah, I love his smiles and smirks. Those lips–

“Yes, Emma, beautiful indeed.”

A shiver danced through me.What is wrong with me?

He left, stepping through the door, and while my heart moved to a normal rhythm after his departure, I could not help but remember how he had jump-started my heart only a day earlier. Could he know what a gift that was? That was magical in and of itself. I could not help but stare at the door, the space where he had just been a moment earlier, and I missed him. I shook my head in embarrassment.

This is crazy.You cannot miss someone you don’t even know, Emma.

Two hours later, I closed up the shop for the night, feeling lighter and happier for the first time in months, all because of Shad’s visit. Summer meant it was still light out when I locked up, which I was grateful for, especially since my mind was thinking about all kinds of fantasy creatures lurking about. Maybe I should stop reading fantasy—but I loved it.

I reached the car as I was still debating the possibilities of Shad being magical versus me needing to lay off fantasy books when I noticed there was something on the windshield of my car. I stopped dead in my tracks as I looked and saw there, lying upon the car, a lavender rose. Underneath the rose was the pamphlet I had given Shad, folded carefully to reveal the meaning behind the lavender rose, which I had not remembered until that moment:

Lavender Rose: Love at first sight, enchantment.

I dropped the paper.

No. No way! He did this?

Joy and excitement raced through me.

I could not move for a full five minutes with my mouth hanging open. I stared at that delicate blossom which had been left on my car. I was partly in shock again because what seemed like my new heart, which liked to thump and pump incredibly loud in my chest, began pounding again. The new song I had created in my head just for Shad, played loudly, swirling within me. Finally, shaking off the stupor, I opened the car door and got inside. I sat down in the driver’s seat, with the lavender rose clutched in my hand. I closed my eyes and listened to the beating of my heart, keeping perfect time tohissong I made up inside of me.

Maybe magic was just in books, butthis feels magical to me.

Chapter Four

When I woke up the next morning, I turned my head to the side and studied the floor of my closet. Not for any specific reason, something just caught my eye. It was the blue book spine that sparked a memory. I went to the closet and picked up the old story book my mother had made for me, wherein she had written down her own versions of many well-known fairy tales. She told me time and time again that hers were the true stories. I touched the cover, a fabric cover with nothing on it. I cracked the book open and touched the swirls of my mother’s cursive. She had titled each story. I smiled, and I flipped through the pages and stopped at her tale of Cinderella. That story had always been my favorite.

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