Oh gods.
Had she actually thought those marigolds were forher?Where would such a stupid notion have sprung from? She’d probably embarrassed Mr. Grimm. Sure, she’d done her best to cover her mistake, to make it very clear that she was super happy for him and for Bryony. But he wasn’t a fool.
“Ugh!” she groaned, and plunked her forehead down on the counter. At least Mr. Grimm had not come back for their 2 o’clock tea break. That was a mercy. Was it possible they could get through the entire day without interacting even once? And then, when he arrived at Mrs. Boggs’s tonight to pick up Bryony for their date, Luna would have to contrive some clever reason to be far, far away.
Not that Bryony would bring him back to the garret room after dinner, no.
They’d probably come back here. To his apartment. Upstairs.
“Ugh!”Luna groaned again and only just restrained herself from dashing the nice Royal Bastian teacup to the floor. But she didn’t. Because Mr. Grimm could bring whomever he liked back to his apartment, whenever he liked to do so. It wasn’t any of her business, and—
A loud pounding erupted at the shop door.
Luna bit back a yelp as she popped her head up from the counter. Debbie squawked and fluttered her wings, and all across the display floor, flowers turned their pretty heads, aghast at this sudden disruption to their serenity. Her hands gripping her half-full Royal Bastian teacup, Luna cast her gaze through the square window in the door, trying to discern whoever might be causing all this raucous, heedless of the CLOSED sign clearly posted.
“I know you’re in there!” a wheezy but somehow malevolent voice cried from the far side of the glass. The next instant, hands cupped around a face sporting a crisp goatee and an exceedingly wide set of nostrils. Two, furious, heavily-lidded eyes glared into the shop. “I can see you there, witch! Sorceress! I mean to have words with you, soopen up!”
Luna’s mouth dropped open. Abandoning both tea and Debbie, she hastened out from behind the counter, leaving the hinged portion to slam down with abang!behind her as she fled for the passage. Once there, she pressed her back against the storage room door, her hand on her throbbing heart, her breath coming fast. She knew that face in the window, recognized that furious voice. She’d not seen or heard either in months, but they were vividly emblazoned across her memory. She’d half-feared this confrontation was coming eventually, only whenever that fear reared its ugly head, she’d tamped it back down again and pretended she didn’t notice.
“I see what it says on your sign!” the angry voice wheezed, accompanied by more pounding and rattling that threatened to break glass. “Don’t think I missed that little trick! And I’m not about to let you get away with it! Pilfering my business right out from under me nose! I know what you really are! Open up now, or I’ll be filing a report with the SSSD!”
Luna moved her hand from her chest to her stomach, fearing she might actually be sick. She couldn’t deal with this man. She simply couldn’t. But neither could The Arcane Bouquet deal with the SSSD snooping around.
There was only one option before her then.
Heart racing, she pushed away from the storage room door and approached Garden’s door instead. It was unlocked—Mr. Grimm had the key on him, no doubt. She reached for the latch, turned it, and stepped through the portal into the gold and green warmth of Garden’s atmosphere. Hastily, she shut thedoor behind her, blocking out that angry voice and the relentless pounding. Breathing out a sigh, she rested her head back against the door slats behind her and whispered, “Green Mother save me!” For a moment, she couldn’t do anything but stand there, eyes closed. Her chest heaved as she recovered her breath.
Then, slowly, it occurred to her—it was quite hot actually. She frowned. It wasn’t just that she was flushed and overexcited. No, the air was truly warm. Almost oppressive.
“Miss Talbot?”
Her heart leapt up into her throat, trying to choke her. Swallowing it back with an effort, Luna opened her eyes and pushed herself away from the door. Mr. Grimm approached up the path. Of course, she knew he was out here, but, well, Garden was such a big, sprawling sort of place. She’d thought he would be deep inside somewhere, and she wouldn’t necessarily have to interact with him. Her intention was simply to wait until the man at the shop door grew bored and went away. So much for that plan.
“I—I’m sorry to disturb you, Mr. Grimm,” she said, her voice a little high and tight.
He looked . . . oh, damn him, he looked a right mess. Sweaty and dirty, wearing only his undershirt and suspenders over mud-stained trousers. His jacket and shirt were slung over his arm, his hair fallen across his forehead,and she couldn’t deal with it right now.She couldn’t deal with this sudden rush of downrightpainfulattraction jumping in her veins.
Luna stared down at her feet, biting her lip.
“Miss Talbot?” he said again, that posh and ever-so-controlled voice of his such a contrast to his state of disarray. “Has something happened?”
She felt his approach. The atmosphere of his presence was all too palpable. Luna swallowed hard. Perhaps it would have been better if she’d stayed in the shop and simply dealt with thefallout of that altercation. “No, it’s all right, Mr. Grimm,” she managed to say, her voice a little rough. “It’s just . . . it’s just . . .”
He drew nearer. Though she wouldn’t look at him, Luna could feel how he stretched out a hand toward her only to stop and withdraw once more. Because heaven forbid he should ever touch her again!
“Tell me what’s wrong.” His voice emerged in a deeper register than usual, stirring something in her gut. “Tell me how I can help.”
Despite every intention not to look at him, Luna’s gaze flashed to meet his. She stared into those sad blue eyes, half-shadowed. The light of Garden’s sun shone behind his head, creating an aura around his pale hair. He was such an unexpectedly beautiful man. Funny that she hadn’t thought so from the start. Her original impression of him had been one of such shyness and reticence, and that impression had colored their interactions for so long. But now she knew him better. Now, in his quietness, she heard firmness and conviction. In his reticence, she felt the restraint of power far greater than anything she’d initially guessed. And in her recognition of his strength, he was transformed in her eyes into something . . . rather magnificent, actually.
Realizing she’d been staring for some moments without speaking, Luna drew a ragged breath. A drop of sweat rolled down her temple. The heat really was intense, wasn’t it?
“It’s old man Marlin,” she blurted.
Mr. Grimm frowned. “Who?”
“Sulivan Marlin. The proprietor of Mystic Infusions.” Luna wetted her lips. “The teashop, you know. Over on Nettleton Lane?” She’d had an encounter with the man, months ago, at the end of summer. On the very day she’d blown through the door of The Arcane Bouquet, in fact. She’d ventured out into that stormy weather with the purpose of applying for a job at MysticInfusions. Mr. Sulivan Marlin had been quite delighted with her and conducted an enthusiastic interview on the spot. Luna had just begun to hope that her luck was about to turn . . . when he’d spied her heptagram tattoo.
All smiles and congeniality had vanished in an instant. Rather than a job offer, Luna had found herself turned out onto the stormy sidewalk with Mr. Marlin’s voice wheezing behind her:“And don’t you darken my doorstep again, you hear me?”
