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When Madison told Lila about their uniform and handed her a few pieces to change into, she spun around in the corner near the candle section.
“Are you going to follow me around all day?” she snarled.
“Is that a problem?” Fletcher snapped back.
Madison grunted, then peered past Fletcher to the front door when it chimed with customers entering. She snapped her fingers at the enforcers, who were bumbling with some of the displays.
“If you’re all going to hang around, then try putting yourself to good use. Throw whatever is broken into the back room and leave the rest of the displays. I’ll fix them.”
Fletcher smiled. He couldn’t help it. A pink slither of her tongue came out between her candy-apple-red lips, along with an intrigued look. It seemed her anger had been pushed away.
He wasn’t sure if it was Lila’s appearance or if she had accepted what he had finally revealed to her.
He started with surprise when Madison snapped her fingers at him, pulling him out of his trance-like state.
“Do as I ask, My King,” she said, her heels clicking against the floor as she sauntered past to greet the customers.
Fletcher did indeed do as his mate asked. They got rid of the displays and clothing that had been ruined and placed them in the back room. The rest of the displays that could be salvaged were left to Madison and Lila. The heavy-handed king and his enforcers knew nothing about the aesthetics of retail management.
Lila’s training was going well. From Fletcher’s observation, anyway. Madison was in full customer service mode, and he relished the sight of it. It wasn’t a plastic friendliness that she expressed to everyone who chimed the bell. It was authentic. He sighed at the shine of her smile and the way her eyes crinkled up at the edges. It stirred his soul. It reminded him of the first scents of autumn.
He decided to stop trailing behind her and instead got comfortable behind the counter. They caught each other's eyes a few times. They didn’t linger long on one another, but the air between them was alive with unspoken words and unanswered questions.
Sitting in silence and watching Madison work wasn't a bad feeling. Soon, Fletcher slowly felt his heavy emotions lift, not unlike the way the dark clouds of a thunderstorm cleared after the thunder and lightning had died out.
Lila seemed to be performing well with the same demeanor of friendliness that Madison radiated. He felt he had done well in selecting someone who would take on the majority of the duties of the store when Madison became queen. He just hoped he wasn’t taking the one thing from her that had attached to her heart and resembled her family’s love. It made his heart ache to think that way.
Despite that, however, he had to be firm with her. He had caught her off guard by calling her out about the delay. He thought of that as the first step in the right direction. He had finally made a crack, or rather a dent, in the walls that Madison had built around herself.
Maybe now we can plan the damn mating ceremony,Fletcher thought, though he wasn’t going to allow himself to hope.
He sat at the counter all day, and some of the customers recognized him. He didn’t mind engaging with them all in casual chit-chat as Madison swept around the store, her shirt floating out behind her like wings.
He didn’t miss the few customers who threw Madison dirty looks. The kind of looks that were born from discrimination. Fletcher’s rage came and went with each client that treated Madison poorly. He had no time for them.
But Madison served them all just the same, regardless.
It was downright sexy and admirable.
“Having a good time?” Madison asked after cashing someone out.
Fletcher grinned back at her, leaning up against the counter. The way her V-neck shirt held her bust was magical in itself. He wondered, perhaps, if she was wearing one of her own products.
“I always have the time of my life whenever I’m with you, my love.”
Madison licked her full lips before they lifted in a smirk. He was brought back to that tranquil autumn sensation again. Maybe she was coming around to him.
He hoped, more than he had ever hoped for anything, that she would open the chamber of her heart to him.
FIVE
MADISON
Madison had felt a flush of guilt when Fletcher poured his heart out to her. He had caught her in her deception, her intentional avoidance of the engagement party. Her emotions and intentions had been revealed at that moment, and she was deeply embarrassed.
Lila couldn’t have arrived at a better time. She was thankful that she was the one Fletcher had decided to hire rather than some nobody who couldn’t understand the delicacy of fabric and wouldn’t take the legacy of Madison’s magic seriously.
Lila might have been a wolf and not a witch, but she seemed to respect the product and reputation of the sorcery she would be engaged with.
