with
the changes in her life had been with her orchid obsession. Rather
than just learning the facts that she spouted, I'd done my own
research on the flower and had fallen in love with it, with all of
the sub-species. I'd always imagined that, one day, I'd own a
greenhouse specifically designed for growing all of the different
types of the flower. These two had always been my favorite.
“Miss—Teal, is something wrong?”
I looked up, startled. I'd almost forgotten
that Elias was there... standing on the porch. “Oh, my goodness,
I'm so sorry. Come in, come in.”
I took a step back so that he could enter.
Both he and Paul had their own keys, but Elias was still at the
stage where he waited to be let in. I understood. It had taken Paul
a couple of months before he'd felt comfortable coming in on his
own at the beginning of his shift, and even he knocked when he was
coming by outside of his normal schedule.
“I thought I had read somewhere that orchids
were your favorite flower,” Elias said as he stepped past me. “I
hope that I was not remiss in bringing these to you.”
He smelled absolutely delicious, I thought.
It was almost enough to distract me from the flowers I held. Not
quite though. These were exquisite flowers. “They are, my favorite
I mean,” I hurried to reassure him. “And they're lovely. I love
them. It's just that these are really rare. Where in the world did
you find them?” I was aware that I was on the verge of
babbling.
“I have a—friend who specializes in rare
flowers.” He smiled down at me, a genuine, unmasked smile. It was
almost as beautiful as the flowers.
“Thank you so much.” I tore my eyes away from
him and looked at the delicate petals in front of me. “And thank
your friend. I've always wanted to see these in real life, but I
never thought I'd have the chance.”
“Shall we put them in some water?”
I could hear the pride in his voice and loved
that I had helped put it there. He'd obviously wanted to get me
something special, and knowing that he'd succeeded had made him
happy. I wondered if he was that way with everyone, or if it was
just me. It might've been a bit arrogant and selfish, but I kind of
hoped that it was just me. “I keep the vases in the curio in the
dining room.”
It turned out that the one thing my table had
been missing was flowers. I hadn't wanted Elias to feel awkward
with just the two of us sitting at the dining room table I rarely
used, so I'd set things up on the table I usually used in my
kitchen. It made things seem a lot more casual. It also gave me an
excuse to sit closer to Elias than the dining room table
would've.
We chatted about everyday, boring stuff as we
made our plates and carried them over to the table. The
conversation faded in and out as we ate, but the silence was never
awkward. It was strange, I thought, how someone I barely knew could
make me feel so comfortable. Every so often, I'd glance at the
flowers, a warmth going through me each time. Not only had it been
sweet that he'd brought me flowers, but he'd remembered from
something he'd read that they were my favorite.
“So,” I decided to move the subject to
something a little more personal. We weren't close enough for
anything deep, but I had a thousand questions I wanted to ask.
“What made you decide to become a bodyguard?”
He looked surprised by the question, as if
he'd never considered it before. Interesting. The origin stories
were generally the most commonly asked questions in this industry.
Why did you become an actor? What made you choose acting as a
career? What or who was your main influence in the decision to
pursue such-and-such a field? My parents had drilled my answer into
my head since I couldn't very well say that it was because they'd
pushed me into it and made me feel like I owed it to them for
rescuing me from a life of being shuttled from one foster home to
another.
The answer I'd given until I was free of
them? When you grow up in front of
the changes in her life had been with her orchid obsession. Rather
than just learning the facts that she spouted, I'd done my own
research on the flower and had fallen in love with it, with all of
the sub-species. I'd always imagined that, one day, I'd own a
greenhouse specifically designed for growing all of the different
types of the flower. These two had always been my favorite.
“Miss—Teal, is something wrong?”
I looked up, startled. I'd almost forgotten
that Elias was there... standing on the porch. “Oh, my goodness,
I'm so sorry. Come in, come in.”
I took a step back so that he could enter.
Both he and Paul had their own keys, but Elias was still at the
stage where he waited to be let in. I understood. It had taken Paul
a couple of months before he'd felt comfortable coming in on his
own at the beginning of his shift, and even he knocked when he was
coming by outside of his normal schedule.
“I thought I had read somewhere that orchids
were your favorite flower,” Elias said as he stepped past me. “I
hope that I was not remiss in bringing these to you.”
He smelled absolutely delicious, I thought.
It was almost enough to distract me from the flowers I held. Not
quite though. These were exquisite flowers. “They are, my favorite
I mean,” I hurried to reassure him. “And they're lovely. I love
them. It's just that these are really rare. Where in the world did
you find them?” I was aware that I was on the verge of
babbling.
“I have a—friend who specializes in rare
flowers.” He smiled down at me, a genuine, unmasked smile. It was
almost as beautiful as the flowers.
“Thank you so much.” I tore my eyes away from
him and looked at the delicate petals in front of me. “And thank
your friend. I've always wanted to see these in real life, but I
never thought I'd have the chance.”
“Shall we put them in some water?”
I could hear the pride in his voice and loved
that I had helped put it there. He'd obviously wanted to get me
something special, and knowing that he'd succeeded had made him
happy. I wondered if he was that way with everyone, or if it was
just me. It might've been a bit arrogant and selfish, but I kind of
hoped that it was just me. “I keep the vases in the curio in the
dining room.”
It turned out that the one thing my table had
been missing was flowers. I hadn't wanted Elias to feel awkward
with just the two of us sitting at the dining room table I rarely
used, so I'd set things up on the table I usually used in my
kitchen. It made things seem a lot more casual. It also gave me an
excuse to sit closer to Elias than the dining room table
would've.
We chatted about everyday, boring stuff as we
made our plates and carried them over to the table. The
conversation faded in and out as we ate, but the silence was never
awkward. It was strange, I thought, how someone I barely knew could
make me feel so comfortable. Every so often, I'd glance at the
flowers, a warmth going through me each time. Not only had it been
sweet that he'd brought me flowers, but he'd remembered from
something he'd read that they were my favorite.
“So,” I decided to move the subject to
something a little more personal. We weren't close enough for
anything deep, but I had a thousand questions I wanted to ask.
“What made you decide to become a bodyguard?”
He looked surprised by the question, as if
he'd never considered it before. Interesting. The origin stories
were generally the most commonly asked questions in this industry.
Why did you become an actor? What made you choose acting as a
career? What or who was your main influence in the decision to
pursue such-and-such a field? My parents had drilled my answer into
my head since I couldn't very well say that it was because they'd
pushed me into it and made me feel like I owed it to them for
rescuing me from a life of being shuttled from one foster home to
another.
The answer I'd given until I was free of
them? When you grow up in front of
Similar Books
