“I don’t have any extra manners.” He looks over his shoulder. “I would leave some for you if I did. Trust me.”
“Funny.” I roll my eyes. “Izzie appreciates lavish gifts from the men who want to impress her, so…” I look over at the single bloom, then back at him. “You’ll need to leave a lot more than a flower if you want a chance with her during suitor season.”
“That rose is for you.”
“What?”
“You heard me,” he says. “I highly doubt that any suitors are lining up for a taste of your mouth, so consider it my consolation.” He pauses. “This is the part when you thank me and give me the water I asked for.”
I slam the door in his face and rush over to the window.
I watch as he summons a stunning brown stallion from afar and writes something on the inside of his palm.
He takes one last look at our house before settling onto the saddle and riding away.
When he’s long gone, I pick up his sympathy gift and twirl it between my fingertips.
I hate that he’s right about this being the only gift I’ve ever received from a man, and it’s far too beautiful to throw away.
Even if it’s out of spite.
Not wanting to think about it, I trap the bloom under a glass jar and hide it under my bed.
Someone Quite Peculiar
Gabriel
One Day Later
“Introducing the stunning and beautiful Odette Swan of the Lake!”
I stare at the woman before me, taking in her soft pink lips and crimson-colored cheeks. Her eyes are as blue as a summer sky and her golden hair falls to her waist in waves.
She’s twirling around the wooded floor in a moon-white dress, leaving every man in my tavern spellbound.
Every man except me…
Before yesterday, I would’ve considered her one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, but the red-headed goddess I saw in Mr. Arwyn’s home has completely rewritten what that word means.
Who the hell was she?
“My daughter is as pure as snow, and she’ll make a fine wife for any gentleman who chooses to pursue her affection during this suitor season,” her father speaks. “But we will only entertain meetings with men who own land and livestock. I will not condone her being wed to anyone who doesn’t at least own those two things.”
Unimpressed, I stand to my feet and weave through the crowd, slipping outside and into the evening air. I’ve seen enough “fine wife” options to last a lifetime, and none of them are my type.
Walking to the side of the building, I peer through a window to ensure everyone is still entranced by the Swan before descending into the basement.
I hesitate a few moments before unlocking the door, bracing myself for the part of my life I have to keep hidden. The part that no one in this village will ever see.
The room on the other side is full of red roses that will never die. They cling to the walls like ivy, their bright petals a constant reminder of a mistake I made decades ago, but they’re not the reason I detest coming here.
“Mirror, Mirror, on the wall…” My handheld mirror, the bane of my existence, laughs atop my desk when I enter. “Who’s the fairest one of all?”
“Stop talking,” I say. “I need to work in peace.”
“If only I could be normal, just for a day…” It ignores my request. “Star light, star bright, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
I walk over and pick it up, staring into the cold, black eyes of the ugly woman who cursed me years ago. No matter how often I see her face, I’m instantly reminded that I’m not living anymore.
I’m merely existing.
“My apologies, Gabriel.” She ties a tattered shawl around her head. “I guess I forgot which wish you always make before going to sleep. I’m mixing up all these damnations in my old age, you know?”
“You’re only thirty years old.”
“Yet, you called me an eighty-year-old hag when you first saw me.” She snorts. “I figure I should always look the part.”
“Can you please stop talking? I don’t come down here often for a reason.”
“No, no, no, wait. I remember your bedtime wish now.” Her toothless smile is enough to give any child nightmares. “Please forgive me for being so heartless and cold years ago. I promise to make it up to you if you give me my life back…”
“I haven’t made that wish in a long time,” I say. “I don’t feel that way anymore.”
“Oh? Well, how does it feel to be the most ruthless and wealthiest man in the entire village who is running out of time?”
“You left out the fact that I’m the most attractive man as well,” I say. “It feels pretty damn good.”
“If any of these people knew who you really were, it wouldn’t.” She looks up toward the sky, cackling. “There’s a full moon tonight. Shouldn’t you be preparing to hide somewhere?”