We had returned to Fayoak only yesterday morning and, after such a life-altering experience, going back to my normal routine felt strange. Even if I hadn't helped Sophie rescue her sister and Isabelle from some crazy, militant pack in the dead of night, that moment we shared in that motel room would have been enough to toss my world askew.

Worse yet, it seemed as if we were pretending it never happened. She had practically shoved me away with her words. I didn't get it.

I had shown her I could protect her and helped her rescue her sister. It was clear what we could do together. And the night we shared at the motel on top of it all? I really thought we had something.

Well, she made it clear to me how stupid I was to have that thought. Last night, I had called to check up on her. It went directly to voicemail. Instead of leaving her a message, I sent her a text.

Early this morning, I got a brief reply telling me she was fine. Nothing more. Cold and distant. My jaw clenched. That was probably how we should've left things from the start.

That didn't change the fact that I had to finish up the landscaping on her property today. I was already a little behind. I meant to finish up yesterday, but we pulled into town late that morning. I had gone home and passed out after washing the skunk cabbage stench off my body. By the time I woke up it was evening.

As I drove to her house, I thought about what I was going to do if she was there. I really wasn't sure how I would react. I didn't know if I would be able to fake a smile and push through. When I pulled into her driveway, I couldn't decide if I was disappointed or relieved to see that her car was gone.

My eyes flickered to her front door and I realized that I was actually disappointed she wasn't there. I didn't get why. Even if she had been there, I knew better than to knock, no matter how badly I might have wanted to. Sophie would've likely told me to get lost in a politely cold manner.

I was itching for an explanation, but she had already tried to push me away before. There was resistance there. Maybe it was for the best if we did part ways.

Maybe all this time I had been imagining what was between us? My instincts disagreed, but she'd certainly made her position clear.

I tore my eyes away from her house, got out of my truck, and walked over to the planter beds with a determined stride. I was nearly done here. Another hour or so and I could be gone. I wouldn't ever have to lay eyes on her again. I wasn't sure why that thought didn't make me feel better like I thought it would.

I made quick work of planting the flats of peonies in the beds alongside her house, carefully avoiding even glancing at her front door. That was where we shared our first kiss. As it was, I could barely look at the purple and red blooms that had once held such beauty for me.

In my mind, they were linked to her, and it hurt too damn much. When I finished, I gave them a cursory glance, simply to make sure they were in decent shape, then packed up my things. I couldn't stay here a moment longer.

It was a short drive back to the family orchard, and I was still tense by the time I made it home and stalked inside. I didn't feel right anymore. I wasn't me.

No. I was me, but I had reverted to a younger version. I was the me from years ago who once let a woman slowly crush me from the inside.

I thought back to the time that I let myself get strung along with sweet promises and lies. I was thankful for that day I overheard Gwendolyn talk to her friends about me. I didn't think I would have ever seen the truth otherwise.

I'd planned to surprise her with a ring, but I'd been the one surprised. I could still hear her laugh as she talked with them. Her words didn't hurt as much now as they had then, but I still remembered each one.

"Alexander? Oh, trust me, he's wrapped around my little finger. So eager to please. I expect a proposal any day now." Her words had cut right through me.

During the year that we'd been dating, I'd never heard her speak in that tone. She'd sounded so full of herself.

She was right though. I was the simpering fool standing there with grand plans to ask her to marry me. Be my wife. My love.

Her friend had asked if she loved me, and I'd listened eagerly for the words I knew would come. Everyone has their faults, right? I told myself. I know she loves me . . .

"Love? Sure, let's call it that. I mean, what woman wouldn't love being a part of the Greenhaven family?" She laughed and her friends joined in. "Ugh, seriously though, he's just such a goody-goody. His inheritance is huge, but you wouldn't know it. I'll definitely change that though, girls. Mark my words."

Money. Status. Power. That had been all she wanted. I could've been anyone. It wasn't me who mattered to her, it was what I had. She wanted to be a Greenhaven, part of the fae elite. Whatever that meant.

As I stood there and listened to her laugh, the ring box felt like a brick in my pocket. I told myself there and then that I would never put myself in a position to get hurt like that again.

I decided I was going to live my life with no attachments. I had been successful for years. And yet, here I was, older and wiser, but I managed to find someone I couldn't resist. Sophie.

Looking back, I couldn't quite pinpoint where this all went wrong. When had I started lying to myself about how I felt? Was it from the very moment I first saw those beautiful eyes?

I roughly pushed the thoughts aside and headed to my bedroom with the idea of taking a shower. As I stepped through the door, I saw the peony on my windowsill out of the corner of my eye. I walked over to it.

The sprout of a plant had grown a fair amount on its own, but it still struggled to bloom. I thought about giving it a little burst of magic, but I knew I needed to let it take its time. It was still tempting to try.

I reached up, not sure what I was going to do, when a sudden ring from my cell phone pulled my eyes away from the plant. I dug my phone from the pocket of my dirty work pants and looked at the screen—Maddox was calling.

"Hey, boss. How can I help you?"

"Hey. Did you finish up at Sophie's place today?" Maddox asked with confusion in his voice.

I ran a hand over my face and cursed under my breath. I had completely forgotten to call him when I finished. I was too stuck in my own head to remember.

"Yeah, sorry, I meant to call and let you know."

"It happens. As long as you're done, we're good. I'll let Galinsky know."

"Thanks," I replied quietly.

"It's fine." Maddox paused before continuing in a less business-like and more friendly tone, "Anyway, I'm glad you're done because I just got an interesting call. You up for a fast job?"

I paused for a moment before answering. I wasn't sure if it was the best idea, but the distraction of another job would be convenient right about now.

"Yeah, sure. What's up? Another big project?"

"Well, no, not really. She needs some repairs in her garden, a fixed trellis, that type of thing. She apparently needs some roses planted immediately though. And she asked for you by name."

"What?"

"Yeah, I don't know. It was strange. I would have expected you to be on Heather's shit list, pun intended."

I let out a small chuckle. "Heather? Who's Heather?"

"Remember the volunteer job at the school?"

"Ahh, that Heather . . ."

"The very one."

The last time I had seen Heather and her two lackeys was when I volunteered to do some gardening work at a school where she worked. It ended with me introducing her to some especially aromatic compost by giving her two big, stinky handfuls. She screamed and ran off with her two little witch friends in tow.

"Did she seriously ask for me?"

"Yeah, it seems she simply has to have some roses planted and blooming today. She said she knew you were probably the only person in town who could make it happen."

"But why today? What's the rush?"

"Yeah, she told me she had to have the roses planted today for her mother's birthday party or something. I quoted her a rush price and she took it. You game?"

I let out a long breath as I looked up at the ceiling, then shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

Within seconds of Heather swinging open her door, I knew exactly why I shouldn't have agreed. She greeted me with that painfully white smile of hers. She wore a too tight shirt with a deep V-neck and the type of bra that pushed her boobs up to her neck.

Her hair was just as overdone, with every strand locked in place so tightly it almost looked like a blond helmet on her head. A look that elicited some less than savory memories. I knew there was a reason I didn't like Heather from the start, attitude aside. If she was fae, she would be a carbon copy of Gwendolyn.

"Alexander," she said, dragging out my name with a squeal. "Come in, come in."

Why did I think this was a good idea?

She stood so close to the door that I couldn't avoid brushing up against her as I entered. I tried my best to not look too revolted. Wouldn't want to piss off a paying customer.

"Follow me," she said.

As we passed from room to room I noticed her house was, thus far, every bit as fake as she was. Everything was pristine and decorated to hell and back. She had a thing for glitter, that much was clear.

But there was no personality in her home. It didn't look lived in. Pretty, sparkly, but lifeless. Nothing like what anyone would imagine a witch would live in, that was for sure.

She led me into her living room, her heels clacking against the white tiled floor as she swayed her hips like a pendulum. I was sure she was trying to be sexy, but I found her ridiculously revolting.

Who even wears heels inside their home?

When Heather gestured for me to take a seat on one of her plush white couches with fluffy pink pillows, I gestured for her to sit first, then hesitantly sat on the other couch.

"I have to be honest," I began, "I'm surprised you want to work with me."

"Oh, that silly misunderstanding?" She let out a high-pitched giggle and waved a hand in the air. "Please, I'm so over it."

"Great, yeah, so what were you looking to get done? Maddox didn't have many details for me. Something about roses?"

"Oh, no, that's it. I just want you to plant a few nice, big rose bushes for me in the backyard."

I furrowed my brow. "Is that all? Just a few rose bushes?"

She nodded and smiled even wider. It was probably supposed to be alluring, but I found it creepy.

She ran her eyes over me as if she was undressing me, and I could barely keep from walking out. But she was being true to form, as far as I knew.

My only interactions with her involved her flirting openly, me smashing manure in her hands, and her treating Maddox's wife like crap. I wondered if I could complete the cycle today and find some more compost. I stopped the smile that wanted to form at that thought.

"Well, I suppose I should get started then. Do you have seeds or . . .?"

She gave me another one of those perky nods. "Of course not, silly. I have bushes."

"So you don't need them grown?"

"I mean, I want you to make sure they look nice."

I forced a smile on my face. "Alright then. Where are they?"

Her smile tightened. "Outside, obviously. I'm not bringing something that filthy in my house. But we don't have to rush. We could stay here and get to know each other better."

Her smile eased and she fluttered her false lashes. My stomach churned. She was laying it on thick. It wasn't that she was ugly—just fake and pretentious—she was just the exact opposite of what I was drawn to.

"Sorry, I've had a busy day already. If you don't mind, I'll get right to it."

"Are you sure you don't want to chat?"

"Yeah. Besides, if you want them blooming today, I need to get working. I wouldn't want to disappoint your mother."

She tilted her head to the side. "My mother?"

What?

"Maddox told me they were for your mother's birthday?"

"Oh, I'm such a scatterbrain. Leave it to Maddox to remember my mother's birthday better than me."

I kept an easy smile in place, despite wanting to narrow my eyes. She was acting weird. Weirder than usual.

"You could say Maddox is very detail oriented."

"That's just great for him," she replied breezily. "Well, let's get you started already."

As we moved into the hallway, she reached over and I flinched as she ran her hand down my arm.

"Gardening works wonders, doesn't it?" she asked in a sultry tone.

I pulled my arm out of her reach and blurted the first thing I could think of to get her to stop touching me. "I was planting all morning. I'm filthy."

She yanked her hand back as if I was contagious and curled her lip. Her toothy smile immediately reappeared and she let out that high-pitched giggle again.

"You dirty man, you."

"Yep. That's what happens when you play in compost."

Her smile quivered before she got it back firmly in place. "Well, why don't I show you outside then. Come, follow me."

I followed as she click-clacked her way down the hallway. As we passed one of the open doors, something glittery from inside caught my eye. I glanced over and saw several vials that looked just like the one I found at Sophie's place.

They were neatly arranged in rows on a table. I paused, frowning at the sight. Heather looked over her shoulder, saw me staring, and immediately reached out to shut the door.

"Oopsy, that's just work stuff. How embarrassing that you had to see that mess."

It had looked just as obsessively neat as the rest of her house, but whatever. My thoughts went back to those obnoxious vials. There were so many of them in there.

What did Sophie say those probably were? Makeup, right? I thought Heather worked for the elementary school?

"Do you sell makeup on the side or something?"

She gave me a funny look from over her shoulder. "No, why would you think that?"

"No reason."

Things were feeling weirder by the minute. Heather seemed a little stiffer, too. Maybe she was just embarrassed that I saw her "mess" and was worried about what I thought? I filed that one back in my brain for later. I knew I would have to look into those vials more. For now, I just wanted to get her rose bushes planted and get the hell out of this creepy Barbie house.