I was about to answer Maddox when the door swung open and I glanced over out of habit. Alex walked in with a giant box and I rushed to greet him. Even though I knew I was going to have to give him some bad news, I was still as happy as ever to see him. Mrs. Greenhaven's grandson was her polar opposite in so many ways. I would have never guessed they were related, even though they shared the same ethereal beauty that marked them as fae.

Alex set the box down on the cream tile. As he stood up he ruffled a hand through his blond hair and flashed me his charming, pearly-white grin. "If it isn't my favorite bombshell of a waitress. Did you do something different with your hair today?"

I rolled my eyes but still smiled. "As if it's not in the same bun that I have it in every day."

"And it’s as gorgeous as always," he added as his grin took on a sly curve.

"Knock it off, you," I said with a laugh. "I'm not buying whatever it is you're selling."

"Actually, you are," Alex corrected with a wink before producing an invoice with a flourish. "And, my oh my, am I worth it."

"Really, Alex?" I made a face at him as I took the invoice. "You're full of cheesy lines this morning."

"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I'm having a good day."

My expression fell the moment I heard him say those words. "About that good day . . . I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your grandmother is going to need you back at the orchard as soon as possible."

He looked taken aback. "What could've possibly happened between breakfast and now?"

"Well, it's more like what happened shortly after breakfast," I paused as I tried to see if I could tease out more information from that unusual corner of my brain and failed. "Something about coyotes? Irrigation? That's all I've got."

"How mad was she?" he asked with a grimace. Apparently, that was all he needed to hear, too.

"Like the calm before a storm," I replied with a sympathetic smile.

"Damn coyotes," he said. "It’ll take hours to fix those lines." He took a deep breath.

"Alright," he pointed a finger at me, "I'll bring in your order, then speed through the rest so I can make sure she doesn’t terrify the staff into quitting or get so angry she overgrows the orchard to hell and back."

I perked up at the thought of huge trees heavy with fruit and bushes overflowing with berries. "Would an overgrown orchard really be so bad?"

He leveled a blank stare at me and slowly nodded his head, wordlessly confirming that it wasn't anything like the magical paradise I imagined.

"Want me to help you get things in then?" I asked, despite knowing he would tell me no.

Alex's grin slid back into place. "It's not much today. I've got it."

"I haven't heard that one before," I said with a laugh. "Remember that time you tried carrying in eight cases of jam?"

"I nearly had it," he protested.

"Yeah, nope. You're lucky I saw that vision of you going kerplunk." I scrunched up my nose at the thought. "There would've been jam and glass everywhere."

"My heroine," Alex crooned as he turned and headed for the door. "I'll be right back. Will you still be where I can find you? I've got something special for you today."

"I work here, remember? I'm not going anywhere," I said with a laugh as he walked outside.

The moment the door shut and Alex was gone, I became intensely aware of a tingle along the back of my scalp. The kind you get when someone is staring a hole right through you. I peeked over my shoulder to see Maddox twisted only halfway around in his bar stool, as if he wanted to hide the fact that he was spying.

When he noticed me looking, Maddox whirled back around, elbows on the counter. He was a picture of poorly executed nonchalance. I stifled a giggle. He was lucky he was so adorable. And handsome. Although we were in public, I let my eyes run over him as I walked back to the counter. Construction work had been unbelievably good to him. His muscles filled out his T-shirt in ways that had me bite back an appreciative groan. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him.

I shook my head to get rid of the lewd thoughts and slipped around to the other side of the counter, where I rested my elbows in front of Maddox to mimic his posture. I gave him a big smile.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked, unable to resist a little cheek in my tone.

"Waiting for my sister's food," Maddox said simply and took a sip of his coffee. I frowned at the way his hazel eyes remained focused off to the side. The faint furrow of his brow. It wasn't like him.

"Is that so?" I asked as I tilted my head to the side. "What's with the sourpuss face then?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied coldly.

My frown deepened at his tone and I reached across the short distance between us to furtively brush my fingers along his forearm. "I suppose I'm just imagining things then?"

He took an even longer sip of his coffee, then he finally looked back at me. "What's the deal with that guy? Angus or something?"

"Alex," I corrected. "I didn't know you had a chance to meet him already."

"I didn't. Sam told me who he was."

"Why are you so curious about Alex?"

"I'm always curious about new people in town. That's all." His tone was casual, but he had a sharp look in his eyes.

I shook my head and laughed softly. "No, you're really not. You're hardly ever here, remember?"

"That doesn't mean I can't be concerned about my hometown."

"If you say so." I shrugged and moved my fingers from his arm just as Alex came back through the front door, his arms laden with far too much, as usual. I sighed at the sight. He would never learn.

"What're you sighing about?" Maddox asked.

Alex wobbled slightly and the stack in his arms followed suit. Wide-eyed patrons in the booth closest to the door shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"One sec, someone's trying to prove they're big and strong, and I really don't want to be cleaning up glass and jam today."

I laughed to myself and darted out from the counter to help Alex carry everything into the gift shop. It was a song and dance that we did nearly every single time he made deliveries to The Peach. Our deliveries were always huge because we were forever busy. In the beginning, I got the funny feeling he did it on purpose, but now it was more of a game.

On the way over to Alex, I made a mental note to check back in with Maddox about the whole attitude thing he had going on. I frowned to myself as I grabbed the top two stacks from Alex's tower of jelly and jam. Maddox was normally so much happier when he visited. I carefully balanced the stack of jam in my arms as my frown deepened. There was definitely something going on.

"Hey, Rose, you in there?" Alex's voice cut through my thoughts. "What's bothering you?"

I blinked and looked around me. We were already in the gift shop. I hadn't even realized I had walked over here. Jams and jellies from the Greenhaven Orchard packed the shelves. Local honey in jars and flavored sticks graced one side of the counter. Kitschy T-shirts hung on display with cute sayings like, To Peach Their Own and Low hanging fruit? That's my jam!

I was so stuck on the way Maddox had acted I had walked over on autopilot. I felt that tingle again and looked over my shoulder just in time to see Maddox look away. I didn't know what was going on with him, but it was starting to get to me.

"Not a single thing is wrong," I replied cheerfully, pasting on a wider smile than usual.

I set my stack of jam down on the gift shop's counter next to the honey. Alex set his slightly taller stack down beside mine. He rested a hand on the counter and looked down at me.

"I don't know if I believe you," he said with a smile, although his eyes narrowed. "The Rose I see every morning never loses her smile."

"It's just one of those days, I s'pose," I replied.

"Well, remember how I told you I had a surprise? I've got just the thing to brighten your day."

"Oh? Do tell," I said, my curiosity piqued.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the side of the gift shop, out of view of the dining area. I gave him a confused look. What could possibly be so deserving of secrecy?

He shoved a hand in his pocket, then pulled it out with a flourish. He held a small brown bag. He quickly opened it and poured the contents into his hand. His fingers curled up so I couldn’t see what it was. Then he slowly opened his hand in front of me, palm up to display several little brown seeds. I looked from the seeds to him, still not getting it.

"Um, thank you?" I said slowly.

"Just watch," he said with a mischievous smile.

I looked back down and gasped. Little sprouts curled out from the seeds. I watched as they grew roots, followed by little stems and leaves that grew bigger and bigger, until finally, several buds formed and bloomed into gorgeous pansies in his hand. They were warm shades of red, orange, and yellow with neat black centers.

"That was amazing!" I clapped my hands together. "All that just for me?!"

"Of course." He bunched them together in one hand and held the flowers out to me. "Pansies are such happy flowers. Always smiling . . . just like you."

I took them from him with a grateful smile. "You're the best, Alex."

"I want to get these in some water." I started to leave the gift shop, then paused. "Oh, I need to get you your check, too. It's behind the front counter. Join me?"

"I would love nothing more." Alex gave me a wink that left me rolling my eyes. He sure knew how to lay on the charm. He was the sort of guy that had never seen a pretty face he didn’t mind hitting on.

"Oh! I can totally introduce you to Maddox, too," I said as I glanced back at Alex as I led him back into the main dining area.

"What about me?" Maddox asked from nowhere.

I whipped my head around as I came to a sudden stop. He was right in front of me. It looked as if he was on his way to the gift shop.

"What're you doing?" I asked. "Are you leaving?"

Maddox arched a brow coolly. "My order’s not ready yet. I was stretching my legs."

"Trying to preemptively work off all those pancake calories?" I meant for it to be a joke, but judging by the way his entire expression took a shift toward the dark and stormy, I must've said something wrong.

"Where did you get those?" Maddox's eyes zeroed in on the pansies, his brow knotted together. "And why do they still have roots?"

I was so relieved to have a change of subject that I turned to Alex with a bright smile and tapped him on the shoulder with the makeshift bouquet.

"This is Alex. He made them for me. You see, he's Mrs. Greenhaven's grandson." I looked between the bouquet and Alex, then shot a grin at Maddox. "Talk about a green thumb, right?"

"Yes, I see," Maddox said simply, not sharing even an ounce of my enthusiasm. He slid his eyes over to Alex, his smile pleasant enough. "It's nice to meet you, Alfonse."

Alex held out a hand, smiling enough for the both of them. "It's Alexander. You can call me Alex if you'd like. Might be easier to remember."

Maddox shook his hand and Alex's smile turned into a wince. Based on Maddox's white knuckles, I had a feeling that I knew exactly why. I had never seen him treat a new person in town so rudely before. I knew it could be a case of Alex rubbing him the wrong way. Attention-hungry fae could do that to people sometimes, but that was no excuse to act like a barbarian.

"You going to introduce me, Red?" Maddox asked.

"Oh, right." I looked between the two of them with a smile. "Alex, this is Maddox, Meghan's brother."

Alex nodded. "I've heard of you, yeah. Maddox Shepherd. You hit it big with construction."

"I didn't realize I was so talked about."

"Rose talks about you all the time. I feel like I already know you," Alex replied with a laugh, his natural charm easing the tension in the air.

Maddox's posture relaxed slightly. His smile turned more natural. When he shifted his attention to me, it was with the same smile I always saw. "You talk about me that much, do you?"

"We all do. Like, everyone in town," I said, embarrassed. I didn't realize I talked about Maddox that much. "We're proud of our hometown success stories around here. And you're the biggest of them all."

Alex let out a low whistle. "You've got a real fangirl in Rose."

I groaned inwardly as Maddox gave Alex a narrow-eyed look. "I guess I do."

The expression on Alex’s face was a weird one, like he hadn't been expecting that sort of response. I was disappointed that Maddox seemed to dislike him so much. He wasn't even giving him a chance. That was okay though, because I had a sudden idea to make everything better.

"Hey, Alex, what would you say to getting to know more people around town?" I asked.

"I'm always down for meeting new people. What did you have in mind?"

"We're having a big barbecue in my neighborhood tomorrow," I said. "You should totally come!"

Maddox started in with, "Are you sure—"

But Alex nodded his head and said, "I'd love to. I already know there's going to be at least one beautiful woman there."

I laughed and shook my head. "You're so full of it. I think you'll have a good time, though."

"Great," he said. "I had better finish my deliveries and get home before Granny loses her mind and we have no staff and a jungle to deal with. Thanks for the invite, I can't wait."

"Oh, right." I scrunched up my nose, then offered him a sympathetic smile. "Good luck to you and the orchard."

"We'll need it," Alex replied with a good-humored grin. He turned to head toward the door. "Nice meeting you, Maddox."

"Yeah, you too, Alan," Maddox muttered.

Alex paused just before he walked outside and looked over his shoulder, first at Maddox, then shifting his eyes to me with a grin. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I waved goodbye to Alex when I heard a snarl beside me and jerked my head to look at Maddox. His expression was suspiciously calm.

"I heard that," I whispered. "Control your inner kitten, would you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's the second time I've heard that today." I turned around to face him. "What gives?"

Maddox stared back at me silently.

"Maddox, your to-go order is ready," Rhonda called out from the counter.

"I should probably get back to my tables," I said with a sigh. "They'll be looking for refills and checks right about now."

He stalked over to the counter and grabbed the to-go bag. Even angry, he moved with such contained power that it drew my gaze. It didn’t help that he wore indecently tight jeans. He immediately turned on his heel and headed toward the exit. As he passed by me on his way to the front door, he said, "We'll talk later."

I nodded and it was only after he headed out that I started to wonder what he meant. It was odd to me that he was suddenly in such a rush, but I also knew that he had that to-go order for Meghan. He probably wanted to get it to her before it got cold. What could he want to talk about though?

I pondered what was going on with Maddox as I took care of my customers. I could definitely tell that something upset him. I briefly entertained the idea that it was Alex's flirting, and yeah, he flirted with me sometimes, but he flirted with everyone. There's also the fact that Maddox and I weren’t serious. I mean, I've told him about my terrible dates before and we laughed about them together.

He told me about his dates, too. They were often just as bad. I bit my lip. He hadn’t mentioned any lately. Whenever I asked, he changed the subject. As I thought back, I realized he hadn’t mentioned any dates at all since his last visit home.

"Oh no," I gasped, suddenly realizing what that could mean. Something that could explain the strange feelings I was getting from him. His impatience and temper. Maddox must have found his mate. And he didn't know how to break it to me.