He spread his hands out. “Don’t care.”
I snorted, a wicked idea forming in my mind. “I can do anything I want.”
A grin tipped his lips up. “Anything at all.”
“I don’t want any credit for it. If anyone asks you who did the centerpiece, you will give anyone else but me the recognition.”
His lips thinned. “Why.” It was a demand, not a question.
I didn’t want to get a reputation for being a Lord’s sycophant. “Those are my terms, Lord.”
“Caelan.” He exhaled a heavy sigh. “Difficult woman. Fine. But I expect your best work.” He handed me a business card. “My email and cell phone are listed. Text me the invoice once you have it.”
“I require half up front?—”
“Don’t care. I’ll pay the entire thing once I receive it.”
“And if I make an error on the invoice?”
He waved my concerns away. “I’m good for it.” Caelan stepped away and went to pick up the box. His sharp gazeskimmed over the plants before he looked at me. “Do you have any extra of the pink one?”
I blinked. “You want a plant from me?”
A slow grin curved his lips. “I want much more from you, flower girl. But I’ll settle for a plant to begin with.”
Color bloomed in my cheeks. I spun on my heel and hurried to my cutting shelf.
Caelan’s wicked chuckle stiffened my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally pushed his suggestive laughter from my mind, and took one of the Pink Lady turtle vines down. Even though I was pissed, it wasn’t the plant’s fault. I bent over the little round ceramic pot and pushed a thread of power through the roots and soil, fortifying the cutting for the journey to Caelan’s castle. Then, because I was feeling a little salty, I leaned and whispered a command to the plant and tipped my palm over the pot, depositing a glowing kernel of magic. Nothing naughty or mean, but something that might freak Caelan out.
When I turned, all traces of embarrassment had faded from my face. “I’ll email you the care instructions.”
He looked down at the teal pot I held. “The rest are in plastic. Are you sure I can take the pot?”
“She’s still too young to move. Consider it a truce.” I smiled tightly and handed him the cutting.
A tanned finger brushed over one of the small leaves. “Hello.”
If he were anyone else, my heart would have melted, and I would have thrown myself at him for treating my plant like a sentient being. That’s what people don’t understand. All plants are sentient. They feel things, maybe not in the same way we do, but plants know love and pain and hunger and thirst.
The little turtle vine reached up and curled around Caelan’s finger. The Shifter Lord gasped and, instead of freaking out, burst into delighted laughter.
Dammit.
“Is this your doing?” he asked, still fascinated by the plant.
“Yes and no. Plants require a lot of energy, and most of it is used for growing. They don’t have any extra for other things.”
His gaze lifted. “You gave it a boost?”
I tilted my head. “Perhaps.”
The vine uncurled from his finger and folded in on itself. “This is amazing, Evie. I will cherish her.”
Color touched my cheeks again. “You’re welcome.”
He offered me a tiny bow. “I will show myself out. Simone will send over the number of arrangements we need and the exact measurements for the main showpiece.”
“Thank you for your business.” I planned to charge him out the ass. If Little Shop of Florals was the worst deal in town, maybe the Shifter Lord would take his business elsewhere and things would get back to normal around here.
