Free Fateful 2-Fractured by Cheri Schmidt Page B

when
he’d been a vampire, Max gave Ethan a swift slug in the arm as he
passed him.
    “Ow!” Ethan grimaced as he fought to keep
his chair from tipping over from the force of the punch. “I’ll get
you for that,” Ethan grumbled while rubbing his now dead arm.
    Danielle laughed, but stopped short and
blinked when something soft bounced off the end of her nose. She
looked into her lap and saw that it was a white rose petal.
    Ethan snorted, the sound was followed by a
stream of chuckling.
    Suddenly after that, she was showered with
many more petals as well as roses now.
    Bewildered, she looked up to see where this
attack was coming from. “Oh!” she gasped. A swarm of little fairies
hovered over her head, showering her with fragrant flowers and
petals.
    Danielle recognized Alora as she swooped
down and stopped so close in front of her face she almost had to go
cross-eyed to see her.
    “Hello, Danielle,” the sprite greeted and
then snuck a look in Ethan’s direction. It seemed the tiny fairy
planned to say more and wondered if Ethan would approve.
    Which he didn’t. “Alora! Don’t you dare!”
Ethan admonished sternly.
    Alora pouted, gave Danielle a kiss on her
nose and darted away like an insect.
    “I’ll take those,” Beon said, reaching his
hand out for the remaining roses to add to his arrangement.
    “Oh … yes, sir.” Danielle quickly gathered
them from her lap and passed them over.
    He then began arranging the flowers in the
vase as precisely as a florist would. But his brows furrowed when
he apparently didn’t like how it was going. He left with the
bouquet, looking a little exasperated—then returned to place the
finished design in the center of the table. He’d added some tiny
white flowers that dripped beautifully from the lip of the vase,
complementing the roses nicely. Pressing his fists on his hips, he
admired his work. The corner of his lips twitched into a smile and
he turned on his heal to leave again.
    Danielle snickered; Beon was funny when he
behaved like this.
    Emotions swelled within her. Ethan had
planned all of this for her? Lifting her gaze to his, she said,
“Thank you, I can honestly say I’ve never received flowers like
that before.”
    “Did you enjoy that?”
    “Yes, though it was almost tiring.”
Danielle slid her hand across the table to reach his. He followed
her lead, matched his fingertips with hers and then interlocked
their fingers. She sighed, she was here with Ethan, yet she hadn’t
really had a chance to enjoy just his company. And realized that this was the best they were
going to get as she again noticed the many guards lurking within
the woods.
    Ethan frowned. “You can’t be sad. Not at a
time like this.”
    “I’m not sad. It’s just ... well, we’re
never really alone.”
    “Salad is ready.” Beon’s voice cut into
their “moment” abruptly, proving her point.
    They both sat upright, forced to release
their hands in the process. Ethan eyed her, looking concerned and
lipped the words “I’m sorry” to her.
    She nodded as Beon left them to their
salads. “Will they leave us alone longer when we’re done eating?”
she asked.
    “That’s the plan,” Ethan said.
    “Really?” He nodded, and she continued,
“Please tell me this isn’t a six course meal.”
    “No. It’s a light lunch.”
    “Oh, good. Eat your salad quickly,” Danielle
advised spearing some lettuce and a cherry tomato onto her fork.
“The sooner we’re done, the sooner these interruptions end, right?”
Again he nodded with a mouthful of salad on his fork, and her eyes
drifted to the trees again. “Though the forest will still be full
of watching eyes, won’t it?”
    “I’m afraid so.” Ethan sighed. “I know this
is massively awkward, but we can’t change it. Especially now that
it seems you are being followed nonstop by immortals wishing to do
you harm.”
    Even knowing he was right, Danielle rolled
her eyes. They couldn’t change it—she just had to learn