AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s like magic.
Up until I offer Aspen a smile that she doesn’t return. As she passes us and enters my house, I think I might need a stronger spell.
Ollie leads me into the woods while my brain tangles in the interaction. Does she hate me? What if she loved Ollie before I did? He’s great. What’s not to love, right? Are faeries who were in love expected to stand aside the moment a soulmate appears?
Surely feelings don’t adhere to rules like cosmic forces.
Rejected mate trope, anyone? Um. Yeah.
“Sunshine?” Ollie’s voice hits one ear, promptly escorting itself out the other.
And now he’s asked her to take care of a huge mess in my house so we can go off on a date. I’m a monster. What is wrong with me? Why in the world did I ask to go to Faerie in the middle of Ollie’s bake-off? We should have planned this better. No one should have to take responsibility for another person’s stress-baking actions.
I fight so hard to stay on top of my impulses.
What is wrong with me?
“Sunshine?” Ollie tries again.
“Does she hate me?” I ask. I might be on the verge of hyperventilating. “Oh no. She hates me.”
She hates me, and she’s going to burn down my house while we’re away.
I’ll lose everything.
At least my writing is saved online?
Is there anything else of importance in my house?
I don’t… I don’t think so.
What have I been doing with my life if I own nothing of importance?
Blinking, I find myself stopped in the middle of the woods with Ollie’s palms squishing my cheeks. Confusion riots through my brain.
“There she is.” Ollie chuckles. “What’s wrong, beautiful? Why do you think Aspen hates you?”
My heart skips beats. “Because. She’s in love with you, and I’ve stolen you away from her. Now she’s going to find her revenge and burn down my house. And, honestly, she has every right to do it. I’m a monster who’s crashed into her world and stolen away the love of her life. We should go back and apologize immediately. Even though I own nothing of substance, fires are still scary.”
I grab his hand and turn, but he is a little more solid than Oxford on a leash, and I’m forced to stop short at the end of our arms. Tossing a look over my shoulder, I snap, “What are you doing? We have to hurry. I just remembered that my house is where I keep my bed, and that is actually important. So it cannot burn.”
“I feel like there’s been a misunderstanding.”
What is he talking about? Where could there have possibly been a misunderstanding? I outlined the situation for him clearly.
“Aspen and I have never been involved. Dryads aren’t interested in…that sort of thing. It’s part of the reason I feel comfortable around them. Once my reputation preceded me, they were among the few who never treated me differently.”
“Huh?” I whisper.
Ollie rubs the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t invite anyone I’ve had relations with into your presence willingly, but you should at least know that nothing I’ve done with anyone in the past has ever so much as approached the emotion of love on either side. That is perhaps the one thing I can offer to you entirely unblemished.”
Oh.
My face blisters as my heart hammers. “So…”
“Aspen isn’t going to burn down your house. She’s going to play in the kitchen and prevent your house from burning down.” He takes a step toward me, smiling faintly. “Your bed is safe.”
I’d like to climb into a hole. “Sorry… I didn’t…” I have no excuse. No good excuse, anyway. “I’m anxious.”
