Page 34 of Princess Seeks Dragon

“I doubt it’ll change. Once a person sees through the Mist that clouds most human eyes, they rarely go back to being their happy, oblivious selves.”

I whimper in confusion. “Mist? It’s sunny. I don’t—”

“Look, you can’t take that off for now,” Graham whispers. “I promise I’ll explain later. Soon.”

“Idofeel better with it on,” I confess in a woozy voice, keeping my eyes on his face as it swims back into something solid.

“I was afraid of that. Don’t worry, I know there’s a way to get it off. Right now, you’re bound to me—as in, you're under my protection. When the threat is gone, it won’t hurt to take it off,” Graham reassures, nodding while his eyes slide past mine and struggle back.

***

ANGELA SLIDES SEAMLESSLYinto working at the garden center, her eyes lighting up when she sees the rows and rows of starter flats, long columns filled with baby tomato, squash, and green bean plants. I work beside her, checking the inventory that someone else has already provided for me.

I just want to be near her.

This is awful.

I watch her water plants and take beetles outside, scolding them not to return. Her stress and fear seem to melt near green and growing things—like mine used to.

You don’t want a human.

She doesn’t love you. She’s running away from an arranged marriage. It won’t matter to her who arranged it, a man, her parents, or some ancient amulet. She’ll hate the idea.

It’s all a mistake.

There’s got to be a way for her to safely reject the bond and not put herself in harm’s way. She’d surely reject me as a dragon—especially now that she can see paranormal creatures.

“This is so much fun.” Angela buries her face in blue hydrangeas and turns them so they get an even amount of sun. “Thank you for the job. This is pretty easy work, though. I’m sure there’s something I need to do. Something harder?”

“Just wait until Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon when this place will be packed with harassed parents and their children who want to play in the ornamental ponds.” I shrug. “You’ll earn your keep.”

“I can never earn enough to repay you for helping me. I’m sorry you lost your job over it. The one in California,” she says, her voice so soft and sweet.

It’s not cloying. It’s comforting. Without even thinking about it, I start speaking. “I don’t really mind,” I confess. “I thought I did, but I found out a lot of bad things about my boss today. A lot of bad things about myself. I’ll be glad to get away from them when I think about it.”

“You’re not a bad person!” Angela defends me, heat in her voice. “You’re wonderful.”

“Funny thing for a princess to tell a dragon,” I tease.

“Oh, I’m still not convinced I’m not on an acid trip, but,” she shrugs, “I’m not really convinced the last three and a half years of my life weren’t an acid trip, either. Within two months of my mom meeting my stepdad, we went from a crummy little apartment and thinking splurging was a movie at the theater with popcorn we didn’t smuggle in, to thinking limiting our shopping on Rodeo Drive to every other week was a hardship. Well. Not me, so much, but my mom. Okay,andme. I got dragged into the fashionista lifestyle because we left everything behind in Jersey. We didn’t have any friends but each other. I put off looking for a job because I wanted to help her get settled—and because a little tiny part of me thought it was too good to be true. I wanted to keep an eye on things so my mom didn’t get hurt again.”

“That’s a good reason to put your life on hold—to look out for others.”I put my life on hold to sulk and look out formyself. Left Ian on his own with a growing business and a new bride in a newish town because I didn’t find a wife waiting for me, because I was convinced my perfect dragoness was in some other supernatural hot spot.

“I guess. I feel kind of dumb. I had a scholarship to Rutgers, Mom killed herself to pay for fees and books, and I walked out with a degree in human resources that I’ve never used.”

“Oh?”

She gives me a sheepish look. “Everywhere I’ve tried to work has made me start at the bottom before getting into management. Guess what? I always quit before I make it to management because of how badly I get treated.”

“That seems like a vicious cycle.”

“It is, and I think a lot of companies keep it that way. I wanted to get a degree in human resources so I could be agoodmanager, a compassionate person who helped employees after seeing the crappy way my mother got treated at every job she ever had.”

I’m sorry. I...” I stare into space for a moment, wondering if I can dare to mention the thought I just had.

“Hey, I’m spilling my guts. It’s your turn.”

“My sister-in-law will want to be home with the baby.” I pause as I picture my brother with his family. There will be way more than one child if the looks Vanessa and Ian give each other are any indicator. “She’s the manager of the garden center and the floral department. He’s the manager of the landscaping and lawn care business. His place has expanded like mad, and he was talking about getting an assistant manager to fill in for Vanessa while she’s on maternity leave. It’s something to think about.”

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