Page 72 of The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities

“Come on, then,” he urged, taking my hand in his, “I’llshow you around the square.”

???

The square was a large, rectangular court, cluttered with shops, taverns, and colorful, towering buildings. Elegant carriages were parked alongside the cobbled road while people hurried to and fro, the sun coating everything and everyone with a honey-gold glaze. The ladies with their baskets and their parasols, and the gentlemen with their half-capes draped over their shoulders and their smiles just as charmingly crooked. They said Thaloria was the most romantic city in the Asteria Realm, and I was beginning to understand why.

“I’m going to see what time the ship sails,” Apollo said, pointing at the little counter alongside the road that offered brochures with various activities for tourists. “Don’t wander off, okay?”

I faintly nodded, too mesmerized to respond, as I craned my neck to admire the marvelous peach-colored tea house that upsurged next to me, announcing in curly, fuchsia letters:Tea Stories from The Faraway North.There was a littleHelp Wantedsign hanging in the window display, and for a moment, I couldn’t help but imagine myself walking inside the shop and asking about it. I imagined living in one of the apartments in these tall, candy-colored buildings. I imagined working here while studying magic and learning about the star that lived in my veins. I imagined meeting with Apollo late in the afternoon for a stroll around the square. I imagined him squeezing me in some dark alley between buildings and kissing me until I was drunk on him and delirious for more.

And then, I imagined my Shop, empty and abandoned, suffocating under thick coats of dust, withering from loneliness, and my chest tightened so much that I ached.

How brave it was, really, to leave behind all the things that were no longer meant for you. Did I have such bravery in me?

Something tugged at the skirt of my dress, and I started with a squeal.

“I’m sorry, Miss. I didn’t mean to scare you,” a half-human girl with a spatter of white freckles across her cute nose chirped. Her deer-like ears and antlers twitched shyly. “I’m just a flower girl,” she said as she raised a basket full of colorful flower crowns to me. “Would you like to buy one?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I don’t have any money with me.”

A charming young man dressed in an elegant cream suit halted mid-stroll and turned to us with a brilliant smile. “I’ll buy you one, sweetheart,” he said, digging his hands into his pockets.

My cheeks flushed. “Thank you, sir. That’s very kind of you, but there’s really no need—”

“Please, I insist.”

“What exactly are you insisting on?” Apollo’s grim voice sounded behind me.

The man’s smile waned. He squared his shoulders and cast Apollo a contemptuous look. “Buying the young lady a flower crown.”

“The young lady is with me,” Apollo growled, actuallygrowledat the poor man. And he wondered why I called him a brute. “SoIwill buy her the flower crown.”

“Really, I don’t need—” I tried to interject, but Apollo was already paying the girl.

The young man merely tipped his hat at me and sauntered on his way.

Furiously, I whirled at Apollo. “I don’t believe I asked you to buy me a crown.”

Apollo brushed with his little finger a lock of hair away from my face before fitting the pink and lilac crown to my head. “Well, I wasn’t going to let that wanker buy you one. Besides, it suits you. Matches with your dress.”

I glared at him, the blood boiling in my veins. Only Apollo would have the audacity to kiss me the way he did, tell me to forget it happened, and then act like a jealous prick.

Gods, I hated this man.

“He wasn’t a wanker,” I bit out. “He was very polite. Quite charming, actually.”

Apollo worked his jaw. “Oh yeah?”

“Absolutely.” I mocked him with a coy smile. “Unlike some men I know.”

He leaned rather menacingly over me. “You didn’t seem to mind myimpoliteways last night when you practically begged me to make you come on my tongue.”

I scoffed in outrage. “I was literally breathing lust-infested air!”

A vein jumped in his forehead. “I thought you said it wasn’t just the magic.”

“And I thought you said to forget it happened,” I hissed.

He straightened up and crossed those ridiculous arms of his over his equally ridiculous chest. “Forgive me, darling. I didn’t realize you came to Thaloria to find a suitor.”

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