Queen of the Fireflies (Aurelia Chronicles Book 1)

by Rinna Ford

  He looked over at me with the biggest grin I had ever seen. My face went 5 shades of red. The bitch who used to be my best friend was fishing. She wanted to see his reaction. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

  “You told her I was good looking.” He looked at me while continuing to smile. I think he loved torturing me as much as my mom and Tessa did. But I wasn’t going to let them embarrass me any more.

  “You know you’re hot,” I told him. “I was just stating the obvious.”

  He smirked, leaned over, and whispered in my ear, “I think you’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever laid my eyes upon, so the feeling is definitely mutual.” He sat back in his chair and took a bite of his sandwich. My face caught fire again. Tessa looked over at me in confusion but knew he whispered something good.

  “So, where do you go to college?” Brogan asked us, effectively changing the subject.

  Tessa responded, telling him what year we were in and our majors. She talked about how we were roommates in our Freshman dorms and had been living together ever since. Then, she started to talk about Jesse.

  “Let’s not talk about him,” I said cutting her off. Brogan gave me a questioning look, but then went back to eating his sandwich.

  Tessa looked down at her watch. “I hate to say this, but I really need you to take me to your house to get my car,” she said. “It’s already 2:15.” We got up, but Brogan took our trash from our hands to throw it away. “I’m glad I got to meet the mysterious stranger Alya talked all about,” she told him with a salacious smile. Then she turned to me and winked. “I’ll meet you at the jeep.”

  When Tessa was a block down the street, Brogan looked down at me with a serious expression and asked, “Are you still with this Jesse?”

  “No,” I told him. “We broke up the day I came to visit my mom.”

  The tension left his face and he said, “Good.” Then he picked up my hand, kissed the back of it, and strode away. I stood there, rooted to the spot, as I watched him walk down the street and around a corner. Finally, my feet started moving toward the jeep, but I didn’t remember how I got there.

  Tessa saw the far away expression on my face and said, “Give me the keys. I’ll drive.” She laughed out loud when I just handed her my purse for her to go through to find them. “So. What happened when I left?” she questioned. “And by the way, he definitely wants to get in your pants.”

  I filled her in on him asking about Jesse, then him leaving when I told him we broke up. I left out the fact that he kissed my hand. I felt like that was personal, even though it happened on a busy street corner, and it was something I wanted to keep to myself, at least for now.

  We got back to my mom’s house, and went inside to get Tessa’s now lighter bags. I helped her carry them out and watched her put them in the trunk of her car.

  “Don’t overthink it,” she said after pulling me into a hug. “He obviously likes you and I know you just had your heart broken so you’re not looking for anything serious.”

  I gave her a tiny smile.

  “Just go with it.”

  I nodded, unable to say a word about it and gave her another hug. “I love you, friend,” I told her.

  “I love you too.” Then she got in her car and left.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, I rolled over expecting to find Tessa snoring and only saw my bedroom wall. I forgot that she left to go back to Atlanta the day before. I got up with a sigh and got ready for the day, taking extra time with my hair and makeup. Brogan liked to pop up at strange times, so I wanted to be prepared in case I ran into him that day. With my track record, I would more than likely cause serious damage the next time I hit him if I kept daydreaming about him.

  My mom looked at me with raised eyebrows when I sat down to breakfast. Damn, I was hoping that it looked like I didn’t try so hard, but apparently my mom noticed my fancier-than-normal appearance. She didn’t say anything though. She just smiled her sweet mom smile, and told me what needed to be done when I went into work that morning. But I could tell that I was confusing her.

  “Did Tessa make it home alright?” she asked me, taking a sip of orange juice. Always a mom.

  “Yeah. She wanted me to give you another hug and requested that you come visit when I go back for the fall.”

  “Harlan and I already have a few job candidates lined up so I think it might be possible for me to take a little time off.”

  I don’t think my mom has ever taken a vacation, at least not since I was born. Sure, she occasionally took a day or a weekend off, but never what anyone would consider a vacation. She always worked hard to make sure we had what we needed and kept to herself, never gaining friends or even boyfriends. At least none that I knew of.

  I smiled at the thought of mom finally meeting someone. I wanted her to be happy, not that she wasn’t, but I was grown and off to college. She didn’t have me around all the time, and I just didn’t want her to be alone anymore. But, her lack of a love life was something that we never discussed. I tried once, and she said that she didn’t think she’d ever get over my father. I was glad that she loved him that much, but it makes life lonely to pine after someone who has been dead and gone for almost 21 years.

  I only had a few customers all morning, so thankfully I brought my laptop and was able to get a little school work done. About 20 minutes before Harlan was scheduled to show up for the afternoon shift, the bell rang over the front door. I looked up from my work to see Brogan stroll through it.

  “Hey,” I said and awkwardly stood up from the stool behind the counter.

  “Hi.” He smiled his devastatingly handsome smile, and I became weak in the knees. I mentally slapped my face and told myself to get a grip. I straightened and smiled in return. “What are your plans after you get off of work?” he asked.

  Confused at his question, I answered that I was waiting for someone to come replace me because my shift was getting ready to end, and then I was going home.

  “Will you have lunch with me?” He looked hopeful. I’ve seen angry, amused, contemplative, and joyous, but his hopeful express melted me into a puddle. My mom would be expecting me back home for lunch, but it was something that I could skip.

  “No. No plans,” I smiled. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I thought I would take you for a picnic in Forsyth Park. Do you know it?”

  I nodded. “I go there all the time when I’m home from college.”

  “Where’s my sugarplum?!” Harlan yelled as he walked in the back door, making Brogan stiffen.

  “I’m up here!” I chuckled. Brogan didn’t think it was all that funny. Harlan walked up with Baby trailing behind him and noticed Brogan glaring at him.

  “Brogan, this is Harlan. He’s part owner of this store and a friend of mine.” Brogan visibly relaxed making me chuckle again.

  “Nice to meet you, Brogan.” Harlan didn’t miss a beat. He held out his hand for Brogan to shake and smiled his big friendly grin. After a moment, Brogan finally took his outstretched hand and gave it a short, but firm shake. I think I saw Harlan even wince from the force of it. “So how do you know shortcake over here?” He asked.

  “Brogan is the guy I hit with my jeep a few weeks ago,” I told him and winced. Harlan looked worried, like he thought Brogan was there to cause trouble. “We’ve run into each other a few times since then and he’s forgiven me. We’re going out to lunch.”

  “Huh.” Harlan said. “I didn’t see that coming. Glad to see you’re moving on from Johnny though.”

  I sighed. Could we just not bring Jesse up for one day? Baby trotted over and sat in front of Brogan and stared at him.

  “Hello,” he said to her and gently reached down to pet behind her ears. “What is your name, beautiful?” I sighed. He loved dogs too. He was definitely perfect.

  “This is Baby,” Harlan said as she laid down on his feet, something that she usually did to me. Huh.

  Brogan looked up at me and smiled again, making m
y jealousy fade away. Shaking my head and I grinned back at him.

  I filled Harlan in on the customers coming in to pick up bouquets, and we said our goodbyes. Brogan nodded to Harlan after giving Baby one more pet, and then held open the door for me.

  “Make sure you tell your mom, sweetie. You know she’ll worry if she’s expecting you home,” Harlan called out when I reached the front door. Damn. I almost forgot to call my mom.

  Brogan walked me to a black Model S Tesla parked at the curb in front of the floral shop. He opened the passenger door and moved aside to let me get in. I sighed as I sat down in the seats, then instantly felt guilty. Like I was cheating on my jeep. I loved my jeep, but Brogan’s car felt like every desire I ever had. I really was in over my head.

  “Do you need to call your mother?” he asked, reminding me. Oh yeah, my mom. I quickly typed out a text letting her know that I was going out with a friend and would be back later.

  “Done.” I smiled over at him and he pulled out onto the street and headed for the park.

  “Tell me about your family,” he requested as we moved through traffic.

  “My dad died before I was born, leaving my mom to give birth and raise me on her own.” I stared out the windshield. I hated talking about this, but we were getting to know each other so it was par for the course. “It’s been just the two of us. We moved around a lot, all over the country actually, but settled down here when I was 16 years old. Mom bought the floral shop with Harlan and I went off to college in Atlanta.” I was sure he had more questions because my answer was pretty vague, but he kept quiet like he was biding his time. “What about you?” I asked. “What is your family like?”

  He sighed. It seemed like he didn’t want to talk about his family as much as I didn’t want to talk about mine. “My parents are what you would call affluent, and my father helps run a major company. My older brother, Blas is set to take over the family business for our father when he retires. I also have a younger sister, Bria.” He smiled a little smile. “You would like her. My brother and sister are two of my best friends, but my parents, I could do without.”

  “Controlling?” I asked.

  “My father, yes. My mother, well she’s pretty neglectful, I guess. They both overlooked me for my siblings. Blas is the oldest male, making him heir, and Bria is the only female, so I got left out.”

  I gave him a compassionate look. I couldn’t sympathize with him because I had never been in a position like that, but I definitely felt bad. I may have had only one parent, but she was amazing.

  We found a parking spot near the park, and got out of the car. Brogan walked back to the trunk and pulled out something that looked like a picnic basket and a blanket. I gave him a strange look, wondering if he knew I was leaving work at noon before I told him.

  “I was planning on eating lunch with you at the floral shop if you still had to work, but I hoped we would be able to go to the park. I took a chance.” It was almost as if he could read my thoughts. I smiled over at him, reached up on my tippy toes while pulling him down by his shirt, and kissed him on the cheek. He looked surprised when I pulled away. I was surprised myself, but extremely proud that I had the nerve to do it.

  Still feeling sassy, I walked away with a swish in my hips, and began looking for a place to have our picnic. He caught up to me with a few long strides of his legs and walked along side of me.

  We found a spot near a giant tree overlooking the fountain. Brogan spread out the blanket and began unpacking when I sat down. I ran my hand through the grass back and forth, distracted by the beauty of the park. I loved being in nature.

  After a minute or two, I snapped out of my relaxed daze to see Brogan watching me. I wondered what he saw when he looked at me like that. Smiling at him, I took a sub sandwich from the basket and unwrapped it. Turkey with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and spicy brown mustard. How did he know? I mean, it was a pretty basic sandwich, but it was my favorite.

  I shrugged off the question and took a bite. After swallowing and taking a sip of water, I asked him “What do you do for work? I mean, when you’re not running into me and giving Harlan a heart attack.”

  He smiled. “I’m in the military, believe it or not.”

  “I most definitely believe it.” I grinned. He had the look and the disposition of a soldier. After he said it, I couldn’t picture him as anything else.

  “I’m on leave now, but I’m due back to work on the 28th of this month. I was planning on traveling around the United States for the rest of my vacation, but Savannah is starting to grow on me.” He gave me a wink before shoving the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

  He balled up his wrapper and put it in the basket. Then he laid down on the blanket and looked up at the sky.

  “This really is a beautiful place. The park, I mean. There are not a lot of places here that show off nature as it should be anymore. It’s very sad.”

  “I know what you mean.” I laid down beside him, my right hand centimeters away from his left. “Every time I’m outside sitting in the grass or digging in the ground, my whole body relaxes and I feel content.”

  He turned his head to look at me. “I’ve never met anyone like you here.”

  My face began to blush until he got up on his elbow, leaned over, and gently kissed me. I kept my eyes closed, savoring the moment even after he pulled away. When I opened them, he was staring down at me. His lips descended back down to mine and he kissed me again.

  This time the kiss was deeper, but still gentle. He moved his body closer and touched the side of my face as his tongue worked against mine. I put my hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer to me, wanting him as close as possible. Then after what seemed like an eternity and a single second all at once, he pulled away. He got to his feet and held out a hand to help me to mine.

  “If we keep doing that, I don’t think I’d be able to stop,” he said with a grin. “And we are in a very public place. Take a walk with me.”

  I smiled back at him, blush creeping up my cheeks because that really would be awkward. Especially with all the children around us. I nodded at his request, and we left the blanket and picnic basket laying under the tree and walked through the park, hand in hand. We talked as if we knew each other for years, not like we had run into each other, literally, only a couple of times.

  Finally, he led me back to the blanket. He looked down at his watch and his eyebrows wrinkled. “I’m sorry, but I have something that I need to do.” He began to gather all of his things and put them in the basket. My heart sank. It was entirely too soon to say goodbye.

  We held hands, fingers laced as we walked back to his car. Not a word was said on the way back to the floral shop. I was afraid to put myself out there and get myself hurt again. He said that he would be going back to the military in a month, so that put an expiration date on whatever this was. That was both a blessing and a curse to me. A blessing because it gave me an excuse to try and keep it from getting serious, but a curse because I could tell in that moment that this would be anything but casual. I sighed.

  We pulled into the parking lot behind the flower shop and he parked next to my jeep. He got out, walked around the car and opened my door. I walked over to my jeep, fishing the keys out of my purse when he suddenly turned me around to face him. He kissed me again. It was another sweet kiss, but made my body heat up just the same.

  “I have to see you again,” he said.

  He held onto my face, looking into my eyes. I nodded because I knew with every fiber of my being that I needed to see him again too. I was definitely attracted to his body and his gorgeous face, but I was more attracted to the light in his eyes and the intensity in his smile. I had never been so drawn to anyone in my life.

  He smiled with a look of relief, and backed away.

  “Drive safe,” he said. “Watch out for pedestrians.” Cheeky bastard.

  “Ha ha,” I dryly responded. I waved then got into the jeep and drove home, smiling the whole way.

 
; Chapter Seven

  A couple of days went by and I began kicking myself for not getting Brogan’s number. Everywhere I went, I looked for him. I even made special trips to the park and the coffee shop, anywhere I could think of. Tessa reminded me that he was good at showing up unexpectedly, and that I needed to just go with it. He wasn’t going to be around much longer so just enjoy the summer romance for what it was.

  Three days after our lunch date in the park, I walked out toward my jeep in the floral shop parking lot to see Brogan leaning against my driver’s side door. His face lit up in a smile when he saw me, making mine do the same.

  “Hey you,” I said.

  “Hello. What are your plans right now?” He had that hopeful look on his face again. I so desperately wanted to do whatever he had planned, but I couldn’t.

  “I have to finish a paper for an online college class I’m taking this summer.” His smile fell. I looked down at my watch and grimaced. “It’s due in three hours so I really need to go finish it. Believe me, I’d rather go somewhere with you.”

  “How about tonight?” He asked. “I have been wanting to do one of those ghost tours. Have you done one yet?”

  “You can’t live in Savannah and not do at least one ghost tour. My mom and I did one not long after we moved here. But I had a lot of fun and I’d love to go with you, if you are asking me to.”

  “Yes, I was asking if you would come with me.” He chuckled, amused with how forward I was being. He didn’t expect that and honestly, neither did I. But, I just rolled with it.

  “Hand me your phone.” I held out my hand. He looked confused but handed it over after taking it out of his back pocket. “Password?” He took the phone back, entered in his password, then returned it to me. I quickly typed in my number, then sent myself a text so I had his.

  “There. Now we have each other’s phone numbers,” I told him. “Text me later after you book the ghost tour and we’ll make a plan.”

  It seemed like I was channeling Tessa with how bold I was being with him. But, I think it was just how comfortable he made me. I could be myself with him and talk without fear of being made fun of or rejected. It was another reason I was so attracted to him.