Read Vision In Love (Legends of The North Book 1) for Free Online

sight of them, she gasped, feeling dizzy as the blood drained from her head. She gripped the doorjamb to remain upright.  
    The bouquet lowered to reveal Matt's smiling face, and she took a deep breath to try to slow her panicked heartbeat.  
    "For you. I, er, I just thought" His smile faltered and a blush spread across his cheeks.  
    She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out as her gaze was drawn back to the flowers. She let go of the doorjamb to reach out to him, felt herself sway, and threw her hands out to steady herself.  
    "Oh, my God, are you okay?" Matt asked as he reached out to her, his hands wrapping around her waist as he dropped the bouquet on the floor.  
    She leaned against his hard chest and glanced at the flowers. Just a coincidence , she told herself as she stepped back. "Why don't you come in and I'll get a vase for these."
    "Forget about the flowers, are you okay?"
    "I'm fine, honestly. I probably just need to eat," she said, even as she saw her hand shake before she dragged her hair behind her ear.
    ***
    He followed her into the kitchen. "Mmm, something smells delicious," he stated, trying to distract her. Maybe she had read too much into the flowers, got the wrong idea. Or was that the right idea? The look on her face when she'd seen them made him think she had.
    "It's only a casserole. It's almost ready, if you want to join me. I always make way too much."
    "No, no, it's fine. I'm interrupting. I should go."
    "Honestly, you're not. And Barney's not going to let you leave that easily. He's not finished his investigation of you."  
    Her laugh put him at ease while Barney sniffed every inch of his feet and legs.
    "Barney, bed. I was just about to have a glass of wine, would you like one?"
    "Mmm, sounds good. Why don't I get the wine while you see to the casserole?" he offered, shrugging out of his jacket. He picked up the bottle of red and the corkscrew already out on the counter. Maybe if he explained about the flowers she wouldn't look so nervous. Using the corkscrew to pull the cork out of the bottle, he took a deep breath. Don't need to tell her the whole story, though. He didn't want to scare her off before they got to know each other.
    "My grandmother loved roses, and she grew her own. There were so many, the whole garden would smell of them." He cleared his throat as he poured two glasses of wine.
    "But there's no real garden here."
    "No, not here. At the house she shared with my granddad before she couldn't really handle a garden any longer. I, er, went to the florist to buy some for her today. I always put some on her grave. She loved white because they meant new beginnings or hope. I thought they were quite apt for you, for us ... our, erm, new friendship."
    "That's really sweet, Matt, thank you." Leaving the casserole, she crossed the room to him. Slowly, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
    Sweet? Not the word he would have preferred her to use to describe him, but if it got him a kiss he could live with sweet. For now.
    ***
    Matt dropped his knife and fork onto his plate and leaned back in his chair, his hands over his stomach. "That was delicious, Emma, but I'm stuffed. You might have to put up with me for the rest of the night until I can move again."
    Emma laughed and said, "Maybe loading the dishwasher would help work some of it off."
    "Let it never be said I can't take a hint," he replied as he rose and picked up her plate.  
    She followed him and began to fill the sink to wash up what was left. "So, do you know a lot about flowers, or is it just roses?"
    Matt picked up a tea towel and started to dry the dishes. "Erm, I don't really know anything about flowers. I remember my gran telling me what white roses mean and obviously what red ones do. Why? Are you thinking of growing some?"
    "No, I just wondered if you knew anything about poppies."
    "You mean the symbol of remembrance?"
    Emma bumped him with her hip. "I knew that, smart aleck. I meant, like, whether you knew