Fablehaven flowershop au

Flowershop pt.10

Seven months later, on a bright but chilly Sunday afternoon, an already-exasperated Bracken led a somewhat nervous Kendra to the front door of his family home. He knew exactly how this evening was going to go: open the door, and Kendra would immediately be whisked away by his sisters, who were bound to overshare about him and his childhood for hours on end. They'd all have dinner together, Father would give him way too many knowing glances over their meal, and Mother would be so pleased to finally have Kendra over that she'd be smug about it. There'd be laughter, Kendra would fit right in, she'd be fawned over, and Bracken would be on the receiving end of much teasing.

"I apologize for my family in advance," he said, pausing in front of the door.

Kendra squeezed his hand. "They can't be that bad."

"For you? Oh, no. I expect you'll have a wonderful evening. It's me who is about to be thoroughly ragged on."

She laughed. "And I thought I was nervous."

Bracken smiled back at her. "I'm being dramatic," he admitted. "My sisters are going to be unbearable, though."

Kendra laughed again, which made him smile more.

"I'm quite fond of you," he stated.

"I like you, too," she replied before standing on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on his cheek.

He could feel his face warming up, and released her hand to pull her into an embrace, but before he could quite do so, Enemy Number One opened the door and squealed. "Ahhhh! Look, everyone! Bracken is here, and he's brought a lovely young woman with him!"

Kendra's eyes widened a bit in surprise, Bracken surmised, before Enemies Number One, Two and Three grabbed hold of her arms and ushered her inside.

Bracken shook his head and followed behind the swarm of ladies, and made sure to close the front door behind him.

"I'm Elowen," Enemy Number One announced. "The youngest of Bracken's sisters." She pointed to Enemies Two and Three, introduced them to Kendra as "Lizelle and Iolanthe, the lawyer and the seamstress," then proceeded to gush over how gorgeous Bracken's girlfriend was.

Girlfriend. He'd gone so long without one, he'd forgotten how nice it was to be able to say that. His chest felt light and cheerful, despite being surrounded by far too many crooning sisters at the same time.

Lizelle caught Bracken's gaze and sent him a pointed look. "You look happy," she observed.

"I am," he replied as he snapped out of his reverie. Elowen was speaking rapid-fire at Kendra, who didn't seem to be absorbing any of the statements which were being thrown at her. "Please stop harassing Kendra." He walked toward his girlfriend and held out his hand to her, but Elowen slapped it away.

"We're not harassing her," his sister stated.

Iolanthe clicked her tongue in disapproval - whether at him or at Elowen, Bracken wasn't entirely sure.

"You're the first person Bracken has ever brought home," Lizelle explained to Kendra. "I'm not sure if he's told you that or not. He's probably been dreading this moment, because he knew how much of a fuss there would be." She grinned, and Bracken closed his eyes and ran one of his hands down his face.

"Don't make me regret bringing her here," he warned all three of his present sisters.

"Or what? You'll never let us see her again? Might as well get used to it, Bracken. We see how smitten you are," Elowen teased. "Yep. I get the feeling you'll be around for a long time," she said to Kendra, who blushed.

So it begins, he mused to himself. "Where's Jasmine?" he asked.

Elowen smiled brightly and sighed in a truly overdramatic fashion. "My lovely, beautiful Jasmine is with Laurel and the girls at the moment," she said. "They were picking out flower girl dresses, but should be back any time now."