Have you ever asked someone what love is? - Azriel x OC

Part 23

A knock sounded on the shop front and I hurried to the glass door, opening it to reveal Earl, our delivery man.

"Good morning Alex! I have plenty of flowers here for you" he smiled, and I examined some of the boxes happily. Summer was around the corner, and I was ecstatic. It was the best time of year, especially for the blooming flowers.

"they look beautiful!" I beamed happily, waving my hands over them so they were arranged inside, "come on in, I'll grab your payment"

I lead him inside, crouching behind the counter to grab an appropriate amount of marks and handing them to him, with a few extra.

"thank you" he ducked his head with his familiar round smile, tucking the money into his pocket before wishing me a good day and leaving.

I spent a majority of the morning organising the new flowers from the old, and colour coordinating them. it was one of the best parts for me, and it made my brain happy to see them all separated, despite how unorganized our apartment was upstairs. But Az has been making a dent in it, because he was a bit of a neat freak and even though he doesn't admit it, it can tell it drives him a little mad sometimes.

Az was out on a mission for the day, so we would be attending the weekly dinner with the rest of the Night Court without him.

I could still feel him, through the bond. His emotions didn't really tend to differ when he was away, not whilst he was in the role of spymaster. So I made sure he could feel all of mine, to put him at ease.

"good morning!" I greeted the mother and her young daughter, the little girl gaping at all the flowers in awe.

"good morning" her mother guided her in with a smile "we were wondering if you had any small bouquets for a birthday present?" she looked at her daughter pointedly and I beamed, moving out from behind the counter and guiding them around the shop.

"so, Melany, what sort of flowers do you like?" I asked the little girl as we examined the peonies.

"I like these ones, they're really pretty" she touched the petals gently and I shook my head at her mothers concern.

"they're my favourites. They're called peonies. Do you think you would like some of these for your birthday?"

She nodded, rocking on her heels with her hands behind her back and I smiled, picking out a beautiful bouquet, using some brown paper to wrap them before handing them to her.

"mum look!" she thrust the flowers up towards her mum who chuckled down at her fondly.

"very pretty" she agreed, reaching for her purse but I held my hands up defiantly.

"my birthday gift to you, lovely Melany. I hope you have the best day"

"what do you say Melany?" her mum brushed her bangs aside and the little girl grinned a toothy smile up at me.

"thank you flower lady!"

"you're very welcome" I smiled, waving as they left the shop. Gosh she was cute.

We had a little bit of foot traffic this afternoon and Rose came in a little early to help me out, which gave me a perfect opportunity to ask her about becoming manager.

With Az and I trying for a baby now, we decided that it might become a struggle for 4 of us to live above the flower shop. It was hard enough trying to squeeze him onto my bed with his wings as it was.

But the places we were looking at were a little outside the city, and it meant that if we were having a baby, I wouldn't be able to run the shop full time like I could now. And Rose has been amazing working here, and she deserved it. plus I would hire someone under her so she wasn't left unsupported.