About two hours later, I sit in the dining room, a steaming mountain of moussaka piled up on the plate in front of me and a glass of red wine in my hand.

Triad has settled under the table and is crunching on what I believe is the bone from earlier, except that she has successfully reduced it to half its original size. Drool is oozing from her fangs onto the wooden floorboards.

Across the table, Haze raises his glass and so does Nemea's father Kronos, who's not only the groundkeeper but apparently an excellent cook. He's a jovial middle-aged man with a round face, horn-rimmed glasses and sandy blonde hair as his daughter's, even if he has a lot less. On the other hand, his well-trimmed beard must be the thickest I've ever seen. I'm actually surprised his name isn't Mufasa.

Nemea grabs her own glass of orange-juice and raises it too. She has changed into a flowery dress for the occasion and is beaming like the morning sun.

"Welcome to Starlit Hollow, Penny." Haze looks at me and the butterflies in my stomach take flight again. "I'm glad you're here and I hope you'll enjoy your stay."

"Thank you for inviting me." My cheeks are burning like the flickering candles on the table. Being flanked by Nemea and Kronos, I better keep my frivolous thoughts in check. I'm determined to make this first dinner in my temporary home as un-awkward as possible.

No babbling. No shooting innocent flowers. And definitely no mojitos.

We clink our glasses and then I take a polite sip of wine before placing the glass back on the table. I'm more inclined towards water or anything non-alcoholic today, so I pour myself a generous amount from the water pitcher.

Kronos insisted on serving me 'just a little bit extra' after I mentioned that I'd only had breakfast today. Although I haven't taken a single bite, the smell makes my mouth water.

"So, Penny," Kronos says while he loads salad onto his plate, "what brings a young lady from the city to our humble countryside abode?" His voice is deep and sonorous and somehow I can picture him perfectly in an oversized armchair, telling heroic tales of Odyssean proportions to a bunch of wide-eyed children sitting cross-legged at his feet.

I stare at my plate while I try to come up with an answer that will allow me to circumnavigate my questionable secret. Unfortunately, the moussaka isn't being very helpful.

"And why aren't you two together?" Nemea swings her knife from Haze to me like a miniature sword. 

"Nemea, that's not a very polite thing to ask." Kronos scolds his daughter.

"But you asked her something, too." The girl pouts, the knife clattering against her plate.

"Yes, but that's different."

"It's all right," I say, even though I'm not sure it is. "I...we..." I stutter. "We just met recently." Recently being the understatement of the century, but I can't say that we just met yesterday, can I? I grip my fork a little too tight while I throw Haze an imploring glance. "Right?"

"Yes, that's right, and that's as much as you need to know, Nemea." Haze cuts his moussaka into sizeable bits, the evaporating steam curling in front of his face like tiny wisps of smoke. "But what might interest you, Kronos, is that Penny is a florist and eager to know more about cultivating fruit trees, specifically Mediterranean fruit trees."

"Is she indeed?" Kronos looks up from his plate, his gaze darting from Haze to me.

Apparently I am.

"Yes — yes, Haze is right." I nod fervently, trying to follow along. I am a florist after all and fruit trees are great. Nothing wrong with that.

"That's cool!" Nemea says with her mouth full. "You gotta see the greenhouses, the big one with the oranges and lemons, but the best is the oldest one with the pomegranates! It's like super ancient but totally cool." She skewers a large chunk of eggplant with her fork, the oil dripping on her plate while she holds it up.

Haze brings another piece of meat towards his mouth with an elegant motion of his hand and I have trouble keeping my mind focussed on fruit trees and glasshouses.

"Didn't you say you were also thinking about expanding your range of products?" he says while he picks up his glass of wine.

Really? Did I say that?

Haze gives me a lazy smile over the rim of his glass and then I catch the drift.

"Oh, yes I did." I reach for a slice of bread from one of the wicker baskets. "I work in a flower shop right now, but I'm planning on opening my own and actually not just selling flowers but also a small selection of fruit trees." This even makes sense in its own weird way. No idea why this hasn't occurred to me before.

Kronos nods appreciatively, a smile hidden somewhere in his beard.

"Haze invited me here and offered to show me around, letting me in on a few of his horticultural secrets. I know a lot about flowers but not so much about fruit trees, so I'm grateful for the opportunity. Pomology has always been a somewhat hidden passion of mine."

I shove a large piece of bread into my mouth. Haze counters my triumphant grin with a raised eyebrow.  Apparently I'm better at improvising than what I thought.

"Excellent, finally someone to discuss the pros and cons of grafting versus budding." Kronos pushes his sliding glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure you can only stay for a week?"

"Yeah, I've got to go back to work again." Or not, depending on the outcome of this week.

"Ah, yes, of course, I understand. We'll make the best of your time here then."

I nod my agreement while Haze only smiles knowingly and then gets back to eat. Kronos follows suit and so do I while Nemea embarks on a tirade complaining about her teachers giving too much homework. And while I'm slightly perplexed by her flowery vocabulary, I have to admit it's a refreshing contrast to my mother's insistent nagging about my non-existent love life.

After dinner, Haze accompanies me to my room and when we part in the dimly lit hallway, I lean against the doorframe behind me, stifling a yawn. With my flat shoes, I barely reach his shoulders and have to tilt my head slightly back to look up to him. Even though Haze keeps a respectable distance, his scent is intoxicating.

"You look sleepy," he says.

"I am. I didn't sleep much last night and I'm so full now, I could explode. But this moussaka was amazing."

"I know. Kronos refuses to give me the recipe. He claims it's a family secret." He chuckles but then his face turns serious. "I meant what I said during dinner. I'm glad you're here and I plan on making your stay as enjoyable as possible."

The silent echo of his promise lingers between us, settling as a tingle of anticipation under my skin.

"I'm sure I'll enjoy it." My gaze drops to his mouth and I swallow. His full lips are caught in a delicious play of light and shadow and I have to remind myself not to stare. First, it's rude and second, I don't want Haze to get the wrong impression of me.

"Starlit Hollow is a magical place if you know where to look." He moves his hand as if he thought about reaching out to me but then lets it sink to his side again.

"I'll make sure to keep my eyes open then." While I fumble for the doorknob behind me, I manage to steal another glance at the tempting column of his throat. It should be illegal to look so good in a simple v-neck t-shirt.

"Good night, then." His eyes are as dark as ink.

"Good night." I slip into my room, the image of his eyes following me into my dreams.