(I know this book is kind of starting out a little slow but trust me, we're getting to the juicier bits!)
Emilia tears apart the rest of a rather delectable cream cheese Danish as she pushes her chair away from the table as she pops a piece of the edge that she had dipped in the center into her mouth she briskly walks to the dining room entrance. She pointedly ignores the glare from Delmont as he clears his throat, clearly telling her to ask to be excused. It wasn't part of his damn rules, she wasn't about to do it.
Mad didn't begin to describe how she felt about this, what in the world was even the point of half of them! Her mother knew that she was a good kid, and he had already told her about that stupid body guard thing, but why did he have to follow her around the house! That seemed entirely pointless and definitely invaded her personal space and privacy. She thought with frustration as he followed her out into the hall, keeping a respectful distance at least.
Yanking her phone from her pocket Emilia furiously sent a message to Jazz requesting she meet her at the usual place as soon as possible. They had, a lot, of things to discuss. She snarls to herself, muttering quite a few not very nice things about her new stepfather under her breath as she went.
"Would you like me to bring the car around Miss Heart?" Came the voice from far above her head but right over her ear, much closer than she thought he had been.
"Oh, yes, thank you, Mr. Knyte." Emilia murmurs, glancing at him with a small tight smile before returning to her phone to check Jasmine's reply as she apparently felt the need to ask if her 'hot bodyguard' was coming too. Unfortunately she had to respond yes to the stupid question as she opens and slams the front door behind her to get down the steps to the waiting car driven by Mr. Smiley.
"Where to Miss Heart?" He asks, adjusting the mirror to see her more directly and glancing at her as he takes off the sunglasses revealing astonishing grey eyes that were gorgeous with his dark hair. They took away her breath for the briefest moment and have her forgetting all about where she is trying to get to, letting her stammer as her eyes are transfixed by his beautiful clouded ones.
"Oh, uh, to Books, Brews, and Bakes, the uh coffee shop." She murmurs getting quieter as she trails off not knowing the exact address. Thankfully, he didn't seem to need it as he steps on the gas hard, peeling off as a surprisingly safe driver. "Oh, and please, just call me Emilia, Mr. Knyte, if we have to spend so much time together, no reason to be so formal about it." Emilia mentions, it was true and she truly did not feel like having her mother's name repeated at her all the time.
"Yes Miss He. . Emilia." He says, still very formal but at least he was using her first name now. She thinks, turning to look out the window as she focuses on the passing cars and street signs. She realized that she hadn't paid the least bit of attention on the way over and was now completely lost as she rest her chin on her fist.
"Hey, Mr. Knyte?" He makes a short hmmm of acknowledgement to her question. Glancing at her in the mirror again as he continues to drive at surprisingly fast speeds for how safe she feels. "What is Mr. Delmont's address?"
"1225 South Park Lane" He responds, still in that monotone voice of his that made him sound like a damn robot.
She nods her head slowly, trying to memorize that fact but knowing she would forget it soon enough. She can't help the sigh that escapes her lips as she glances down at the phone in her hand telling her that she wouldn't be there for half an hour. Just great, she would have to entertain herself with Mr. Personality for at least half an hour. Or, she could just read one of the many books that they had there.
Pondering her possible choices of first what to read and then what to drink she jolts to attention as the door is pulled out from under her elbow and she nearly falls out of the car. Caught first by the seat belt nearly choking her and then a gentle hand catching her chin and arm, tilting her back into the seat. The hand gently tilts her head up, still taking a hold of her arm.
"Are you alright Mis. . Emilia?" He asks, caressing the bottom of her chin with an ever so gentle thumb as he meets her eyes again, genuine slight concern filling their gorgeous grey depths.
"Y-yes, just lost in thought, sorry." She stumbles over her words as he finally lets go and steps back. Emilia grabs at her seat belt, yanking on it a few times before it finally let her go and she stumbled out of the car, her face probably so red that it resembled an overripe tomato as she murmurs a quiet thanks to her savior.
"I will meet you inside once I park the car ma'am." He says, snapping the door shut before peeling off around the corner. She takes several deep breaths trying to calm her flaming face with her cooler hands before heading into the cafe that she loves so much.
The soft tinkling of the door bell helps to soothe her nerves with the familiar sound and smell of books, espresso, and very delicious pastries. She couldn't help the little smile that spread her lips upwards as she immediately heads to the main counter only to stop at the sight of one of her least favorite people in the entire world, Brittany. She grits her teeth tightly and turns away from the counter and towards the corner with the comfiest arm chair and rows of romance novels. Emilia hesitates at this, does she really want to read a romance novel when Mr. Knyte was about to come in and Jazz would definitely make fun of her or at least make googoo eyes if she saw.
Turning away from the romance section she begins to root through fantasy novels until she finds an old favorite, glancing at the door as the hanging door bell rings again and Mr. Knyte enters the shop, sunglasses back on over his earily enchanting eyes as he makes his way over to her. Emilia immediately hides behind the book, not wanting to interact with the guy that had just made things very awkward with his saving her earlier. She remembers that hand on her chin and his piercing eyes. She had to admit, he was incredibly attractive, but he was also working for Mr. Delmont. The disgust that that knowledge brought her had her finally focusing on the book and trying to zone out of the room and let her mind wander into that strange land that books seem to hold, making dreams into realities.
While Emilia's mind wanders, Mr. Knyte looks around at the rather adorable coffee shop, analyzing it for the possible threats that it could pose for his charge. The walls were lined with shelves of books, each marked at the top by the genre that they held and the books themselves seemed to be in no particular order, randomly replaced by patrons who had finished them through or were simply tired of the written stories. The décor seemed just about as mismatched as the books but still went together. The soft yellows and turquoise that matches the black tables and fluffy chairs that were all mismatched colors. It was intriguing and decently crafty with the hanging fixtures a mix of wicker and wood creating a rather perfect ambiance for reading and coffee.
Emilia is brought back to the present roughly fourty pages later by that simple ding of the door opening again and the clip of boot heels on the floor. A smile brightens her face at the sight of Jazz in her adorable as always outfit of calf-high boots, skinny jeans and a long-sleeve shirt that had her stick thin figure standing out in gorgeous highlight. She envied the girl's height and skinny waist, she was absolutely gorgeous with that dark brown hair and blue eyes, so gorgeous.
"Hope I'm not interrupting your book, that you are reading for the fifth time." She comments, rolling her eyes at the sight of the title. "Why do you not have a drink and pastry in hand?" She accuses, hands on hips again as she gets sassy for not the first time that day Emilia was certain.
"Well, look who is at the counter and you'll know why I have not gotten a drink." Emilia says pointedly, gesturing at the bitch that she couldn't escape even at her favorite place in the world.
Jazz plops down beside her with a groan, "Just love the fact that she works here, I mean honestly, couldn't she pick another place to not be in our way, again." She practically snarls, looking far more pissed off than Emilia was feeling. She just shakes her head at the anger radiating from her friend, she was the one that had been wronged in that relationship, not Jazz though she had taken the betrayal very personally.
"Hmmm, well Mr. Knyte, would you mind getting us two hot chocolates and a muffin? With extra whipped cream on one. " She flirtatiously asked of the new bodyguard, holding out about 15 dollars to take care of the coffee.
"It would be my pleasure Miss Carr, Emilia." He said, graciously taking the change and going to the counter as Emilia couldn't help but blush again, the sunglasses in his pocket and those damn eyes causing heat in her cheeks yet again.
"First name huh?" Jazz sniggers quietly, nudging her gently in the shoulder.
"Oh shush, he's just doing what he was paid to do." Emilia huffs, looking down at her finger marked book before glancing through her eyelashes at Mr. Knyte again, still meeting those stormy eyes that seemed to steal her breath away.