Dandelion

3. " The morning sunlight cut across the arch of his nose..."

Tallulah looked at the gigantic man who took her bag into his big hands and swallowed hard.

"Is this all that you have?" he asked.

Palavras... por favor Tallulah... palavras.

But she had forgotten how to speak, so instead nodded her head and tried as hard as she could to hold his gaze. He smiled and hauled the bag into the car parked behind them.

"Okay."

"Thank you, Mr. Anthony," she finally said, meekly.

His eyes snapped back to hers. "Call me AJ."

"AJ."

He leaned forward, taking the piece of art that she had tucked under her arm. "I like the way you say my name."

The air between them crackled. His stare was as uncomfortable as a corset and had the same effect on Tallulah's breathing, constricted and shallow.

"Let's go," Ben's voice summoning them to the car was what broke the intensity of his gaze.

Tallulah had yet to let it sink that she was actually leaving her home in Sao Tome for the city of Manchester. The memory of when she had left her home was when she went to the city of Sao Tome about a year ago to buy new paint brushes and that had only been because Mr. Tumi, her personal shopper, was sick and unable to go into town.

This new adventure scared her because it was out of her comfort zone. The city of Manchester was unlike the city of Sao Tome. It was a big, bright place with everything that she always ran away from. But she wasn't doing this for her, she was doing this for her people and that was more important than her fears.

"Tallulah," AJ called her name once they were settled in the minivan. "Meet my son Joe Oluwafemi and his nanny Lucy."

A little boy, who seemed to be no more than eight years old, was snuggled in the seat next to an older, chubby woman with fair skin. His eyes were big and dark, just like his father's, head full of auburn curls and face filled with freckles. Tallulah was in awe of how different from his father he looked.

"Hello, nice to meet you." He was smiling in that same way that kids at the orphanage she worked at used to when a stranger greeted them, not scared but not relaxed enough for a genuine smile. She could tell that he was shy.

"Nice to meet you too."

Tallulah felt odd speaking to these people who sounded different from her. Unlike their words, rolling out of their tongues smoothly, her words were more clipped and stressed out.

The journey to the airport was short and quiet. Apart from occasionally stealing glances at AJ, who kept his eyes on her, Tallulah was trying to quieten her brain. She was desperate to convince herself that everything was going to turn out okay. That unlike her parents, the plane that was to take her up in the air to another continent wasn't going to drop to the ground and blow into pieces. It was proving to be difficult. She felt the panic begin like a cluster of spark plugs in her abdomen. Tension grew in her face and limbs, her mind replaying the worst case scenario.

The minivan came to a halt and everyone stepped out.

"Are you alright?" AJ whispered into her ear as Ben and his son struggled to pull bags out of the car.

She met his eyes. "My parent's died in a plane crash when I was sixteen. I swore never to get into one in all my life."

"It's okay, nothing is going to happen," he soothed her, holding her hand. Tallulah gripped it, afraid if she didn't, her only comfort might flitter away like one of the birds flying out.

The morning sunlight cut across the arch of his nose and the sharp curve of his cheeks. The tips of his black hair shot through with light strands bleached by the sun. He didn't wear his usual hoodie today but had donned a brown shirt to better blend in with their surroundings. She was glad for the change of attire. It made him appear more like a man rooted to the earth, and her, rather than a figment of her imagination.

Quicker than she anticipated, Anthony let go of her arm and moved back. "I could give you something that'll knock you out through the entire journey, you won't feel a thing until we arrive."

"There is something that does that?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I've got you."

She looked at him with questioning eyes. "You have got me?"

AJ chuckled. "I mean that you don't have to worry about anything, I'll help you with your problem."

And he did.

Manchester was a vast, intricate, labyrinth of noisy, streets and alleys. You could hear the incessant honking of vehicles as the sun set. Impatient people in way too much clothing for Tallulah's liking were in such a hurry to get somewhere.

Anthony had been right when he said that the medication he would give her would knock her out until they arrived. It had been a smooth ride on the private plane and Tallulah had felt nothing until they landed.

She was in awe of the city as they drove down the busy streets. It was unlike anywhere she had ever been in her life, which was nowhere out of Sao Tome.

"Welcome to Manchester," AJ whispered into her ear. Tallulah noticed that he had a habit of whispering in her ear whenever no one was paying attention to him. His deep voice sent shivers down her spine and she felt her cheeks warm.

"Thank you," she whispered, grateful of the fact that Ben paid her no attention and that his son and her nanny were in the other car that had picked them up.

"Is there something you would want to see while you're here?" he asked, his voice only for her to hear. His rough hand was strategically placed on her knee, warming each and every cell in her body.

He had the kind of face that stopped someone in their tracks. She guessed he must be used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course, the blush that accompanied it was a dead giveaway. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, it must have made the girls fall for him all the more.

"You look like the kind of woman who loves an adventure."

He was handsome alright but Tallulah knew better than to be fooled by only that.

"You're trouble," she whispered back to him.

His gaze widened in surprise. "Am I?"

"Tallulah," Ben called. "We should talk about your living arrangements and what the plan forward is."

Ben was a handsome young man with an interest in art and an art gallery that he was trying to bring to life. Unlike his cousin AJ, he was much short, with a bald head and deep dimples that sunk into his cheeks. Other than the height, he was pretty much a replica of Anthony. His eyes were as dark, his nose was as wide and his mouth was as juicy. But the one thing that Ben couldn't do was cause her stomach to twist up in knots like AJ could by just looking at her.

"I stay in a studio apartment but AJ has his own place with plenty of room," Ben went on. "So for the meantime, as we get things in order, you'll be staying with him."

Her heart picked up its pace. "What?"

"Don't worry, I just live about half an hour from him so you'll be seeing me around every day," he assured her. "Besides, his house has enough space where you will be able to set up a studio. I love your work and the more you're able to paint, the more money we can make."

Tallulah's eyes involuntarily shifted to Anthony's, who was studying her quietly. Her heart did that flip thing it had been doing ever since she met him. For the past week, her mind had been swarmed with questions about him. What would it feel like to be wrapped around his massive arms? What would his plump lips feel like on the curve of her breast? What would it be like to be under his warm body in a soft bed?

Her heart thumped so hard that she swore it was audible, their eyes had met yet again and he smiled. It was only a small smile, but it was enough to make her go weak at the knees.

This was a bad idea but there was nothing she could do other than agree to the plans that were made for her, and hope that her heart wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.