Chapter 5
five
One person’s weed is another person’s wildflower.
—Susan Wittig Albert
JAIME
Liam McMillan was right about a lot of things—Jaime knew the bride’s mother well enough to know what she would like. Lavish, extravagant, gaudy, over-the-top. Jaime sat in a coffee shop with a pad of paper, trying to think of a venue site for the Opposite Wedding.
So what would an opposite wedding in winter look like? If it were any other season, she would look for some suitable place outdoors. A park. A lakefront. A mountain summit. But in winter? Weather was unpredictable. The guests might freeze or get sunburned.
“I’ll tell you what ,” Jaime said, talking to herself. “One trait this daughter shares with her mother is a desire to make a wedding as difficult and complicated as it can possibly be.”
She had tried calling Rose to see if she had any ideas, but it went straight to voicemail, which meant her phone was turned off. So frustrating and so frequent. Jaime had had such little interaction with Rose since she’d been back in Sunrise; it was like Rose had already handed off the business. The shop was twice the size that it was before the fire, space was nicely designed and equipment had been updated, and the business had grown right along with the square footage. Claire’s arrival had been a huge help. She had a tremendous work ethic—she arrived early, stayed late, and managed the day-to-day operations of the shop like a pro.
Hanging over Jaime and Claire was the question of who would take over the shop. Rose wasn’t ready to discuss it. Frankly, to discuss much of anything. She’d made it clear that she didn’t want anyone talking about the fire and that August night until Tessa returned and all three girls were together. So Jaime and Claire avoided the topic and ran the flower shop ... waiting for Rose’s next step.
Jaime often wondered if coming back had been the right thing. Was she going backward in life? Other than being in love with her boss and pining away for him, and other than a pandemic that shut New York City down, she had been happy. Fairly happy. Maybe a little lonely. A little socially disconnected from just about every other New Yorker.
Apart from fearing she had slipped backward in her floral artistry career, Jaime was enjoying Sunrise and the parts of small-town living that she had missed. Spending time with her sweet mama, feeling safe and cared for in this town where everybody knew each other’s business. She was glad she could help Rose—she owed her more than she could ever give back to her. And while it might not look like it on a résumé, she had taken on more responsibility for weddings and special events in the last five months than she ever could’ve at Epic. Liam was a bit of a micromanager. Rose used to hover like Liam, but no longer. She had been hands off from the day Jaime set foot in the shop. Frankly, she was just off, in general. Jaime hardly saw her. Most of the time, she didn’t even know where Rose was. Like now.
“Jaime.”
She was sipping her coffee and looked up when she heard her name, then nearly choked at the sight of Tessa Anderson, standing in front of her. As soon as she stopped coughing, she said, “You’ve come back.” She rose to her feet, not really knowing what to do or say, until Tessa reached out to give her an awkward hug. “Sit down. Please.”
Tessa pulled out the chair across from Jaime. “You’ve done so well for yourself, Jaime. I, um, I’ve followed you on Instagram. Epic Events, I mean.”
Jaime smiled, still uncomfortable. She couldn’t believe she was sitting down with Tessa after seven years. She looked just as beautiful as she did in high school, though different somehow. Maybe a little thinner. No, not thinner. Leaner, like she worked out a lot.
Jaime never worked out.
She couldn’t shake her nervousness. It was the same way she’d felt the day Claire walked into the flower shop and grabbed an apron and started to work. Like she felt as if she had traveled back in time. Like she wanted to shout, What is happening here?
Rose. That’s what was happening. “Rose did what she set out to do. She got us all back in Sunrise to run the shop. Claire’s there now.” Jaime could tell by the look on Tessa’s face that she already knew about Claire’s return.
“I’m not here to run the flower shop, Jaime. That’s for you and Claire to work out.”
“You have just as much right to it as we do.”
“I don’t, actually. Because I don’t want it. That’s not why I’m back in Sunrise.” She took in a deep breath, as if bracing herself. “I bought some land. Cleared some land, actually, and we’re going to turn it into a flower farm. That’s what we had done in Asheville. But we sold the farm—long story—and came to Sunrise to start another one.”
Jaime tipped her head. “We?”
“My ... farm manager, Dawson Greene. He’s the brains behind the operation.”
The slight softening in Tessa’s voice as she mentioned Dawson’s name made Jaime think he might be more than a farm manager. Tessa never had any trouble attracting the opposite sex. No ma’am, none at all. It was part of the Tessa-spell. She had an aloofness, a detachment, that drove high school boys crazy. Grown men too. Jaime squeezed her hands into fists in her lap. That was then and this was now. And speaking of now ... “I suppose that since you’re back, Rose will finally gather us together for that conversation she’s been waiting to have.”
Tessa lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I think that will still be a wait. I just saw her. Chris was taking her to the airport.”
“Airport? Where was she going?”
“No idea. She had big suitcases. I should’ve thought to ask, but I guess I was ... well, nervous to see her for the first time.”
And with that vulnerability, Jaime started to relax. Her hands loosened from a fist. “I’ll tell you what . I felt the same way.”
Tessa smiled, and then Jaime smiled, and things felt almost normal again. Almost.
A text came in on Tessa’s phone and she read it, a serious look on her face.
Watching her, Jaime took another sip of her now lukewarm coffee. Tessa’s fingernails. They were cut short, lacking polish. Tessa’s nails had always, always been polished. Her long blond hair, still thick and lush, didn’t look salon-highlighted like it always had. More like sun streaked. And she wore overalls! Jaime and Claire had always been in awe of Tessa’s meticulous grooming, her stylish clothes, and the latest shoes. Her mother was a former beauty pageant contestant and took great pride in the appearance of her daughters, especially her youngest one. Yet somehow, this new and uncoiffed Tessa was even more attractive. She’d never needed all that fuss. “So where is this land you bought?”
Tessa set her phone face down on the table. “Actually, it’s three acres next to my parents’ former summer house.”
“Wasn’t that ...?” Jaime stopped herself from saying “the mystery author’s house.”
“I bought the property and tore down the house.” Tessa frowned. “The slab foundation is still there. We’re going to put a greenhouse on top. Dawson found one that fits the slab.” She flipped over her phone and handed it to Jaime. “It’s huge.”
Jaime looked at a picture of an enormous greenhouse. “Yes, ma’am. That is one huge greenhouse.”
“Due to arrive by week’s end.”
She glanced at Tessa. “You don’t sound very excited.”
“I think I’m just in shock. Dawson’s always kept the brakes on expanding too fast. This ... this is a departure for him.” She sat back in the chair. “It’s the right decision. In fact, it’s brilliant. We can reuse the slab foundation instead of having to demo it and haul it away. It’s just ...” She rubbed her forehead, like she had a headache. “I’m just a little short on cash right now.” She blew out a puff of air. “Maybe a lot short.”
Jaime was still looking at the picture of the greenhouse on the phone. In her mind’s eye, she suddenly saw it at night, lit with soft lighting—maybe even a chandelier or two, and fairy lights—with people milling around inside ... and her heart started to pound. “Tessa, what kind of condition is that greenhouse in?”
“Condition?”
“Is it used? Beat up?”
“No ma’am. This greenhouse is brand spanking new. Dawson found it from a supplier who’d made a mistake in ordering it and couldn’t return it.” Tessa let out a breath. “Never used at all.”
“Then, no mice yet?”
Tessa laughed. “Mice?”
“The greenhouses I’ve been in have mouse traps tucked all over them. Mice like warmth and they like seeds.”
“Duly noted. I’ll add mouse traps to our long shopping list. I’m sure every mouse in Sunrise will find us by springtime.”
Jaime couldn’t hold back a smile. “I’ll tell you what !”
“What?”
“I might just have a way to kill two birds with one stone.” She tucked her notepad into her purse and stood up. “Let’s go have a good look at your land.”
Still seated, Tessa looked hesitant, but then she rose from the chair. “Hope you’re okay on the back of a Vespa.”
She strode toward the door, Jaime following behind, asking, “A what?”