Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Eva
“There’s no one better to take over this shop than you.” Morgan hugged me tightly. Her curly brown hair had grown longer. Unlike before, when she loved dressing up and wearing makeup, she wore no makeup to our meeting. Vanity slipped off her priority list.
Despite that, I saw hope in her eyes. “Are you doing okay?”
“I’m hopeful. My mom and sister are excited to have me back.” She released a sigh. “It’s a new beginning. I’ll be teaching floral design at a community center. It’ll keep me busy.”
“I hope Gary and his girlfriend rot in hell.”
“Me too.” Her eyes gleamed with an inner strength I could only imagine.
“Things will be okay,” I said.
“You’ve been an outstanding employee and friend, taking on more without complaining.” She smiled. “You deserve this shop. I’ve got a meeting with the bank. We’ll catch up later.”
When Morgan left, I reviewed the list of things the store needed. Sarah and Erika were busy prepping orders for delivery. We also got a new shipment of flowers needing to be sorted and displayed.
As I worked, thoughts whirled in my head. I wanted a new name for the shop but hadn’t thought of anything that resonated. Grandpa was super excited for me and told his bingo friends. I planned on inviting them to the grand opening day.
People entered the shop, keeping me busy with no time to think about reorganizing.
After selling five bouquets, taking three orders for next week’s delivery, and replying to two emails inquiring about weddings in the summer and fall, my brain became mush.
The wedding inquiry reminded me to review the ideas I’d gathered for Natalie LaRue’s fashion show.
With all that had happened, I almost forgot about it.
Satisfied with what I’d come up with, I sent the ideas and color scheme off to Natalie.
The door chimed, and annoyance flared at the sight of Dennis. What the hell was wrong with him? There were other flower shops in the area. Why did he have to come to this one?
Sarah placed a container of bleeding hearts on the table, looked at me, and rolled her eyes, knowing my history with him.
Dennis walked up to the bucket of bleeding hearts and grabbed a handful of them, bringing them over to me. “I’ll take these. Please wrap them up.”
“The potted bleeding hearts got here early.” Sarah approached the desk. “There’s a note to inform a customer about them. Do you want me to call him?”
“Yeah, sure. Let me know when he’s coming to pick them up. Thanks.”
I made a mental note to send Kain the guy’s number and tell him when he’d be in for the flowers.
But first, I had to deal with my ex. Why was he buying bleeding hearts?
“Where’s your boyfriend today?” His gaze bored into me.
“Working.”
“We make a better couple.” He smirked.
“No, we don’t,” I scoffed. “Do you want me to pass that message along?”
Dennis shrugged. “He’s gonna get what’s coming to him.”
“Are you threatening him?” I tightened my grip on the shears I used to cut the ribbon for his bouquet.
Dennis glanced at my shears. “I’m only kidding. You need to lighten up.”
My fingers tightened around the shears, wanting to stab him with them.
“You need to grow up.” I narrowed my eyes and stabbed the foam block that was set out for a different display. “If you want to please your wife, I suggest sunflowers or yellow roses to cheer her up. Bleeding hearts aren’t the right flower for love or romance.”
“These aren’t for her.”
I snorted. “For your mistress?”
He didn’t reply and lifted a shoulder. “My women enjoy all kinds of flowers.”
A thought formed in my head, sending chills all over me. Could Dennis be the murderer? Then who was the man with the red cap? Was he just a random customer who loved bleeding hearts? Was I overanalyzing?
Dennis grabbed his bouquet, glanced at it, and then left. I took a moment to gather myself as Sarah walked out from the back room to inform me when William Bell would pick up his flowers. With that information, I called Kain.
He picked up right away. “Miss me?”
“So much,” I said, loving the sound of his comforting voice. “Dennis stopped by—”
“What did he want?” Kain’s voice steeled.
“He bought a bouquet of bleeding hearts.”
A moment of pause thrummed over the phone.
“Do you think he has something to do with the murders?” I asked.
“Has he bought those flowers before?”
“I don’t recall, but I’ve only started paying attention to that flower recently.”
“Dennis is an asshole, but I don’t think he’s smart or patient enough to plan something as meticulous as these murders.”
“He said the bouquet is for his mistress. But who knows?”
“I’ll have my team look into him.”
“One more thing,” I said. “I’m sending you William Bell’s phone number. He’s the guy who ordered the pots of bleeding hearts. He’s picking up the flowers in two days.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
I felt the urge to take Kain out to dinner. “Are you busy tomorrow night?”
“My evening is flexible for you. What’s up?”
“Let’s have dinner at Food and Craft Loft. It’s a casual place. I haven’t been there in a while.”
“I’ll shift my world around for any date with my wildflower.”
I didn’t know why, but every time he called me wildflower, passionflower, gorgeous, or babe, my body turned to goo.
“Are you staying over tonight?” he asked, hope clear in his voice.
“No. I need to spend time with Grandpa. But I’ll be over there tomorrow night, okay?”
“Okay.”