Chapter 14
Elsie
I’m working on a congratulatory bouquet for a new mother when one of the bells I installed above the doors alerts me to someone’s arrival. I watch as a dark blonde man enters the shop, glancing around quickly before shutting the door behind him. “Hey, Elsie,” he calls out.
“You’re here!” I drop my pruning shears on the table and hurry over to the friend I haven’t seen in about six months, when the class we were both enrolled in ended last December.
I let him pull me into a hug and I squeeze him right back.
I’m excited to see him, but I’m even more excited to have some help around here.
“This place is absolutely incredible,” he says, releasing his hold on me and looking around.
I step back and give him a quick once-over, unable to help myself.
Noah is always dressed to the nines, no matter the occasion.
I’ve seen this man elbow-deep in soil with his crisp button-down rolled to the elbows and his hair perfectly gelled, even as he had bits of leaves and dirt stuck to his face.
Today he’s wearing a baby blue and white checkered shirt with blue chinos rolled slightly at the ankles, landing just above his brown dress shoes.
“What do you think?” he asks, placing his hands on his hips. “Am I first day at a new job appropriate?”
“Handsome as ever,” I tell him. I liked most of the people who were in my floristry classes, but Noah and I just clicked right away.
We became friends during the second week of class when we were attempting to design centerpieces for an event.
I was going for a vertical design, with bunches of flowers around the base and longer stems in the middle.
Mine ended up looking like a giant, floral penis, only I didn’t realize it until I was already in too deep – no pun intended.
When I met Noah’s eyes across the shared table we were working at, he started laughing so hard I thought he was going to crack a rib.
I eventually forgot my embarrassment and joined in, and we’ve been friends ever since.
We even went on a date once, right after the semester ended.
We had a great time, but we both agreed we’re better off as friends.
“I’m so happy you’re here, and not only because I’ve missed you. I’m drowning here,” I admit.
I’d had a moment of reckoning on day three, when I realized I’d have to work twenty-four hours a day to manage all of the orders I’d taken so far.
I needed some help, and fast. Noah was the first person I thought to call.
It was a stroke of dumb luck that he happened to be in between jobs after the grocery store he’d been working at outside of Portland cut half of its floral department.
I’ve never had to hire someone before, but thanks to the HR experience I got while working for my dad, I at least know most of the ins and outs. Noah doesn’t officially start until Monday, but I invited him to stop by today to check out the shop and learn his way around.
“Well, boss lady,” he says, clapping his hands together. “I’m here to save the day. Show me the ropes.”
It’s Friday morning, which means that by some miracle, I’ve made it to the end of my first week in business.
The week was straight out of my wildest dreams. The people of Port Myles have shown up for me beyond anything I expected, ordering flowers just because and booking me for events that don’t really require a florist, like kids’ birthday parties.
I know it won’t always be like this, though.
Once the excitement dies down we’ll get a better idea of what kind of steady business we’ll be able to maintain. For now, I’m just enjoying the ride.
And I’ll be able to enjoy it even more with Noah’s help.
I walk him through the shop, showing him the different arrangements on display, the cold storage where we keep all of the cut flowers and store arrangements overnight, the long counter in the back where we cash people out.
We take a walk out back to the greenhouse and I’m reminded that I need to call Matt about the back door.
On really warm days the door sticks and it takes my full body weight to get it open.
After Noah does a thorough inspection of everything growing and being stored in the greenhouse, we head back inside. I show him the small kitchen, which includes only the basics: a sink, fridge, microwave and coffee machine.
“I get a light roast from The Grind,” I explain, though he’s probably not familiar with my favorite coffee shop. “Let me know if there’s something else you’d prefer. I also have some flavored syrups, sugar and creamer in the fridge. If you have any preferences, text them to me and I’ll stock up.”
“You’re a goddess, Elsie Carmichael,” Noah says affectionately.
There’s a small table with two chairs, and two doors that lead to my office and the bathroom. The bathroom also has an entrance on the shop floor. There wasn’t enough space to put in a separate bathroom for employees, but I don’t mind. Hopefully Noah won’t, either.
“This is my favorite part of the shop,” I tell him, heading over to the big workspace where I’ve already arranged more bouquets than I can keep track of.
There are cabinets beneath the matte black countertop and I open each of them, showing Noah where all the supplies are kept for arrangements – shears, scissors, floral tape, that kind of thing.
I’m in the middle of showing him the assortment of ribbons for tying around bouquets when an “Um, Elsie?” stops me short. I straighten, looking over at Noah.
“Yes?”
“Is there, uh…” He scratches the back of his head with one hand, the other planted on his hip. “Any reason I’m looking at a bunch of heavily tattooed individuals who appear to be working in a tattoo studio?”
I follow his line of sight to the big window – that damn window – where the lights have been turned on and the Immortal Ink crew is busy getting ready for the day.
They changed their hours for opening day to coincide with mine, but they’re usually open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and they arrive somewhere around 10:30 a.m. every day.
“Oh, that.” I force a fake chuckle. “Funny story. This place used to be an old dance studio. My shop is where the kids danced, and the shop next door is where the parents could sit and watch the classes through the window. I, um, apparently chose a floor plan that didn’t include closing the window.
We were trying to cut costs and I didn’t realize that was how we were cutting costs. ”
I watch through the window as Declan carries a heavy looking box across the room. The way his biceps flex under his T-shirt has me momentarily distracted, until he drops the box on the chair his customers sit in and begins rifling through it. I look back over at Noah, who’s been concerningly quiet.
“Noah?”
“I can’t tell if this is hilarious or horrifying,” he admits, finally turning away from the window. “What do your customers think?”
“Honestly?” I smile, thinking about the reactions I’ve witnessed over the last week. “They kind of love it.”
Almost every customer who’s come through the shop, or at least the ones who are from Port Myles, have mentioned the window.
Most of them assume we left it on purpose, whether to show our support for each other’s business or to pay homage to the old dance studio.
A few have wondered how I feel about watching people getting tattooed and pierced all day, but honestly, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t paid it much attention, which is exactly what I tell them.
I might sneak peeks of Declan here and there – or a few dozen times a day – but overall, the window connecting our businesses hasn’t been the huge problem I expected it to be.
When I explain to customers who ask that we plan to close it up eventually, about half of them protest the idea.
“Leave it open,” Lottie Hanson, who owns one of the bed and breakfasts in town, urged me just yesterday afternoon. “It’ll be good for business.”
At the blank look on my face, she’d demanded to know if I had two working eyes and could see how attractive the men next door are.
“They’re not my type,” I insisted, ignoring the part of my brain screaming liar!
“Honey,” Lottie said, shaking her head slowly, “men who look like that are everybody’s type.”
As I watch Declan drop something on the ground and bend to pick it up, giving me a spectacular view of his butt in the jeans he’s wearing, I can’t help but agree.
The sound of a throat clearing snaps me out of my memory. I drag my eyes away from Declan and look at Noah, whose eyebrows are raised so high they might as well be part of his hairline.
“I know that look,” he says, chuckling. “Which one are you pining over?”
I look down, busying myself tidying up the countertop that’s already pristine, just as I left it when I closed up last night. “I’m not pining over anyone. I just –”
I’m saved by the bell – literally – as someone enters the shop.
“Hey, girl,” a familiar voice calls. “Have I got news for – oh,” Ty says, stopping short when he sees Noah and I. He looks between us, assessing the situation. “Who’s this?”
“Hi, Ty. This is Noah. He’s going to be working with me starting on Monday. Noah, this is Ty.”
“Nice to meet you,” Noah says, reaching a hand out toward Ty. Ty hesitates for only a second before clasping Noah’s hand with his own.
“Likewise,” he says.
“Noah and I met in one of my classes last year,” I explain. “And Ty is the best friend of my best friend’s fiancé.”
“Olivia or Grace?” Noah asks immediately. I’m impressed that he remembers. I’d talked about them here and there while we chatted during class to pass the time, as we were sketching designs or putting arrangements together. I’d probably talked about them on our date, too.
“Olivia. I’m sure you’ll meet them both soon.”
“We like to drop by unannounced and see how our girl is doing,” Ty says affectionately.
“Speaking of,” I say, raising my eyebrows at him. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today? You mentioned having news.”
“Ah, yes,” he says, clapping his hands together. “I have officially found a townhouse to rent. You’re looking at the soon-to-be newest resident of Port Myles.” He does an imaginary hair flip that makes me laugh.
I throw my arms around him and he squeezes me back, hard. “I’m so excited!”
“Never in a million years did I expect I’d be moving to a tiny ass tourist town,” he grumbles, but I know it’s all for show.
He’s fallen in love with this town just like the rest of us.
And thanks to his job, he still gets to jet off to big cities and foreign countries, and have his fill of the excitement he craves.
“How come you’re moving, if you don’t mind my asking?” Noah chimes in.
Ty sighs, a long and dramatic sound that has me rolling my eyes.
“Olivia went and stole my best friend, who decided to up and move to this little town. They’re getting married soon, so I don’t think I’m getting him back.
” He smiles at me affectionately. “I also found that, unfortunately, I love all of her friends and have some serious FOMO being on my own in Portland. So alas,” he says, holding one arm wide and sweeping the other down in front of his torso, “here I am.”
“Keep showing up unannounced and I’m going to start putting you to work,” I threaten.
“That could be fun.”
“You any good with your hands?” Noah asks. I choke on a laugh, then cough to cover it up. I can see the exact moment Noah registers what he’s said – his eyes widen, then crinkle at the corners as he starts laughing.
I look over at Ty, my quick-witted friend – the one who has a comeback or a sarcastic remark for everything – who still hasn’t answered. He’s staring at Noah with a look I’ve never seen on him before.
Is that –
I lean closer to get a better look at his cheeks. Is he blushing? I’ve never seen Ty blush before.
“They haven’t failed me yet,” he finally says. When the bell above the Main Street entrance chimes, we all look over as two women enter.
“That’s my cue,” Ty says, backing away. “I’ll call you later, okay?” He gives me a look, one that says, I’m going to grill you for every bit of information you can possibly give me about Noah. I blow him a kiss.
“Bye, Ty.”
“It was nice to meet you,” Noah says with a wave.
“Likewise,” Ty says again, still backing away as he gives him a once-over that’s not even close to being subtle. There is the Ty I know and love.
With that, Ty waves and turns around, heading out the door the customers just arrived through.
As I turn to greet the customers, I can’t help stealing another quick look to the studio next door.
It’s become a habit, an unconscious part of my routine every time I have a moment of down time.
When I spot Declan standing over by Sean’s work station, I’m surprised to find him already looking at me.
Instead of looking away, pretending he hadn’t been staring, he smirks and gives me a half-wave.
The motion catches Sean’s eye and he looks over too, grinning and waving when he sees me.
Before long, the entire shop, customers included, are waving at me. My cheeks heat and I glance over at Noah, who’s watching the entire thing unfold with wide eyes.
“Hi, Elsie!” someone next door calls out loudly enough to be heard through the glass. I wave quickly, not wanting to be rude, and the crowd next door erupts into cheers.
It feels like something out of a poorly written sitcom, and I’m positive my face must be as red as the display of gerbera daisies I’d like to hide behind.
The whole thing might be slightly less embarrassing if I didn’t have customers here to witness the whole thing, but as it is, I’m wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
As I make my way over to greet the customers who just arrived, Noah grins at the shop next door again.
“I was wrong to doubt you,” he declares. “The window has to stay.”