Chapter Twenty-Five Violet
Chapter Twenty-Five
Violet
“Well, I’ve received twelve calls from Missy Beaumont today while you two have been over at the venue mapping things out.” Blakely pursed her lips. “She’s a real piece of work, Vi.”
I chuckled. “Oh, trust me. I have years of therapy that supports this statement.”
“She is so impatient. She asked me if you’d checked the hotel reservation four times. I assured her you have checked. What is her deal?” she grumped, which was rare because Blakely was never in a foul mood. But no one knew more than me how difficult Missy could be.
“That’s on brand for her,” I said, my voice light and unaffected. Something had shifted in me, and I was reacting differently to my family.
The phone rang, and Blakely groaned. Montana offered to answer, but I reached over the counter and grabbed it.
“The Blushing Bride. This is Violet, how can I help you?”
“This is Missy. I’m glad you finally decided to show up to work. I’ve tried your cell phone several times as well. My daughter is getting married in a few days, and I need you to be responsive.”
I leaned against the desk. “I’ve been at work since seven this morning. I’m trying to plan my sister’s wedding, so my phone is off when I’m working with contractors to get the venue mapped out. What do you need, Missy?”
“I need to know that the hotel has been confirmed,” she hissed.
“I told you the hotel was confirmed on our last call. Blakely told you the hotel was confirmed each time you’ve called today.
We are busy trying to get things ready over here.
I’m a wedding planner, not a travel agent.
Go ahead and call the hotel yourself, and please stop calling the office with ridiculous questions.
We’ve got a lot on our plates,” I said, glancing down at my fingernails and realizing I’d need a manicure before the wedding.
“I thought you handled this stuff?”
“I was just kind enough to do it for you, because you’re family by default.
But we don’t normally handle travel arrangements, nor do we allow clients to harass us after we’ve assured them things were handled.
So this whole back-and-forth ends now. Velveteen and I are in contact daily.
Unless you’re calling with a question that hasn’t been answered, go ahead and email me, and I’ll get back to you when I can.
” I reached for some Skittles as Montana and Blakely stared at me with wide eyes.
“Fine. I’ll call the hotel myself.”
“Wonderful. I’m sure they will love that. Have a good day.” I ended the call.
Damn. That felt good.
“I mean, I’m used to this side of you, but just not with your family. It’s about damn time.” Montana wrapped her arms around my neck. “Proud of you, Vi.”
I was proud of me too.
“Thank you. If she calls again, just say you will forward it to my voice message.” I reached for a few more Skittles.
“Okay, we’ve got lots to do to get ready for this wedding.
I’m heading over to the florist to look at the samples she put together, and then I’ve got a Zoom meeting with the DJ that Ralph picked. ”
“DJ Daddy O?” Blakely asked. “It’s his fraternity brother, right?”
“Yes. I asked for samples, and he had nothing to share,” I said. “I have a feeling this is his first wedding. I’ve addressed my concerns with both Ralph and Velveteen, and they want to stick with the plan.”
“There are so many red flags here,” Montana groaned. “I’m going to just follow up on the delivery for the tables and linens and stop by the bakery to make sure the cake is all set.”
“I’ll call and check on the catering staff,” Blakely said. “And I will confirm with the hair and makeup team as well.”
“Damn. We’re good. A well-oiled machine.” I winked before grabbing my purse and making my way out the door.
Clifford was lying in the grass across the street, the sun shining down on him, and I chuckled. I’d never thought this place would feel like home, but now even a giant moose lying in the grass felt normal.
I loved it here.
Blushing, Alaska, felt like home.
I made my way to Blushing Blooms.
“Violet, I’m really glad to see you. I just hung up with Missy. She’s your mother?” Charlotte asked, and I didn’t miss the hesitation in her voice.
“No. She’s married to my father.” I cleared my throat. “Why is she calling you?”
“She said they want to change the color of the arrangements.” Her voice was shaky, and it was clear that she was panicking.
“I just don’t have the colors that she wants in stock.
We’re too close to the big day. I’ve already got my team lined up to knock these out on Friday afternoon and deliver them to you first thing Saturday morning. ”
I groaned. Missy had always been a thorn in my side, but throw in her daughter’s wedding, and she was intolerable. “We aren’t changing anything. She’s clearly just getting anxious about coming here, as she’s been calling our office all day too.”
“Normally I would have told her that she’d have to go through you, but with her being a family member, I wasn’t sure how to handle it.”
Welcome to my life.
“We’re good with what we already have planned,” I said, and she led me to the refrigerator in the back to show me all the blooms that had just arrived.
“Like I said, we already have everything here and ready to go.” She shrugged.
The white hydrangea and peach ranunculus mixed with all the greens were going to be beautiful. The second arrangement was of peach roses and white gardenias with the same greens and would complement one another perfectly.
“This is going to be gorgeous. I am curious, though—what did she want to change the arrangement to?” I asked.
“Red roses and purple tulips.”
“But the wedding colors are peach with sage-green accents.”
“Yep. That’s why I was a little thrown,” she said, which made me laugh.
I sighed. “All right. If you get any other calls from her, you can just ask her to call me. I’m sorry about the confusion.”
“You’re a saint doing this job, you know that? I don’t know how you deal with all the bridezillas of the world,” Charlotte said with a laugh. “And the mother of the bridezilla might be the worst in this case.”
I laughed. “You aren’t wrong. This job definitely keeps us on our toes. But I love it too.”
“I saw you, Charlie, and Harper when I was leaving the diner last weekend. It was nice to see that man smiling. Keep doing whatever you’re doing to him.” She winked.
Normally I would have corrected her. Deny that anything was going on. Insist it had nothing to do with me.
But I didn’t do that.
My chest puffed up with pride, and I smiled. “I think we’re both smiling a lot lately.”
It was true.
I wasn’t overthinking things anymore.
I was just living, and it was really nice.
I waved goodbye, and on my walk back to the office, I glanced at my phone to see I still had an hour before I had to meet with DJ Daddy O. I decided to stop by the hotel to see Charlie. We did this often, stopping by just to say hello.
“Hey, Will,” I said when I stepped inside and took in the large entryway that Will was painting. “Now you get to spend your days over here.”
“Yeah. I preferred it at your place. It was a lot quieter, and no one brings us treats over here,” he said.
I chuckled. “I could still bring you treats.”
“How’s the house? No sign of the groundhog?” he asked.
“The house is perfect. I love it. Every detail just makes it feel like mine. And Chompers the groundhog has been caught on my Nest camera a few times lurking around, but you fortified that deck so well, he’s got nowhere to go,” I said, acting all tough, when the truth was I felt bad that he’d lost his home.
Even if he pissed me off. So I was putting fruits and vegetables and a little dish of water out near the tree line for him.
Will stopped painting and smirked at me. “Really? Charlie tells me you’re feeding that bastard.”
“Charles is such a traitor!” I threw my hands in the air.
Will was laughing hysterically now as he shook his head. “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.”
“Fine. I’ll go to the source. Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I think he was heading toward the office last I saw him,” he said.
The place was coming along, and it was a big project.
I rounded the corner to where the front desk was, the whole place still under construction.
There was an office behind the desk, which I knew because Charlie had pulled me in there last week when I’d dropped off lunch for him, and we’d sneaked in a daytime quickie in the closet.
They were getting ready to paint, so the window looking into the office was lined with paper. I heard voices and froze once I realized one of them was a woman’s voice.
I came to a stop, craning my head just enough to peek through the crack in the door.
Why was the door practically closed?
They had their backs to me as they sat close together. The woman turned her head slightly, and I saw her profile. Long dark hair and a big smile on her face as she looked at Charlie.
And damn it on everything, Charlie turned and smiled back at her.
“I feel really good about this, Charlie.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, and my heart sank.
And then I saw the flowers sitting on the table between them.
A big bouquet of pink roses.
My God. Was he courting this woman in broad daylight, all while pretending to be crazy about me?
“I do too. I’m so glad you came by so we could figure this shit out. We can move forward now.”
Fuck Charlie and the hot brunette who was swooning all over my man.
I should have expected this.
I whipped around in a fury, knocking into the ladder to the left of me. It made a loud scraping noise, but I didn’t care. I was already moving.
Why the hell had I even come here?
“Hey, Firefly.” Charlie’s voice came from behind me, and I whipped around to face him.
“‘Hey, Firefly’?” I shouted. “No. No, Charles!”
And I was moving again.
I needed to get out of here.
But of course I couldn’t make a graceful exit. I tripped over the drop cloth, and my arm overcorrected and I knocked a can of paint off the counter.
I saw the white liquid oozing as the lid sprang loose.
But I didn’t stop.
I heard Will shouting to me as I sprinted past him, asking if I was all right, but I beelined for the door.
I practically ran down the street because I couldn’t get back to my office quick enough.
I didn’t feel right.
My heart was racing. There was a lump in my throat.
I didn’t ever cry in public.
I’d lost it in front of Charlie.
Charlie, the man I was crazy about.
Charlie, the man who’d been so good to me.
But I’d been let down by the people who were supposed to care about me my entire life.
Every insecurity I’d ever had flooded my mind at once.
He’s going to leave me. He’s found someone else. Someone better.
Charlie Huxley had the power to hurt me, and that alone was terrifying enough.
I pulled the door open, and Blakely was on the phone, and I saw the way her gaze widened as she took me in.
I could see the concern, but I shook my head and hurried down the hall, stepping inside my office before slamming the door.
I will not cry.
I will not cry over a man.
Hells to the no.
The first tear broke free, and my bottom lip wobbled.
My office door flew open, and there stood Charlie Huxley. He was holding those goddamn pink roses.
What did he do, take them from her?
“Get out!” I shouted.
He smirked. “You jealous, Firefly?”
“Stop calling me that. What do you call her? Ladybug? Hottie-Pants?” I sniffed as he set the flowers on my desk and smiled at me like the whole thing was hilarious.
I picked up the bouquet and chucked it at his head.
He caught it, of course, because the man had unusually good hand-eye coordination.
“I’d be pissed off at how ridiculous you’re acting if I wasn’t in such a good mood,” he said, setting the flowers back down on my desk.
“You’d be pissed off? You don’t see me tucked in a cozy closet with the door closed, handing a man flowers and fawning all over each other!” I shouted.
“It’s an office, not a closet, and the door wasn’t shut. But we did need some privacy, so I had it cracked open.” His lips twitched the slightest bit before turning up in the corners.
Did he seriously think this was funny?
“I’ll bet you did. I can’t wait to hear the nickname you call her.” I arched a brow in challenge.
“I call her ‘Logan,’ because that’s her name. Logan Hawkins, the attorney that’s helping me with my custody stuff for Harper.”
My breath caught. “Logan Hawkins is a woman?”
Why did my voice sound more like a squeak now?
“Yep. And she’s married to a good friend of mine, Jonas Hawkins,” he said.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I’d overreacted, per usual.
“Oh. Well, she seems lovely. Are these flowers for me?” I reached for the bouquet, even though half the petals had fallen off, but I pretended not to notice as I brought them to my nose, trying to play off the fact that I’d just freaked out over nothing.
“Why the hell did you storm out of there? What did you think I was doing?”
“I thought you were having an affair.” I sighed, setting the mangled flowers on the desk. “Well, no. Logically, I knew that wasn’t your style. Even when I was storming out of there.”
“Need I remind you that you’re the one who barely acknowledges that we’re dating.
I’m the one who wants to make this relationship public.
I’m the one that wants to take things further.
Yet you think I’m cheating on you? For fuck’s sake, Violet.
Make up your goddamn mind about what you want,” he hissed.
I blew out a breath. “I have told people that we’re dating. I’m quite proud of it, actually. I just overreacted.”
I searched his gaze for understanding.
And as usual when it came to Charlie Huxley, I saw it.
The man just got me.