Chapter 10
Izzy wiped her hands on her apron and stepped into the back hallway just as Noah pushed the dolly through the door, stacked high with fresh flower buckets.
“Perfect timing,” she said, holding the door open wider. “You can park those next to the cooler.”
“You got it,” he replied, his voice its usual easy tone. “Hot one out there today.”
She chuckled. “Feels like walking into a bowl of soup.” She moved aside to make room.
Noah maneuvered the dolly with practiced ease, humming under his breath as he unloaded the flowers. Noah had been delivering to her for almost two years now, and she enjoyed chatting with him. She signed the form and handed it back.
“Appreciate you,” he said, tucking the clipboard under his arm.
“Thanks, Noah. I’ll see you Thursday?”
“Yep.”
He rolled the dolly out the back door, and she returned to the shop floor, checking her phone. One missed call from a carnation wholesaler. She made a mental note to return the call once the install was finished.
Mitch stood near the front, watching Jayson finish wiring the motion sensor above the door. The crease between his brows hadn’t eased all morning. He kept scanning outside like he expected someone to pop out from behind a mailbox.
She moved toward him, brushing her hand lightly against his arm. “Everything okay?”
“Just keeping an eye out,” he said, his voice low. “I’m going to walk the perimeter once Jayson finishes. We only have the back door sensor left to go.”
Jayson climbed down from the ladder and nodded to Mitch. "Does that one show up on the computer?"
Mitch checked the tablet he held. "Yep. Rattle the door."
Jayson twisted the handle and tugged on the door. The tablet flashed a red warning, and the camera that was pointed at the front door zoomed in on the door. Mitch grinned. "It's working."
Jayson closed the ladder and moved to the back door.
Both she and Mitch followed him. It was interesting watching this process.
And she enjoyed watching Mitch at work. She'd been watching him at work at the condo, but here in her space, in her little shop, she enjoyed watching him interact with Jayson and his attention to the job Jayson was doing.
Plus, she'd be lying if she didn't admit it made her feel better to know he was ensuring everything was installed correctly.
As Jayson opened the back door to glance around the framework and trim to hide wires, she noticed Noah's truck drive slowly down Main Street, which was to the right of her shop, as she was on the corner. But what caught her attention was Noah pulling into Delilah's parking lot.
She watched as Noah pulled to the side of the building, exited his truck, and then entered Delilah's from the back.
Her stomach sank. She blinked, unsure at first what she had just seen. “That’s weird.”
Mitch followed her line of sight. “What is?”
“That was Noah,” she said. “He just went into Delilah’s building. Through the back.”
Mitch didn’t speak right away. He moved to the side window for a better angle, but Noah was already out of sight.
“You sure it was him?” Mitch asked.
“One hundred percent.” Izzy nodded. “He just left here a few minutes ago.”
Mitch’s expression darkened. “Have you ever known him to do that before?”
“Never.” She took a breath, worried she might be getting Noah in trouble for something. "Of course, I've never watched where he went after he left here."
She couldn’t explain the knot forming in her chest. It wasn’t just the odd timing. It was how casual it had seemed. Like Noah had done it before. He didn't knock or wait to be let in; he entered on his own.
“Could be nothing,” Mitch said, but his voice lacked conviction.
“Could be,” she echoed, though her skin prickled in warning.
He looked at her again, more serious now. “I’ll check into it. Quietly.”
She nodded, heart thudding against her ribs. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Noah had always been kind. Dependable. But if he was connected to Delilah in any way, she needed to know.
“I don’t want to believe he’s involved,” she said quietly.
“I know,” Mitch replied. “But if she’s using people to watch you, we can’t afford to ignore anything.”
The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze of tension.
Izzy kept her hands busy, moving flowers to the cooler, repotting new arrivals, checking on her inventory system, rearranging what little product hadn’t been damaged, and sadly, taking pictures and tossing out the flowers she lost. Her insurance company told her she had to do that.
But her thoughts kept drifting back to that moment.
To the look of familiarity in Noah’s steps as he disappeared into Delilah’s office.
And the way Mitch’s entire demeanor had shifted was weird, too.
But he wasn't sharing his feelings on what he thought was going on.
The most worrisome feeling right now was that the tempo in her cute little shop had changed.
Mitch was tense. Jayson was tense, too. They whispered to each other now, where previously they'd spoken out loud.
Something was wrong. She felt it now in her bones.
And this time, she was sure she wasn’t imagining it.
The bell above the door rang, and something on the computer screen Mitch held buzzed. Still reeling from Mitch thinking he saw something, she cautiously turned, praying it was someone friendly and not suspicious coming in. Her eyes widened as her friend, Sadie, smiled from the doorway.
“I thought I’d come down and see if you need help cleaning.”
Izzy’s heartbeat fluttered, and she quickly shortened the distance between her and Sadie. “I’d love your help. It’s so nice to see you.”
Sadie hugged her warmly, then pulled back and smiled. “I’m always here for you. Put me to work, what do you need from me?”