CHAPTER TEN #2
“It was the same for my restaurant. You should come back for dinner, by the way. I promise the food is worth sticking around for.” Penny winked and April laughed, caught off guard. A town this small? Of course Penny knew what had happened in her restaurant the week before.
“I’ll hold you to that,” April chuckled.
She suspected the problem had been with the company and not the food at all.
Of course, she’d then kissed that company, so who knew whether her taste was worth much anyway.
Quickly changing the subject to distract herself as much as Penny, April added, “Ethan seems to have a great eye for this stuff. I can’t wait to see his ideas for the space. ”
“He’s the best,” Penny agreed, leaning against the doorframe and then grimacing when a spider’s web broke off on her sleeve as she moved.
“Sorry.” April laughed. “The front of the store still needs a little more cleaning up.”
“Buildings are like people, I think. Sometimes they just need a little love so they can really shine. It was the same for my restaurant.”
“You should get that printed on a shirt,” April teased. “Speaking of, did you know that Ethan and Noah are in an amateur basketball team called the B-Ball Baddies?”
By Friday, Ethan had sent April a ton of options for the flower shop, from paint samples to potential shelving designs, and even some cute vintage light fixtures that would work well with the gorgeous ceiling design.
She enjoyed the late-afternoon sunshine on her face as she walked with a small spring in her step, though the wind still held a chill, and she pulled her jacket more tightly around her.
The trees along Main Street were slowly coming back to life, now covered in small green buds.
As spring slowly but surely crept over Magnolia Springs, everything was starting to feel more alive, and April felt like she was waking up too, revived after a long and difficult winter.
She thankfully hadn’t run into Luke all week but was keeping an eye out as she neared the shop.
The memory of what had happened in the kitchen was still fresh and had annoyingly started invading her sleep as well as her waking moments—for two nights in a row now, she’d woken from dreams filled with his broad shoulders and muscular thighs, an aching need pulsing through her as the ghost of Luke’s touch faded.
The whole thing was unbelievably frustrating, but April wasn’t sure what she could do except avoid any more unfortunate run-ins.
The door to the store was already unlocked, as Noah was working on some of the shelving units since he had the afternoon off. April let the door close behind her, setting her bag on the floor and shrugging off her jacket as Noah looked up at her.
“Hey, Bug, I didn’t think you were going to be here today?” he said, wiping his hands on his jeans.
“I wasn’t going to be, but Ethan sent over some paint options and I was too excited to wait to test out the swatches.
” She pulled the sample bottles out of her bag as she spoke, along with the swatch cards.
“Besides, if I pick the color today, we can order it over the weekend so I can start painting next week. Plus, I’m meant to be meeting up with Emma and Iz later on for drinks, so I thought I could just hang around here and bother you until they’re ready.
You could probably join if you wanted; I’m sure Emma would be delighted to see you.
” She said this with a knowing smirk, her eyes trained on Noah’s face to see if she’d get a reaction.
Annoyingly, he didn’t seem at all fazed by April’s teasing, but perhaps that was for the best—she wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to cope if Emma and Noah were actually an item.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve got basketball practice later.
I was planning to head out soon, actually, so I’ve got time to change. ”
“Into your B-Ball Baddies kit?” April said, barely hiding the laughter rising up inside her as she said it.
“Shut up.” Noah swatted her away, sounding annoyed, but she definitely saw the hint of a grin spreading over his face as he turned back to measure something on the wall.
They worked in companionable silence for about half an hour, Noah measuring and sawing planks of wood while April enjoyed the soothing rhythm of the painting.
She made squares of each color in a small corner of the wall that would eventually be hidden by the counter, and stepped back to look at them as Noah came to stand next to her.
“I reckon it’s that one,” he said, pointing to a sage-green square.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” April murmured, walking over to read the color name. “‘Meadow Daze’. Kind of fitting for a flower shop, don’t you think?”
Noah hummed in agreement, nodding approvingly as he said, “Nice one. I can let Ethan know to order that shade when I see him at practice.” He turned to grab his stuff, clearly about to head home.
“Have a good time with the girls,” he said, before adding with a mischievous wink, “Say hi to Emma for me.”
April let out a surprised bark of laughter before chasing Noah out of the store, shocked by his audacity.
She was still smiling to herself as she popped into the back room to change her top to something a little more drinks-appropriate.
She’d gone for a semi-dressy look, a cute pink halter-neck that worked well with her black jeans, and which she was sure wouldn’t be too out there for whatever the vibe of the cocktail bar was.
It had been forever since she’d had a girls’ night out.
She pulled out her phone to check the time, but saw there was already a message from Izzy waiting in her notifications.
Izzy:
Ugh I’m sorry guys, I’m stuck working late. Raincheck?
April:
Boo, you whore
April:
But no worries lol
There was no immediate response from Em, which was rare, but maybe she was already on her way to the bar?
Killing time, she decided to look up trending color palettes and accessories she could put in the store, stumbling across an ad for a market just out of town that would be perfect for thrifting.
It was there on the weekends, so she made a mental note to stop by when she had a spare second.
Maybe it was a little soon to be thinking about accessories and finishing touches, but she couldn’t help herself.
Seeing the paint swatches on the wall had only made her more excited as the vision of the shop she held in her mind was quickly coming to life.
Emma:
Crap, I totally spaced and agreed to a working dinner tonight in the new town
Emma:
If I leave now, I can be back in forty?
April:
Don’t be silly, enjoy your dinner! We can do drinks another time
April smiled, touched that Emma would drop everything to make sure she wasn’t left hanging.
Ride or die, she thought fondly, when her phone vibrated with a text from her mom, asking if she could come home ASAP.
She returned to her group chat, quickly typing another message as she continued to smile to herself.
April:
My mom needs me anyway, so don’t feel bad. OK?
Emma:
Is she all right?
Izzy:
Let us know if you need us
Emotion squeezed her heart and April replied quickly, reassuring them and promising to call if she needed anything. Her mom had sent a follow-up, a garbled voice message about there being a leak in the kitchen, and April grimaced. It seemed more like a job for her brother.
She hit dial while she walked and sighed when Noah’s line went straight to voicemail—no doubt he’d already reached practice and wouldn’t check his phone for a while.
She tapped out a message on her phone, asking him to come by their mom’s house as soon as he could to help.
She was too busy staring at the screen and looked up too late to stop the collision with a firm chest and arms carrying a large bag of takeout.
“Crap! Sorry.” Luckily, she had taken the brunt of the impact so the guy didn’t drop his food, but she stumbled backward and her ass hit the pavement with a dull thud. It wasn’t until he shuffled the brown bag off to one side and offered her a hand that she realized exactly who she’d walked into.