CHAPTER SIXTEEN #3
“Just in time!” Em called and April blew her friends a kiss, watching out the corner of her eye as Noah greeted Izzy with a placid enthusiasm that she was sure was for her benefit.
Luke stayed inside to secure Sadie while the group walked out to greet the driver of the truck as he unloaded pallets of flowers. Even seeing them outside on the side of the road was enough to get her choked up.
“Oh, come on, April, they’re just flowers,” Noah said, faking exasperation, but he squeezed her with one arm before moving forward to pick up the first pallet, with Luke coming out of the store and rushing to help him to lift the other side.
Together, they gradually carried all of the pallets in, thanking the driver as he finished unloading and lifted his hand in a goodbye.
April set about showing the group how to condition the flowers to make sure they’d stay fresh overnight, cutting the stems and mixing the floral preservative in buckets before placing the stems into the water.
They worked alongside one another, Sadie lying across April’s feet as she stood at the counter.
They’d soon sorted through the pallets of flowers so they were all primed and ready to be displayed.
“OK, let’s put the daisies over there, the freesias up on the second shelf next to the violas …
” April called out instructions, directing her little workers and reshuffling where necessary to make the most pleasing display possible.
“Luke, could you please move those lilies up a shelf? And to the right? Perfect.”
“Bossy much?” Noah grumbled and Luke grinned.
“You can boss me around any time, Jones.”
Noah faked a gag. “OK, gross. Didn’t need to hear that.”
“Then don’t eavesdrop,” she challenged, but when Izzy and Emma both raised a brow at her, she sighed. “What do you want to know?”
Luke carried over another bucket of flowers and April gestured to where she wanted them while waiting for her friends to speak up.
“Are you … together?” Izzy asked, cautious optimism in her tone, and April wanted to curse her friend for asking one of the questions she didn’t yet have an answer to.
She glanced at Luke and found his brows raised in challenge, a slight smirk on his mouth. Fine—that’s how he wanted to play it? “Yes,” she said boldly, taunting Luke right back. “Next?”
“Is it as big as we thought it would be?” Emma’s smile was wicked and Luke’s laugh told April all she needed to know about the blush she’d hoped to hide spreading across her cheeks.
“Don’t worry, you don’t need to answer that one.
” Emma looked at April and mouthed later, making her laugh and shake her head.
“Look, yes. Luke and I have … something. Let’s not make a big deal about it while we figure it out. OK?”
Noah shrugged. “Sure. As long as I don’t have to walk in on you guys making out in public anymore, I don’t mind.”
The teasing looks from her best friends made April wince, so she opted to do the best thing she could in that moment: change the subject.
“Don’t be such a prude, Noah. Oh, actually, there’s one other thing I was hoping for your help with putting up.”
“I’m all out of shelves, April,” Noah joked as he followed her into the back room.
April walked over to the large oak desk which had once been their dad’s and was now scattered with various order forms and other bits of paperwork. Sliding open the top drawer, she took out a small box and placed it on the desk.
“When Mom and I were clearing out the workroom at home, we found this old sketchbook of Dad’s.
It was full of all these drawings he’d done over the years, including …
” She lifted the lid of the box as she spoke, withdrawing two framed sketches and placing them on the desk.
“These two.” Her voice broke a little as she took in the two drawings in matching frames, one of violas and the other of lilies.
“Oh, Bug.” Noah placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and April took a deep breath, gathering herself before going on.
“It just seemed so perfect, I thought why not get them framed and hang them? Like, something to make sure Dad’s memory is preserved in the new store. I was hoping you might help me put them up, as a finishing touch.”
Noah sniffed and cleared his throat loudly before saying, “Yeah, definitely.” April couldn’t help but notice that his voice sounded slightly choked up, and she smiled as she met his eyes. “Give them here—I’ll go hang them behind the counter for you now.”
“Oh, come on, Noah, they’re just flowers. No need to get all emotional,” April said with a little laugh as she handed over the frames.
“Says you, you big hypocrite,” Noah jabbed back, his smile a little watery as he took the sketches and left the office.
April took another deep breath before following Noah back into the store.
Emma and Izzy were now busy setting out a seed display on a table at the front.
They’d placed the table on a vintage rug she’d thrifted a few weeks back—no doubt that had been Emma’s idea—and it tied the room together perfectly.
Luke was over by the shelving, adjusting the last few buckets to ensure that everything was in the perfect position.
Sadie was sniffing around him, clearly intrigued by all the flowers, and stuck her nose into a bucket of tulips before quickly withdrawing, sneezing.
April giggled to herself and Sadie padded over, nuzzling her wet nose into April’s palm.
Luke looked over at them, taking in the scene as she bent down to press a kiss to Sadie’s head, scratching behind her ears.
As April looked up, she caught Luke grinning at them, and returned the smile with a now familiar warmth spreading through her chest. Movement outside the store windows caught her eye, and she saw another delivery truck pull up outside.
April’s mouth went dry. This wasn’t a delivery she’d told anyone about, but she couldn’t deny how excited she was.
She rushed out to the road, and was followed by the others.
“More flowers?” Luke asked from behind her and she shook her head, signing the clipboard the delivery driver handed over before he unlocked the back of the truck to grab her large parcel. Noah and Luke took it, lowering it to the ground carefully outside of the store’s doorway. “What is it?”
“Heavy,” Noah grunted and April chuckled.
“Well, I was going to wait and surprise you all on opening day. But seeing as it’s here …” April carefully pulled off the tape from the sides of the box and lifted the packing material away to reveal the sign beneath. “It’s the new store sign.”
Em gasped. “Oh, it’s gorgeous, April.”
She smiled. It was gorgeous. Flowers were woven through the lettering design, the gold of the letters catching the sunlight and making the peachy background of the sign look like it was a glowing sunset.
“‘April Blooms’,” Noah read aloud. “I like it.”
“Thank you. I thought it was fitting.”
“Flower puns,” Noah said, nodding, and April laughed.
“Well, yes. But also because it’s how I feel. Since leaving New York, I’ve become a version of myself that I recognize again. I feel like I left the gray behind when I came back home. You guys and Mom … Well, without you all, I don’t know if I’d have gotten to where I am now.” She smiled. “Happy.”
Noah’s eyes shone and April cleared her throat awkwardly.
“I love that,” Noah said quietly. “It’s perfect, Bug.”