CHAPTER SEVENTEEN #2
“I’ll give it a go,” April said cautiously, a smile playing on her lips. “But no ambushing me with livestreams, OK?”
Emma squealed with delight at April’s acceptance, pulling her into a hug. “This is going to be so fun!”
Laughing as she pulled back from the hug, April noticed a small line forming by the counter, waiting for her to create more bouquets. She said a quick goodbye to Emma before excusing herself to serve her customers.
By late afternoon, the crowd had died down considerably but the flow of customers had still been steady.
April had been rushed off her feet all day, reveling in the fact that all the hard work she’d put into the store already seemed to be paying off.
After taking a quick coffee break, she was just tidying up the counter when the door swung open and Izzy arrived, followed by Noah.
“Hey, you two. Fancy seeing you here, arriving at the same time,” April said, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.
“Such a crazy coincidence,” Noah replied, his arm sliding around Izzy’s shoulders. Izzy threw him a small smile before turning back to April. So this was happening, then?
April couldn’t stop her eyebrows shooting up in a question as she took in the pair of them, and she didn’t miss the fact that there was a definite blush creeping up Izzy’s cheeks.
“As much as I want to say that this is gross and I’ll never forgive you guys for whatever this is …” She gestured between the two of them. “I won’t. It’s actually sort of cute in a weird way. It’s still going to take a lot of getting used to, though, so maybe don’t rub it in my face too much.”
“The least you can do is accept it, given how gracious I’ve been about you and Luke,” Noah retorted, and April rolled her eyes.
“Gracious? You’ve had about as much grace as an elephant doing ballet, Noah,” she shot back.
“OK, you two, that’s enough,” Kathy said, emerging from the back room at the perfect moment to break up the siblings’ argument. “April, are you OK with me heading home for a bit now things have quieted down? I’ve got a support group session later so I want to clean up first.”
“Yeah, Mom, of course. Thanks for all your help today—you were a lifesaver,” April said, pressing a quick kiss to her mom’s cheek as she headed out.
“How’s business been?” Izzy asked as the door swung closed behind Kathy.
“Really good, actually,” April said. “I’m totally exhausted, but it’s gone better than I ever could have hoped.”
She looked around the store as she spoke, loving how the sunlight streaming through the windows lit up the flowers and the sun-catchers, casting tiny rainbows across the walls. There was something truly magical about seeing it, now, how perfectly everything had come together.
“I knew it would be,” Izzy said, the certainty in her words making April’s heart swell. “Now, I’ve got a business proposition for you.”
Five minutes later, Izzy was inserting her company card into the card machine. “Perfect. It’ll be so lovely to have fresh flowers every week in the council offices. You’re a gem, April.”
April laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one I should be thanking.”
As Izzy left the store, Noah hung back, saying he’d catch her up. “Right, April, quickly,” he said in a hushed voice. “Can you make me a bouquet for her before she realizes what I’m doing? Her favorite flowers are peonies.”
“I can’t believe I’m being made complicit in this relationship,” April said, “but yes, anything for Iz. I’m charging you double for it, though!”
She rushed to build the bunch of flowers, pale-pink and white peonies complemented by sprigs of eucalyptus and baby’s breath. She wrapped it quickly in brown paper, tying it off with a piece of string before handing it to Noah, whose eyes were wide.
“That’s seriously impressive,” he said, taking the bouquet from her and admiring it. “I think she’s going to love this.” He gave April a quick kiss on the forehead, before rushing out the door to catch up with Izzy, shouting over his shoulder, “I’m proud of you, Bug!”
April flipped the sign on the door to Closed as Noah hurried down the street.
She couldn’t quite figure out if she was happy with the development of her best friend and her brother dating each other, and she mulled it over as she went to retrieve the broom to sweep up the stray leaves and petals that were scattered across the floor.
She supposed that there were definitely worse people for them both to be seeing, and wasn’t it kind of cute that this way Izzy would actually be an official part of her family, after unofficially being a member for years?
As she turned the thoughts over, she basked in the brief moment of peace now that the store was empty. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so loved and supported by her friends and family.
The community had come out for her after all and she knew this wasn’t a dream that she ever could have fulfilled in the city. The connection she had with this town and these people … she wouldn’t find that any other place but here.
She heard the door open behind her.
“Oh, sorry, we’ve actually just closed for the da—” she said as she turned, her voice catching as she caught sight of the lean figure stood in the doorway, backlit by the late-afternoon sun.
“I’m looking for the perfect bouquet,” Luke’s familiar, deep voice sent a shiver skittering down April’s spine as he stepped into the room, the door swinging closed behind him.
April couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.
“What do you get for the florist who has everything?” Luke teased, and when she pretended to think about it, he walked over to her, leaning down to press a firm kiss to her smiling lips. “How about dinner?”
“So then Mrs. Ashley comes in, she walks round the entire store, touches, like, half the flowers, and then leaves again! Didn’t even say hi to me or my mom!” April chuckled at the look on Luke’s face across the table as she finished recounting the story from earlier that day.
“She always was a weird one, that Mrs. Ashley,” Luke said, shaking his head with a smile. “She was probably just interested to see what you’d done with the store. I’ve barely been able to move all day without hearing people talk about it.”
“Seriously?” April couldn’t quite believe that was true. “Are you just making that up?”
“No, I would never!” Luke said, holding his hands up innocently. “I swear, April Blooms is the talk of the town!”
“That’s so crazy,” April said, more to herself than to Luke.
She glanced out the window of The Garden Table, looking across Main Street to her storefront.
The drapes were drawn but the evening sky was reflected beautifully in the windows, turning them a pale orange that complemented the pink window frames beautifully.
Luke reached over and squeezed her hand but said nothing, letting her savor the moment of reflection as she took it all in.
“So,” April said, shaking herself from her reverie. “Is this a re-do of our first not-date?” she mused as she looked over the menu.
“Exactly. I’d like to prove to you that you can, in fact, make it through a whole meal with me in public.” He smirked and she couldn’t help her laugh.
They ordered food and wine and Luke told her that Sadie was missing her—apparently she kept sniffing the pillows April had slept on and whining, which April found adorable.
“I’ll have to visit again soon,” she said slyly and Luke grinned.
“You’re welcome any time.” The tone was teasing but his eyes were sincere and she smiled.
Luke went on to tell her that it looked like he’d found a new plot of land for the development that had been cancelled on Main Street. “It’s a relief, honestly. I thought we were going to make a serious loss on the project but this looks like it might be a good alternative.”
“I’m so glad,” April beamed. “Sorry again that my brief stint of activism put you in that situation.”
“Don’t apologize, Jones. Truth be told, it was kind of hot seeing how worked up you got over it,” Luke said, a gleam in his eyes.
“Hm,” April hummed to herself. “As mad as I was to see you with that digger, you did look kind of hot in that hard hat …”
“Oh really, Jones? I’m sure I could dig it out again just for you.
” There was an edge to Luke’s voice as he spoke in hushed tones, his fingers tracing small circles on April’s wrist. She sucked in a breath, her stomach somersaulting at the look in his eyes.
April couldn’t quite think of how to respond as her pulse quickened, and Luke seemed to know the effect he was having, a languid smirk spreading across his lips.
“So easy to get you worked up, isn’t it, Jones?” Luke murmured, and she steeled herself, refusing to let him win this round no matter how turned on she was.
“Ha,” she let out a breathy laugh, feigning nonchalance. “You’ll have to try harder than that if you want to get me to beg, Pointer.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” Luke looked at her approvingly before leaning back in his chair, the moment passed. “I don’t suppose Izzy’s heard any more about the authentication process for those stores on Main Street?”
April sighed. “Nothing yet, but we’re hopeful that if something similar happened a few towns over, that should make our process quicker. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Their server soon arrived with their mains—a steak for Luke and beef ravioli for April—and they both tucked in.
April couldn’t believe how hungry she was, but it made sense after she’d spent the day running around the store helping customers and cleaning up.
She put a forkful of pasta in her mouth and nearly died from bliss.