Chapter 8 #2
I’ve never understood what James finds so fascinating about doing people’s taxes or spending all day swimming in math problems. But I won’t complain, since he does a fantastic job keeping the books for Daphne’s Wildflowers.
“Anybody stopped in before I got here?”
“Three customers picked up their orders. I noted them over there.” He waves a hand vaguely. “And one woman asked to see you. Didn’t recognize her. I told her to come back around lunchtime. I’m not sure she will, though. Seemed like she was in a rush.”
My heart skips a beat. “What did she look like?”
James studies me, curiosity glinting in his gaze as he pushes his glasses up. “Tallish, in her thirties, medium-length dark brown hair.” He narrows his eyes. “Why? You know her?”
Fuck. She’s the last person I want to see.
With a long exhale, I get to work setting out my supplies.
“Her name is Zoey. She’s from Vancouver.
She arrived in Pine Falls about a week ago.
” My tone is flat. I can’t help it. “I almost ran her over when she crossed the street without looking. She had ridiculously high heels. I bet she would have face-planted a second later with those on anyway. And then we had sex the same night.”
James sucks in a breath. “You wh—”
I hold both hands up. “There’s more. She came in here yesterday, and I made her a bouquet. And then…” I swallow thickly, irritation bubbling in my gut. “She got a call. You’ll never guess from whom.”
I almost choked on my saliva when I saw the name.
“Who?”
“Oscar.”
Honestly, who the hell saves their dad’s number with his first and last name? “Oscar…” His eyes go wide. “ That Oscar?”
“The very same. Oscar Marchiatto.”
His jaw practically unhinges.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen that reaction out of him. Usually, he just nods, maybe raises an eyebrow—never much more. He’s the type who chews on information in silence, waiting until he has something useful to contribute, if at all.
“You slept with—”
“Please don’t say it out loud.” I wince. “I’m upset enough with myself. I didn’t know who she was when it happened.”
I’ve been trying so hard not to think about it since his name flashed on her screen. Since I overheard her conversation. That fucking idiot’s voice was so loud, I could hear it even after she stepped a few feet away.
What game is he playing? Sending his daughter to woo us? Not a fucking chance.
Says the guy who already slept with her.
I shut my eyes tight.
“So what does she want with you?” James asks, visibly confused.
“With me? Nothing. She wants to buy Emile’s land.”
His brows lift so high they disappear under his shaggy hair. “What for?”
“From what I gleaned from her conversation yesterday, she wants to build a fucking hotel.”
Anxiety flares, heat crawling up my neck.
When will they leave our town alone? When will they understand that we do not want to become a mega complex with Targets and Walmarts and resorts packed with rich assholes who couldn’t care less about the damage they’d do to a small town like Pine Falls?
They’re not here for the nature, our history, or our “quaint” streets.
Their only true interest lies in gentrifying another corner of this world. It’s about ownership. Power.
For years, we’ve fought off these assholes. And I damn sure still have some fight in me. I’ll gladly go against one more corporation trying to dictate what they swear is best for us, when their only goal is to line their pockets.
I was so close to asking Zoey out yesterday.
What was I thinking? With Daphne at home right now, with the shop busier than ever and in dire need of a cash influx… Maybe it’s a good thing that she turned out to be the exact kind of person I imagined during our first encounter. A deceitful, spoiled city girl.
No more second-guessing my gut, that’s for sure.
“That’s unfortunate,” James says, cutting through my thoughts.
“What? Why?”
He shrugs. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this interested in someone.”
“I’m not—”
He gives me a stern look.
“Fine.” I sigh, deflating. “She got intriguing for a second, but that’s all.”
“Sorry, man.” He mindlessly pushes the hair off his forehead, only for it to immediately fall back into place. “It would’ve been nice for you to meet somebody new.”
I’m grateful for what he doesn’t say, even if the message is clear.
Four years later, and it still hurts to hear her name.
Hell, just thinking about her still makes my chest ache like there’s a tight fist around my heart.
Because I wasn’t enough. Pine Falls wasn’t enough.
And my family was too complicated for her.
That last part brings with it a bolt of anger. Nobody— nobody —will ever be more important to me than my sister is. If she couldn’t accept that, couldn’t deal with the fact that a good chunk of my time will always be devoted to Daph, then I wasn’t the guy for her.
Even if I had all of it mapped out for us. A slow, mellow life in this small town. The traveling, the kids. But it was growing old by her side that I looked forward to the most. Seeing the gray in our hair and the wrinkles on our skin.
I thought she was it for me. So much so that I—
With a sigh, I push the memory aside. No need to rehash the past or dwell on it. It’s never done me any good. It doesn’t matter. None of this matters. And Zoey will never matter now.
“It is what it is,” I reply flatly, picking up my shears. “Are you going to the town meeting tonight?”
“I was planning to. Lola is joining us there.”
“Good. That’s good.” I use the back of my forearm to wipe a stray strand of hair from my face. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting this project go through. That’s not what Emile would have wanted.”
James snorts. “What would that old bastard have wanted, except for the whole town to grunt and frown till the very end the way he did?”
I chuckle. He’s not wrong. The old man gave us shit every day.
“Remember the time he took our soccer ball away when we were playing in a park because his car was down the street?”
James snorts. “Or when he gatekept Oli’s mail for years because he was convinced he got food poisoning after eating at his grandparents’ restaurant?”
I laugh, shaking my head as I continue to peel the damaged petals from roses. “I thought Oli was about to strangle him. But you can’t say the guy didn’t love this town. He was a mean one, but he cared for Pine Falls the most.”
“Yeah. I’ll give him that.” James nods, his attention on his work again.
I devote the rest of the morning to processing orders, creating bouquets, cleaning vases, watering pots, and cutting stems to preserve flowers.
I adjust the window display to include fall accents, change the name of the week’s bouquet on the chalkboard outside, and check in with my supplier about the next delivery.
Throughout the day, and even on the way to pick up Daphne from school, a single thought consumes my mind.
Tonight, Zoey is going down.