Chapter 32
“Can you drive any faster?” I grumble, anxiously tapping my foot against the floor of the fire engine cab. Hit the horn. Blare the siren. Flash the lights. Something— anything—to get me to Shayna as fast as humanly possible.
I planned on telling her today that I love her. Instead, I’ve missed the majority of her first event with Sunshine Blooms. She’s probably sad and confused, maybe even mad. But she could never be as furious as I am with myself.
I usually bring my phone on calls and keep it in the rig, but I forgot it for our final call of the shift.
It was an awful house fire caused by an explosion from a gas leak.
Luckily, everyone was able to get out before the explosion, thanks to their smart thinking by calling emergency services when they smelled gas.
But the call lasted way longer than my shift was supposed to—I glance at the time on the dash—and even went over two hours into the time of the Dogwood Festival.
And of course I don’t have my cell to call or text Shayna and let her know where I am.
That I’m safe and just running late. My family is all there, too, and I know my mom must be freaking out.
Fisher offered me his phone, but I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I never bothered memorizing any phone numbers aside from my own.
I’ll be rectifying that soon, but for now, I just want to get to Shayna.
“She’ll understand why you’re late, man.” Fisher socks my shoulder.
I know how gracious and understanding Shayna is, but I can’t help but beat myself up over the fact that I’m already letting her down. This is what I was afraid of. Not being enough for her. Not being able to be the man that shows up for her.
“We’re nearly there, Porter,” Lieutenant Barnes calls over her shoulder from the driver’s seat.
I return to bouncing my knee and try to think about what I’m going to say to Shayna. After a few more turns, we finally pull into the parking lot.
Barnes turns and shoots me a rare smile.
“Go get your girl.” She reaches up and tugs the chain hanging from the ceiling of the cab.
The air horn blares, and people hurry to move out of our way.
I shrug off my jacket and hat, but decide it will be too much work to take off my suspenders and turnout pants.
Hopefully, I don’t smell too much like smoke.
The fire engine rolls to a stop. I get out and hang onto the side handle, scouring all the rows for her yellow truck. When I finally spot it a few rows away, I jump down and maneuver my way through the crowd of people and booths.
When I reach Shayna’s row, I immediately spot her looking like a floral goddess in her pink skirt, surrounded by the remaining bouquets.
Seeing a lot of the vases empty brings a smile to my face.
That’s my girl. I knew she would succeed at whatever she put her mind to, and seeing our city come out and support her new business is a beautiful thing.
I jog toward her. When I’m close enough that I think she can hear me, I call out, “Flower.”
Shayna turns in my direction, and a wide smile breaks out on her face. That’s a good sign. She meets me halfway and throws her arms around my neck as I crush her against me.
I cling to her and immediately feel more at ease. Everyone says that I saved her, but really, she’s the one who has saved me. “Sorry if I smell like smoke.”
“I don’t care.” She stands on her tiptoes and burrows her face in the crook of my neck. “Are you okay?”
I press a kiss to her temple. “Great, now that I’m here with you.”
She pulls back and looks me over, trying to determine if I’m injured in any way.
“There was a gas leak explosion in a residence at the end of my shift that we just finished.” I run my hand through my hair that’s still damp from sweat.
I got it cut again this week so that I would be looking fresh for Shayna’s big day, but I guess that’s probably not noticeable now either.
Everything about this day has gone horribly wrong.
I wish I could start the day over and do it all correctly.
“I forgot my phone at the station. I would’ve called otherwise. ”
Shayna cups my cheek and I lean into her touch. “You don’t have to explain. You’re safe. You’re here now. That’s what matters.”
“How can you be so understanding?” My jaw ticks. “I wasn’t here for you.”
“But you were.” Her smile is soft. “You were here in the beautiful craftsmanship of the shelves you built and the galvanized vases you bought with me. You were here in the logo on the truck.” She looks up at me and bites her bottom lip.
“And you were here in all the wooden vases you made, which I completely sold out of in the first hour.”
My eyes go wide. “What?”
She sucks in a breath. “Please don’t be mad, but I kind of snuck into your shed yesterday when you were at work and loaded up all your wooden vases in my car to sell today.”
My mouth falls open slightly as I try to process her words. “And they sold?”
“Every last one.” She gestures to Daffodil’s passenger seat.
“Well, except for the one in there. I couldn’t bring myself to sell my favorite one.
” I peer in the window and see that it’s the one she caught me making.
“Are you mad?” I turn back to find her wringing her hands.
“I just wanted to help you feel more confident in how good you are at what you do, and I think selling out really shows how talented you are.” She taps her purse.
“I actually have a whole list of people who saw other customers carrying your vases around. They were disappointed when I told them I was sold out, but they gave me their contact info in case you wanted to make more or show them more of your work.”
I take her hands in mine. “How could I be mad at you? You’re amazing, and I’m honored you believe in me that much.” I let out a disbelieving laugh. “I still can’t believe you sold out and got me a waitlist.”
“You better believe it, Con.” She squeezes my hand. “No. Believe in yourself.”
I lift one of her hands to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “With you by my side, I do.” I notice that a customer seems to linger near the flower truck. “Do you need to go?”
Shayna shakes her head. “I’ll get Mal to cover it real quick.” She waves at my sister over my shoulder.
I know the second Mal is here because she punches my arm. “What’s the point of a cell phone if you’re not going to answer it? You know Mom is freaking out.”
“I’ll explain everything later, but for now, can you cover for Shayna so I can talk to her?”
Mallory’s face softens as she realizes what I want to talk to Shayna about. “Fine. I’ll text Mom and Dad that you’re okay, too, but you owe me.” She approaches the customer with a cheery grin, ready to help her friend make a sale.
“That was easier than I expected.” Shayna laughs.
“She has her days.” I lead her away from the crowd to a more secluded area under a dogwood tree in full bloom.
“What did you want to talk about?” She rocks on her feet.
I take a deep breath and dive in. “Helping you with your truck started out as a favor to my sister, but it quickly became what I looked forward to most every week. I honestly only feel like I’m me when I’m with you.
I thought I was fine being alone, but now that I’ve had a glimpse of what life with you is like, the future I thought I wanted feels lonely.
” She squeezes my hand and smiles up at me, encouraging me to continue.
“I know I was trying to help you figure out what you want in life, apart from what anyone else asks of you. But the truth is, you’re the one who helped me come to the biggest realization of my life: there’s nothing I want more than you. ”
Shayna wraps her arms around my neck and pulls my mouth to hers.
The kiss is gentle and sweet, just like her.
The feeling of her lips on mine after I just laid my heart bare breaks the dam inside of me that I worked so hard my entire life to build, hiding all my feelings and emotions.
They come flooding out in a rush as I cradle her face and turn the kiss into something more, deep and full of emotion.
I move us backward until her back is pressed against the tree trunk. I keep one hand on her face and settle my other on the bark as I put my all into showing her just how much she means to me.
I’m breathing hard when I finally pull back. When I see her swollen, thoroughly kissed lips looking perfectly pillowy and the hazy look in her eyes, it nearly has me leaning in for more. But I need to finish this conversation. Make sure she knows where I stand.
I run my finger along her jawline, and she shivers at my touch. “Have you decided what you want, flower?”
Shayna trails her fingers along my suspenders, just like she did after the bachelor auction, and snaps one against my pecs. She beams up at me with a flirtatious grin. “Still you. It’s always been you.”
I press a kiss to her forehead. The tip of her nose.
Her cheek. The hollow spot beneath her ear.
Before finally allowing my lips to meet hers again in a whisper of a kiss.
“Then you should know that I plan on marrying you one day.” She gasps, the sound full of awe.
“But for now, will you please be my girlfriend? Because I want to date you for the rest of my life.”
A single tear falls onto her cheek. I swipe it away with my thumb. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be more than yours.”
I pull her into my arms and hold her tight. My girlfriend—those are two words I never thought I’d say again, but everything about them feels right when it comes to her.
We head back over to the flower truck, and Mallory raises her brows when she sees us. “Looks like you two had a good talk.” Her emphasis on the last word makes me roll my eyes.
“You can talk to my girlfriend later,” I say.
My sister’s eyes go wide as she squeals. “Girlfriend?”
Shayna nods and leans her head on my arm.
“I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it,” I assure my sister. “But I’d like to buy a bouquet now, if you don’t mind.”
Mallory squeezes Shayna’s arm before saying to me, “Shop away.”
When she leaves, I turn to my girlfriend. “Which bouquet is your favorite?”
“You’d probably expect it to be an all-yellow one, but I really love this one.” Shayna leads me over to a bouquet of red flowers with yellow centers. “These are Gerbera daisies. I thought they were too beautiful to mix with anything else.”
I lift it out of the vase. “They remind me of you.”
She blushes. “How so?”
“They’re vibrant and cheerful, and they add a splash of color to life. Just like you.”
Shayna’s eyes go misty. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about me.”
“There’s a lot more where that came from.” I hand the bouquet to her. “For you. And I’ll pay for them later when I get my phone back.”
She smiles up at me like I just handed her Taylor Swift concert tickets. “No one’s ever given me flowers before.”
I rear back in shock. “Really?”
“I guess everyone thinks a florist doesn’t need flowers when they’re surrounded by them all day and can make themselves a bouquet.”
“You deserve a fresh bouquet every week.” She sniffs the flowers, and her lips pull into a content, closed-lip smile.
She looks so peaceful like this. So happy.
Because of me. “Maybe every day,” I amend, because I would buy this beautiful woman flowers every day for the rest of my life if she’ll let me. “I love you, flower.”
Shayna wraps her arms around my neck, and I cradle her against me, careful not to crush the bouquet.
The look she gives me when she pulls back is one I add to the list of mental images I want to hold onto forever.
Her hair wild from our time kissing under the tree.
Her grin wide. And her eyes full of love and affection for me. “I love you.”
I return her smile, wondering how I got so lucky to have landed someone so stunning. How I found someone who knows me deeply and loves me despite my flaws.
I’m honored to support Shayna and her business, a legacy she’ll leave behind one day.
As for me, if the only thing I’m ever known for is loving her, that’s a life worth living.