“So lovely you kept the space in the family,” the woman had said, patting April’s hand as she scooped up the packets of seeds and large bouquet of flowers she’d bought. “When my father passed, I had a similar opportunity and I’m sorry to say I let it pass me by.”A faraway look had drifted across her face before she smiled. “Well done you for making all this happen.”
Emma and Izzy exchanged a knowing look. “I don’t know why you’re surprised, April,” Emma said, shaking her head. “You spoke about your Dad and the store with so much love and passion. It’s impossible for people not to get behind you when it’s so obvious how much care and energy you’ve poured into this place.”
“Maybe you’re right,” April mused, and Izzy and Emma both sighed, exasperated at her continued caution.
“You know damn well we’re right!” Izzy’s forceful tone was undercut slightly by the laugh in her voice, and April couldn’t help but smile.
After saying bye to Izzy, April turned back to the store, where Emma was busy trying to find the best place to shoot in the early afternoon light. April breathed deeply, savoring the sweet smell of the flowers as it wrapped around her, a bubble of joy bursting in her chest.
Though the store was now fully her space, it felt like she could feel her dad’s presence more than ever in the sunlight that refracted through the catchers in the windows, the errant petals that drifted across the hard floor and brushed the tips of her shoes, the two sketches that hung over the register …
Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but with every customer who came in, supported her, congratulated her, she felt even more certain that this had been theright choice. She was just lucky she had friends and family who believed in her even when she didn’t believe in herself.
“Another busy day?”
The shop had closed at four, as April found it did best during sunlight hours and foot traffic became non-existent after that time anyway. Now that she’d been open for over a week, patterns were starting to emerge to help her settle into a routine that worked best for both the shopandher. It was a kind of work–life balance she could only have dreamed of in New York.
April smiled at Luke as she paused in her sweeping, leaning on the broom and smiling up at him as he moved closer and deposited a lingering kiss on her mouth. “Yeah, actually. I barely got a second to breathe today.”
He chuckled. “Well, if it keeps up, you might have to consider bringing in some help beyond your mom. Got to be careful not to burn yourself out.”
It was a thought that had been playing on her mind too, but she didn’t want to make any hasty decisions. It was possible this had been an outlier of a week thanks to the shop opening, a well-timed viral video, and the festival set-up getting everyone in the spring mood.
“My mom said she’s happy to keep helping in the mornings, and Emma’s getting pretty good at creating the bouquets, so I reckon she’ll be happy to help when she isn’t away on shoots. I just don’t know how long this wave of interest will last.”
“I don’t know why I even worried.” He smirked. “You weren’t Magnolia High’s co-valedictorian for nothing.”
She rolled her eyes but joined in with his laughter. “I appreciate the concern.”
“Well, you know I’m more than happy to help out, too—probably weekends or evenings because I have work … But maybe I could move some things around—”
She kissed him, enjoying the surprise on his face before his arms came around her and the kiss deepened. There hadn’t been a single hint of reluctance in his voice, only pride and eagerness to help, and it struck her again how stark the differences were between Luke and Tyler. Where one lifted her up, supported her, encouraged her, the other … Well, Tyler had diminished her at every opportunity. In fact, she could perfectly picture the expression he’d have worn if she’d even so much ashintedat needing some extra hands around the store. The lightly curled lip—a sure sign of his disdain—the blank disinterest in his eyes, the small sigh under his breath to let her know she was an inconvenience …
Luke broke the kiss, their breathing heavy and his eyes burning into her with a warmth that made her toes curl. “What was that for?”
She shrugged. “Just being you.”
He smiled and their next kiss was slow, tender, and when April pulled away she knew her cheeks were pink.
“I, ah, have to finish cleaning up.”
Luke pulled off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. “Put me to work.”
Her eyes dropped to the lightly muscled forearms that were now visible and she swallowed. “I have a special job for you.”
“Oh?”
She bit her lip to hide her grin as she nodded. “Just stay there like that. I need something pretty to look at while I clean.”
Luke laughed and she turned away when he moved over to the cash register and posed against it tauntingly. Luckily, she’d been close to done before he’d arrived, so within half an hour she’d finished cleaning the floors and had wiped down the surfaces and topped up the water for the flowers. These nightly resets had become somewhat therapeutic for her; she enjoyed seeing the space fall back into order each evening, ready for the new day to begin.
“All done?” Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head. He squeezed gently before letting go so she could collect her purse and jacket from the back room, and ensure the temperature control was set correctly to keep the plants fresh.
“Yep. Thanks for keeping me company.”
“Any time.”
As April walked back into the front of the store, pulling her jacket on, the door sprung open suddenly,the bell above it jangling violently. A harsh breeze blew in, cold for this time of year, and April felt her heart stutter as she took in who was stood in the doorway.