ELLIE
“Mrs. Winchester,” I groaned, arms crossed tightly over my chest as I stood before the cooler packed full of flowers, watching her examine each bouquet.
Every single one I picked wasn’t good enough.
To be honest, my patience was wearing thin, and I was making absolutely no effort to hide it.
“None of these are speaking to me, sweetheart,” she said, waving a perfectly manicured hand at the floral arrangements in front of her like they were peasant offerings.
“Well, us standing here isn’t going to magically make one of them start whispering,” I muttered, my tone sharper than usual, laced with a bite I didn’t bother sweetening.
She shot me a look of pure offense, her jaw slack and her hand instantly covering her mouth.
I sucked in a deep breath, pressing my lips together. After a beat, I forced a saccharine smile and batted my lashes.
“What if I check the back? Maybe there’s something from the new shipment that might be more your style.”
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh, that would beamazing,” she gushed, her fiery red hair bouncing as she clapped her hands with excitement.
Without another word, I turned on my heels and headed straight to the back—where, for the record,there was no new shipment. I’d made that up because if I spent another thirty seconds trying to please Mrs. Winchester, I was going to lose it and throw a tulip at her head.
“Sandy!” I called, storming into her office and collapsing dramatically onto the small, worn couch pressed against the wall.
She looked up from her ancient desktop, glasses halfway down her nose, her expression soft and familiar—equal parts amusement and concern.
“Mrs. Winchester again?” she asked knowingly.
I nodded, letting my head fall back with a groan.
“I don’t have one more damn bouquet of tulips to show her. And I definitely don’t have anything else that fits her ever-changing definition of the right vibe.” I made air quotes with my fingers as I spoke.
Sandy pushed back from her desk and rolled across the concrete floor in her squeaky chair. She tapped my arm gently, like only someone with true grandma energy could.
“I’ll take care of her,” she said with a little wink. “I’ve got just the thing in mind. Why don’t you step outside for a minute and get some fresh air?”
I stood and bent to hug her, grateful for the excuse. Her arms wrapped around me in that warm, grounding way that made everything feel just a little less heavy.
“If you need to head home early, you let me know, dear.”
I shook my head and waved her off. “I’ll be okay. I just need a minute.”
I pushed through the back of the shop and stepped into the alley, the warm late-afternoon air instantly hitting my skin, loosening some of the tension.
And then I froze.
To my left a few feet down the alley, Miles stood casually like he’d been waiting.
Waiting—forme.
Just like that, the moment of peace vanished, replaced by a different kind of pressure entirely.
I hadn’t spoken to him since the night at the bar. It’d been two days, and I’d kept entirely to myself.
Everyone had seen what happened. I thanked the stars that Boone had been in the bathroom when it went down—if he had seen any of it, I wasn’t sure Miles would still be around to tell the story.
The way Miles reacted that night shook me. And when I paired it with what he’d done in the limo, things started looking a whole lot different. I’d tried to be generous, to chalk it up to him trying too hard—nerves, maybe—but now? I wasn’t so confident in that excuse.
“Ellie,” he called.