by Renee Hart
Conner held the pumpkin pie in his lap in the passenger seat. It was store-bought, since I still wasn't much of a cook, but I doubted anyone would complain. “I'm really nervous,” he said when we reached Dad's neighborhood.
“Why? You've met everyone before.”
“Not all in one group like this,” he said. He hadn't been to the dinners with my brother and sister, since we'd been focused on strengthening our family bonds. This would be the first time he was part of a real family event with all of us.
“You'll be fine,” I said. I reached over to squeeze his knee. “Everyone loves you. Especially me.”
“I love you too,” he said. And while he'd said those words before, there was something more tender in his voice today. Something that made me feel like we were moving towards a new stage in our relationship. We still hadn't started talking about marriage or anything like that. And maybe we wouldn't for years. But I was confident that Conner was going to be in my life for a long time.
When we got to Dad's house, I started helping him and my stepmom in the kitchen. Conner and Ari went off to play Xbox, and when I went in to check on them later, I saw that Jimmy had joined them.
Jimmy and Conner were trash talking each other with friendly grins while they hacked each other up with some kind of chainsaw machine guns. I watched them playing their game and I smiled, glad that they were starting to bond, even if the virtual violence of male bonding was strange to me. But then again, Ariella snuck up behind both of them and stuck a grenade to one of their backs, blowing them both into a million pieces. So if it was a strange sort of bonding, at least she was a part of it, too.
When dinner was almost ready, my stepmom asked me to go upstairs and fetch some extra chairs from the storage space. Since the boys were still too busy killing each other, I decided I could haul the chairs down by myself. I headed upstairs, then into the upstairs bathroom, then opened the little crawlspace door tucked away next to the bathroom sink. I flipped on the light and crawled inside, wondering what the early 1900s architects had been thinking when they designed this house.
I crawled back among boxes of Dad's old junk, then moved his Festivus pole out of the way (Dad had always been a big Seinfeld fan). Right next to the folding chairs I found an open box, and I caught sight of a picture of Grandma lying on top of it.
I picked up the picture and looked at it. Grandma looked like she was in her twenties, and she had a smile on her face like I'd never seen on her when she was alive. I sat there staring at the picture, wondering what her life had been like back then. I wondered what had changed when she grew older to make her so strict and unforgiving. I sighed and shook my head. I still regretted never having the chance to get to know her. Though I knew it was long since too late for that.
But as I dug through the box, I realized that it might not be so late after all. I pulled the box out and carried it downstairs with me, forgetting all about the extra chairs. I set it at the end of the dining room table and started pulling stuff out.
“What are you doing with that?” Dad asked when he saw the box. “I forgot that was up there.”
“Just wanted to see what's inside,” I said. I pulled out a few more pictures, then a folder with a watermarked certificate inside. It was Grandma's security clearance for when she worked at the FBI. I looked through the rest of the papers in the folder, then showed them to Amanda. “Looks like that's one mystery solved. Grandma was a secretary. She needed a security clearance because she was the one typing up all the top secret documents.”
“Whoa.” Amanda flipped through the pages, a wide-eyed look on her face. “Go Grandma. And here I was thinking she was a secret agent at Roswell or something.”
I dug deeper into the box, then pulled out something that I handed to Jimmy. “Looks like Grandma had an old coin collection.”
He started pulling the coins out, checking their dates and looking them up on his phone. “Some of these are actually pretty rare,” he said. “They might be worth something.”
Ari stuck her head over my shoulder, which reminded me of just how tall she was getting. Another year or two and I'd be stretching up to reach her. I dug out an old photo album and set it on the table in front of her. I flipped the book open and said, “Now, see, Ari. These are called 'photographs.' Back before everyone had smartphones and Instagram, you had to get them developed as hard copies like this.”
“Mom, stop,” she said, smacking me on the arm. “You're such a dork.”
I laughed, and we sat down for dinner, flipping through the old photo album while Dad carved up the turkey. We passed pictures around, trying to make guesses about who some of these people were and what they had meant to our grandmother. Dad managed to fill in a few of the answers, but a lot of the people in the pictures were strangers even to him.
We passed around the old memories, sharing in good times, old and new. I reached under the table and held Conner's hand. I wondered if one day, he and I would have children of our own, then grandchildren, who might one day dig my old cell phone out of the attic and start flipping through the pictures, wondering about the people who had been part of my life.
I decided today was a good time to make sure I preserved these moments, so that even after I was gone, they wouldn't be forgotten. I made everyone gather round, then set a timer on my cell phone's camera and perched it against Grandma's box. I hurried over to join my family, Jimmy on one side, Conner on the other. And we posed for the first family photo we'd shared in half a decade. Though I was sure it wouldn't be the last.
THE END
Wherever Love Takes Me
A Sweet Contemporary Romance Novella
Flower Shop Romance Book Four
MARISA LOGAN
Flower Shop Romance Series
These are all standalone stories with no cliffhangers, you can read in order or individually. Look for them on Amazon.com.
One: Any Blooming Thing
Two: Wherever Love Takes Me
Three: Crazy Sweet Love
Four: Trusting Your Heart
Description
You might think Chleo Antonia Matthews has it all. She's beautiful, smart, hilarious, with skin the color of rich coffee, and the friendliest face.
She's also the successful young co-owner of Any Blooming Thing, a flower shop in the city.
When she catches the bouquet at her best friend's wedding she realizes that something is missing. She has no one to share her life with. That is, until shop manager Petey convinces her to take a little ragamuffin with bright yellow eyes.
When she takes her new pet to see a handsome veterinarian, Dr. Arjun Vaswani, sparks fly in an unexpected way.
This stand alone story is the second installment in the Flower Shop Romance series.
Chapter 1
‘I caught the bouquet. Of course I caught the damn bouquet,’ Chleo thought to herself. She was grinning like an idiot. There was genuine happiness within her, but now she was on the spot because she had a bouquet of coral roses, white lilies, and a single large sunflower in her hand. Everyone was cheering around her.
She glared through her smile at her best friend, Jessica. Jessica’s curly red hair was tied in a beautiful bun, with 2 curls floating by her face. She had on a small tiara, a long mermaid gown with long sleeves made from lace, and a devilish grin of her own. She pointed at Chleo with both pointers and gave her a silly look. She had meant for Chleo to catch the bouquet.
Jessica’s husband, Alfred Reynolds, shimmied over to Chleo and snickered in her ear.
“Looks like you have to at least entertain the thought of going out on a date,” Alfie said. He nudged her with his elbow and she rolled her eyes at him.
“I don’t talk to conspirators or their new wives,” Chleo giggled through gritted teeth. Alfie laughed and walked back over to Jessica. He passed his daughter on the way and ruffled her hair.
Chleo had been having an amazing day. Her best friend had gotten married to someone she had loved from afar since the
ir high school days. They met again just 2 years prior, and rekindled something that never really started when they were teenagers. Alfie and Jessica fell in love with each other instantly, and Jessica loved Alfie’s daughter Lydia.
Chleo was happy that her best friend was happy. She knew she was the maid of honor, she knew that she would have a hilarious toast to make later on in the evening, and then she’d watch the two love birds [and their baby bird] leave for their 3 week long honeymoon in the Hamptons.
It wasn’t until she saw Alfie play with Lydia’s hair did Chleo feel that strange pang in her heart. It was the feeling that something was missing. She didn’t really acknowledge that feeling until that very moment when there was a bouquet in her hand and people were clapping around her and throwing rice at the happy couple. The world seemed to move in slow motion at that very moment, and through all of her happiness, Chleo felt alone.
***
“Are you sure you can handle everything?” it was 2 days after the wedding. Jessica, Alfie, and Lydia were heading out of town. It was a pretty far drive away from the Hamptons, and Jessica liked to worry. Chleo was usually the mama bear, but since Jessica was now a step mom, she spent her time worrying about everybody and everything.
“It’s 3 weeks, and there’s no nuclear war that I’m aware of, so I think I’ll be fine,” Chleo said. She had a can of diet Dr. Pepper in her hand. She brought the straw she had in the can closer to her with her lips and took a sip.
“Well, Donald Trump is running for president…so that nuclear war might come sooner than you think,” Jessica pointed out.
Chleo was still taking a sip of her drink when her eyes widened. She would have laughed, but that would have made her choke.
“Good point,” she said when she finally came up for air. “Why are you still here?!”
“I just wanted to make sure that you and Petey would be ok without me.”
“I know we’ve been best friends for like 17 years, but have a little more faith in me,” Chleo said, feigning being hurt. She pouted.
“I have complete faith in you. But Petey is…” Jessica’s voice trailed off when she looked behind Chleo and into their flower shop, Any Blooming Thing. Petey was their only employee. He started working for them when Jessica got engaged. He meant well, he loved his job, but he was pretty scatter-brained and boy-crazy when he was ready.
Chleo waved her hands behind her, and then flapped at Jessica to leave. They had known each other long enough for them to have developed their own kind of communication that didn’t involve words. When they were in school together, they looked a lot alike but they had different skin tones. Jessica was pale with freckles and curly ginger hair. She had the iciest blue eyes. She and Chleo were plump in high school, but in their early 20s, Jessica grew taller and lost a lot of her weight. She pierced her nose and straightened her hair and dyed it black. When Alfie came back into the picture, she let her hair grow back out with its natural texture and natural color.
Chleo was still relatively short with a gorgeous curvy body. Her hair, long and wild, she usually wore out or pulled back with a headband. Her skin was the color of rich coffee. Chleo had the friendliest face, the cutest dimples, and she was one of those people who you couldn’t tell that she could accomplish something. She was the valedictorian at her college, a member of an elite math group, the debate team, and a jazz and tap dancer. She was someone who wanted to try everything at least once in her life, and she had succeeded in everything she had tried thus far.
“Jess!” Lydia whined from the backseat of the black Rav4 that her father was driving. She looked a lot like her father, with unusual eyes that seemed to dance between grey, green, and blue depending on what she wore, and a friendly smile. The only thing that was different was the fact that Alfie had very light blonde hair and Lydia’s hair was long and brown. It wasn’t quite curly, but it wasn’t straight either. She had hair like her mother, who was still very close with Alfie and had a 2 year old son with her new husband. They lived upstate and Lydia’s mother Kelly was the manager of the second branch of Alfie’s coffee franchise, The Coffee Cup.
“Ok ok, I’m going,” Jessica said. She gave Chleo a kiss on the cheek and hopped into the passenger side of the Rav4. She wound down the window and pretended to cry dramatically. She waved at Chleo.
Chleo’s face fell and she pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket. There were people watching, but they didn’t care.
Chleo wiped fake tears with the handkerchief and began to jog alongside the slow moving SUV.
“Promise to write to me every day,” Chleo wailed as she reached for Jessica’s hand.
“Every day, and twice on Sunday,” Jessica wept. She took ahold of Chleo and stared dreamily at her.
“Oh my God,” Lydia grumbled. She just turned 11 and was getting to that age where everything that adults did around her had the potential to be extremely embarrassing. Two grown women play acting beside her was definitely one of those things.
Lydia sank down into her seat and held up her tablet over her face. Chleo laughed at that and held up her hand. Lydia tried to hide a smile, but she couldn’t. She put up her hand and high-fived Chleo.
Chleo watched the new family drive down the road and turn the corner. The dull ache of longing seemed to follow her back down the street, and into her flower shop.
“You guys are so weird, you know?” Petey said when Chleo got back into the store and shut the large red Dutch door behind her.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Chleo chuckled.
“Oh honey, if I do that, it’ll open up a whole can of worms that I’m not sure you’re ready for.”
Petey looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. He put a stock of hydrangeas in front of his face and bat his lashes. The minute Chleo and Jessica met him they knew he would fit right into their weird little flower family.
Petey was an oddball, but always managed to bring his drama and his emotions to work with him. His head was shaved at the back and the sides, and the remainder at the top was a bright turquoise and usually tied in a bun. He had thick rimmed glasses [even though his eyesight was perfectly fine], and it was impossible for him to go a day without wearing something black.
“Did I tell you that Brian called? You know he’s having an affair with our friend Dave, and Dave is married to this girl Connie, and…”
“Wait, who or what is a Brian, or a Dave, or a Connie?”
“Remember my ex-boyfriend Tim?” Petey asked patiently. Chleo lied and slowly nodded her head.
“Well those are all Tim’s friends from college. Brian doesn’t know that Tim knows…but Tim knows everything,” Petey went on and on while arranging flowers and dancing about the store trying to get everything to look perfect. Chleo drowned him out most of the time. She didn’t really like gossip. She much preferred joking around, or learning something.
“Anyway,” Petey sang when he was finished with the floral arrangements. He moved over to the large windows at the front of Any Blooming Thing and readjusted the large flower pots. They had ferns and overgrown aloe vera in them. “Jess tells me you were the one who caught her bouquet on Saturday.”
“Ugh, she did that on purpose. She practically aimed it at me,” Chleo whined. Petey shrugged and heaved at another large pot until he thought it was perfectly centered.
“You know it would be so nice if we actually put pretty flowers in the front instead of just all this green everywhere,” he mumbled half to himself and half to Chleo. “Anyway, I think she did that for a reason! When was the last time you’ve been on a date?”
“You sound like me from like 3 years ago.”
Chleo didn’t talk about dating. She had been single for the last two months. She had been dating a saxophonist and wannabe rapper from some trip hop group. She had a weakness for people who could play instruments. It was the one thing she hadn’t been able to master, and it always fascinated her when people could do things that she couldn’t.
The saxophonist
turned out to be a big waste of time. He would always ask her for money or a place to stay, and would emotionally manipulate her into helping him out when he was in trouble. The truth was, Chleo was too nice to the men she dated, and didn’t extend that same kindness and respect to herself. Jessica told her all of that when the relationship with the saxophonist went south. Jessica was also convinced that he had been cheating on Chleo, and that proved to be right when just two weeks after their break up, the saxophonist had moved in with some random bubble blonde.
Chleo had had enough of shallow one-sided relationships. She wanted to focus on Any Blooming Thing and where she was going in life.
“Earth to Chleo Antonia Matthews,” Petey said. He had this habit of saying people’s full names when he was exasperated or trying to get their attention.
“Oh, well I haven’t been on a date in a few months. Not since that guy you met that one time.”
“I could tell he was a sleazeball the second I saw him. Wait, do you hate him? Because if you hate him, then girl, I hate him too.”
Chleo couldn’t help but laugh. Petey was so adorably loyal.
“I don’t hate him per se. I just…don’t care that he exists in the same universe as I do,” Chleo said. They both giggled at that.
“Listen, you’ll find your Prince Charming one day, and I know I’ll find mine. Hey, oh my goodness, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this. I have a surprise for you!”
Chleo tilted her head back and pursed her lips. She hated surprises. They always turned out badly where she was concerned. She almost messed up when Alfie was trying to surprise Jessica with a proposal.
