Page 34 of The Replacement Fiance

But what can I do? Everything has changed since Christmas. Even Liam knows it but he knows better than to ask for details. He just knows that one moment I was "engaged" on social media and the next, I wasn't. One minute I couldn't stop raving about the florist and the next, I couldn't stand the sound of her name.

We park our motorcycles at the curb and make our way up the hill toward Mom's grave. Liam spots the flowers first.

"When did you have time to drop off fresh flowers for Mom?"

"I didn't. The cemetery staff remove them after five days so there shouldn't be any flowers in the vase right now."

But as we draw closer, there's no mistaking the bouquet arranged in the granite lawn vase that's part of Mom's gravestone. Pink Asiatic lilies, purple daisy poms and alstroemeria interspersed with white waxflowers and purple statice—Mom's favorite flowers. And with Adriana allergic to flowers and not particularly caring about them, there's only one other person who knows what they are. It's also a Friday.

Liam gets down on his haunches. "That was really nice of her to do this. Mom would have been happy to know her."

I don't answer even though I know Liam's right. Mom would have gotten along well with Mariah. They'd probably talk about flowers and painting, two of her favorite hobbies.

Liam stands up and faces me. "Can I just say what an idiot you are?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're an idiot."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I can't believe you're just going to let her go like that all because she messed up once," Liam says. "So she made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, bro."

I don't have to ask Liam who he's talking about. Of course, it's Mariah. If there's someone who's always known I'd always liked the blond florist, it's him... and maybe the rest of the guys.

"Even when you had some chick on the side, you dropped everything for her. All it would take was a phone call and you were on it," Liam continues. "And don't lie to me and say you didn't. Not in front of Mom. You gave her discounts–"

"I give a lot of people discounts."

"No, you don't. Definitely not 50 percent off the bill and you'd tell me to take it out of your pay," Liam says. "But the guys... they knew so they didn't mind. She brings in her delivery vans anyway and that covers the discounts you charge her for her SUV."

"So what's the big deal? It's a wash."

"Nothing. I'm just telling you the facts, bro," he says as I look at Mom's grave, at the flowers that Mariah must have carefully arranged and then brought over here herself. I can almost see her making sure the flowers looked good in the granite vase, her blond hair falling off her shoulders as she slipped something between the blooms. I frown, getting down on my haunches and pulling out a rolled piece of paper tucked between the blooms.

"What's that?" Liam asks as I stand up and unroll the sheet.

"Looks like a note."

Liam peers at the note. "To Mom? What does it say?"

The handwriting is neat and familiar. I've seen it before because I've seen Mariah write little thank you notes for me and the guys every time we do the maintenance on her delivery vans. It's the same handwriting that graces her thank you, birthday, and Christmas cards.

Dear Mrs. Garrison,

Thank you for raising two amazing sons, one of whom I have hurt so much after everything he did for me even when he knew deep down it was wrong to pretend to be someone he wasn't. But no matter how wrong it was to do what we did, I want you to know that he made me so happy. He made me realize that I needed to move on from the past that has weighed me down for so long and kept me from appreciating what (and who) was right in front of me all along. Maybe one day, things will work out again. But for now, I hope you like your flowers. I truly enjoy arranging them for you every week.

Yours, Mariah

As Liam takes one look at the note and steps back, I'm glad he doesn't insist on reading it. I roll the note again and slip it back between the flowers, back to the woman it was meant for.

Ten minutes later, we say our silent goodbyes to Mom, wishing her a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

"You hanging out with Adriana?" I ask as we make our way back to our bikes.

"Yup, she's got dinner and Netflix planned for us. You?"

"I don't know yet."

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