Page 1 of A Heart in Bloom

Chapter One

Perspiration beaded on Cammie Rodes’ forehead as adrenaline coursed through her veins, her pulse pounding in her ears. She stared at the paper in her hand, the words blurring as her dreams unraveled before her eyes.

“You’re evicting me?” she whispered, barely able to breathe.

Hunter Harrington, her landlord, smirked. His crisp suit and air of entitlement only added to her frustration. “Unless you can manage the increased rent within the next thirty days, yes.” His tone was smooth, almost bored, as if crushing her livelihood was just another item on his to-do list.

“But we had a contract!” Cammie shot back, anger rising to replace her initial shock. “My rent was locked in. How is this even legal?”

Hunter raised a perfectly trimmed brow. “Your contract was for five years. Thanks to my mother’s soft-hearted management, you’ve had six. Consider yourself lucky. These are the going rates now. Pay or move. It’s your choice.”

Turning pleading eyes, rapidly filling with tears, on the stunningly handsome man standing before her, Cammie begged, “Hunter, this increase is insane! This is Glacier Ridge, not Aspen. Nobody’s paying those prices here. Can’t we negotiate? Please, this is my busiest season. I can’t relocate now.”

He paused at the door, his hand on the handle, and glanced back with an icy smile. “It’s Mr. Harrington to you. And no, we can’t negotiate. I have big plans for Glacier Ridge, and quaint mom-and-pop shops aren’t part of them. Oh, and your use of the upstairs as living space was never in your lease. Tack on an extra $3,500 for that.”

With a jangle of the bell and a blast of cold December wind, he was gone, leaving Cammie frozen in place. The math swirled in her head: $11,000 due by the end of January and every month after that. Impossible. Her dream of independence wasn’t just slipping—it was being ripped away. Every bouquet, every late night working toward something that was hers alone, now felt futile. The walls of her carefully curated shop seemed to close in around her.

Her hands trembled as she returned to her workbench and tried to calm the storm in her mind. But the same thoughts kept intruding. She hated this town. She hated entitled men like Hunter Harrington. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to leave Massachusetts altogether and go home to North Carolina. She had made a good run of things here. So she would go homesingle instead of blissfully married like her friends and family assumed she would. They didn’t need to know the whole story.

She was placing a finished rose bouquet into the cooler when the bell above the shop door jingled, and Cammie turned to see Dora Harrington enter. Dora, the picture of sophistication, strode in—every golden blond hair perfectly placed, manicured nails gleaming in the overhead lights, and her magenta overcoat immaculately tailored to show off her trim figure. Her expression was calm, almost icy, but there was something in her eyes—a flicker of sympathy Cammie wished she could trust. For the briefest moment, Dora’s lips parted, as if she might say something, but she simply smoothed the curl draped over her shoulder and moved on.

“Dora! Man, am I glad to see you. Please tell me you’ve talked some sense into your brother about this rent hike.”

Dora’s polite smile didn’t waver. “Sorry, darling. DH Designs and Harrington Development are entirely separate unless we’re working together. What Hunter does with his properties is his business.” Her voice was cool, her British accent making the words feel like a dismissal. “I’m here to access the upstairs space. Hunter wants the lofts renovated for short-term rentals, and I need to take measurements.”

Cammie sighed and trudged to the spiral staircase at the back of the shop, leading Dora to her apartment. “Dora, come on. We’re friends. You could at least put in a good word for me,” she tried again. “If I have to leave, who’s going to make your open-house arrangements? There isn’t another florist within forty-five minutes with my skills and design experience.”

Pausing at the base of the stairs, Dora’s expression hardened ever so slightly. “Don’t overstate our relationship. We’re business acquaintances, not friends, and I will not waste my time with Hunter—he won’t budge. I do value your work, Camellia, so I’ll offer you this bit of assistance. My older brother,Theodore, owns a little town on the other side of the mountain, Hickory Falls. He has plenty of storefront space available. The rent in his dilapidated little town will be much more to your liking, and you will be within a thirty-minute drive, so our current arrangement may continue.”

“Wait—you have another brother? And your family ownstwotowns?” Cammie’s frown deepened as the implications settled in. She knew the family was wealthy, buttwo whole townsrich?

Dora arched a single, perfectly shaped brow. “Technically, yes.” She glanced at her watch, as though this revelation were just another mundane fact of life. “If you’re interested, Google Harrington Construction in Hickory Falls. Theodore will likely jump at the opportunity to get a new lease.”

The sting of Dora’s words lingered as Cammie unlocked her apartment door, forcing a tight smile. They weren’t friends? After six years of working together? Did she have a single person in this town who cared about her? She forced a smile. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out.”

Dora stepped past her, already pulling out her measuring tape. “Good luck, Camellia,” she said, smoothing her coat as if to erase any trace of emotion. Then, with a final glance back, she turned her attention to the room and began her work.

By the time Cammie pulled up to Hickory Falls the next day, the bitterness from her eviction notice had dulled into cautious hope. The town was nestled between pristine forested mountains, its streets lined with brick storefronts and lampposts strung with twinkling lights. The air smelled faintly of pine and wood smoke, an old-world charm woven into every corner. She spotted a diner, a hardware store, and a coffee shop—all bustling despite the wintry chill. The faint hum of laughter and conversation drifted from the restaurant, mingling with the clink of bells on shop doors as customers came and went.

She parked outside a storefront with charming double bay windows and stepped out into the brisk air. Snow crunched underfoot as she adjusted her coat, dropping her keys in the snow.

As she stooped to pick up her car keys, a shadow fell across her. Startled, she jumped and looked up to see a tall man with broad shoulders and a warm, easy smile.

“Sorry,” he said, extending a hand to steady her. “Didn’t mean to scare you. You must be Cammie Rodes. I’m Zach Harrington.”

His rugged features matched his relaxed demeanor. The worn edges of his jacket and the calluses on his hand hinted at someone who wasn’t afraid of hard work. Nothing about him resembled the polished arrogance she associated with the Harrington name. Instead, there was an openness to him, a quiet strength that made her wonder.

Cammie straightened, shaking his offered hand. “Yes, hi. Did you say your name was Zach? I thought Dora said her brother’s name was Theodore. Is there another Harrington lurking around here somewhere?”

Zach chuckled, already liking this woman’s forthrightness. “No, that’s me. Only my siblings and perhaps my mother continue to call me that. I haven’t been Theodore in a very long time. Most folks in town don’t even know that’s my name. I go by Zach and have since I was a child.”

“Pardon my prying. I’ve known your siblings for years now, and I’m just trying to understand what I’m getting myself into. Why Zach?”

There was a long pause as Zach decided how much to share. If this woman had dealings with his younger siblings, she had reason to be suspicious. Perhaps the truth would help her decide if Hickory Falls was the right place for her. Making up his mind, he admitted, “From a very young age, I wanted to separate myself from the pretentiousness of my family. I’m actuallyCharles Theodore Harrington IV. But I go by Zach, and for the record, I’m nothing like my family.”

Cammie raised a skeptical brow. “The apple fell far from the tree.Right. And yet, you own this town.”

Zach nodded, unfazed. “I do, but not in the way they own Glacier Ridge and their many other holdings. My goal is to see this town and its people thrive, not exploit them.”

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