Page 21 of Love in Bloom

“My stuff?”

“Yes, your stuff. Your luxury SUV, the designer clothes, like tonight’s Ralph Lauren blouse and Coach boots, and all the designer accessories, like your Prada bag and the Michael Kors purse you carry.”

“You know fashion?” It looked like she was fighting a grin. Miller shifted in his seat.

“Former occupational hazard. Styles change seasonally, but designer logos don’t.” Miller released the flute from her hand and set it aside. He gently took her hands in his and turned them from side to side. She tried to pull her hands away, but he held firm.

“My hands are such a mess,” she muttered. Miller didn’t respond. He just continued to examine them. “There’s not enough lotion on the planet to help. They get wet from the flowers, and then I wash them a lot because most of the growers treat the flowers with pesticides and I don’t want the chemicals on me. Holiday season also means working with pine and cedar so it just gets worse. That’s my current occupational hazard, I guess.”

He looked up as Wren trailed off. She was chewing her lip. He stared at the spot, wondering what she would do if he leaned over and tried that. He tore his attention away from her mouth and back to her battered hands and noticed that the ring on her finger spun. It was a compass and he turned it.

“Interesting ring. Tell me about it.” He dropped her hands and picked up his fork. He needed to find his way back to normalcy. Eating would decrease the odds of him doing something stupid.

Wren smiled softly. “It was a gift from my dad. He’s an over-the-road truck driver and listens to a lot of audiobooks while driving. He bought this during his Brené Brown phase.” She spun the compass and it flickered in the light. “To quote my dad, or more accurately, Dr. Brown, ‘Courage over comfort.’ It’s to remind me to stay true to who I am.”

“And does it?” he asked quietly.

“Usually.” She smiled. Miller liked this smile. It reached her eyes.

“Were you lost in your marriage?” Miller kicked himself for asking when the smile fell from her lips.

“Am I on the witness stand, Counselor?”

“No. Just a curious friend. I can’t imagine you lost. You’re one of the feistiest women I know.” Her smile came back in full force and if Miller didn’t know it was nighttime, he would have sworn it was high noon in July.

“Feisty, huh? Not a very original line to use with a redhead.” Miller looked up from the last bite of apple crisp. So, that confirmed his suspicion. She was a redhead. With his color blindness, redheads looked like dark blonds to him, but Wren’s hair never fit the pattern. Maybe she was a lighter shade he couldn’t discern. He really needed to ask Parker for a description.

“No, trust me, your hair color never influenced my decision. This is going to sound bad, and I’m sure you’ll fillet me, but I think you’re feisty because you challenge me all the time. Most women I meet socially agree to everything I say.”

“Nice to be you.” She looked up at him as she took the last piece of the chocolate cake.

“Not really. It gets boring, which is why I don’t date much.” He waited while she finished the cake. “So, I guess your husband wasn’t very smart.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because only an idiot would let you go.”

“Thank you,” she said. “You’ve been awfully good for my ego tonight.” She stopped and looked out the window. Snow was falling steadily, just like the meteorologists had predicted. He thought she’d change the subject, but she surprised him.

“I met Michael waitressing. He came in every day for lunch and always sat in my section. He was good-looking and charming, a few years older and wiser. I was a naïve twenty-four-year-old. Michael treated me like a princess and promised me I’d never have to worry about money again. I was staring down the debt of a four-year degree in art history. He swept me off my feet and we married six months later.” She paused for breath.

Miller didn’t say anything, hoping she’d continue. He didn’t have to wait too long. Once she’d uncorked her secret, it just poured out of her.

“He came from a well-known family and was an associate at a prestigious law firm, so continuing to waitress was out of the question. With the family connections, I got a job at a commercial art gallery. Looking back, our first year together was pretty good. But then, things shifted. Michael’s father had been a lawyer, too, and my mother-in-law decided Michael hadn’t made partner yet because of me. The partners didn’t see him as partnership material because the wives didn’t see me fitting into their clique.

Michael was a bit of a momma’s boy, and I loved him and our lifestyle, so it wasn’t too difficult to trade in my job for committee meetings, volunteering, and having lunch at the country club. My mother-in-law coached me on what to wear, what to talk about, who to sit with and who to avoid, what to eat, how to wear my hair.”

“You sound like a Stepford wife.”

“A redheaded one at that. She had me dye my hair a darker shade of red, hoping to decrease its brightness.” Wren paused.

“I’m surprised she approved of this length,” Miller said.

Wren laughed. “One of the last things I did before leaving Knoxville was cutting my hair short, pixie short. A stupid, rebellious decision, but it was worth it seeing the look on her face when I walked into the club. I kept it short when I moved to Haven, but in the last year I’ve been growing it out.” She toyed with the ends of her chin-length hair.

“If things were going so well, why did you leave?”

“The more time I spent being partner-wife material, the more miserable I became. I felt like I lived under a microscope. It didn’t help either that Michael was working incredible hours and was rarely at home. Whenever I mentioned how lonely I was, he’d remind me he was doing this for us, and it would get better once he was a partner. I tried to focus on my blessings. I had time to paint, I lived in a lovely condo and wore gorgeous clothes, and he was paying off my student loans at a rapid rate. I had stuff, but I didn’t have me.” Wren shifted in her seat and she looked at Miller as if begging him to understand.

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