Page 9 of Love in Bloom

“Well, then, you have a problem,” he said. She heard the irritation in his voice. “I meant what I said to Jackson. I will do whatever I need to do to make sure he and Emily have a perfect wedding. He’s been one of my closest friends for years, and I won’t let him down.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with me.” Wren continued to grope for her keys.Stupid, bottomless pit of a purse.When would she learn to put them in the same place?

“I could be wrong since as a lawyer I’m more versed in how to end a marriage than in planning a wedding, but I’m pretty sure it’s expected that the maid of honor and the best man, or best person, get along. And since we’re the proxies for those two over the next year, we’re going to be seeing each other a lot. We might as well figure out how to be friendly.” He didn’t sound very friendly right now, though.

“I can be friendly toward you without being your friend.” Wren found her keys and drew them out of the abyss.

“Like you’ve been all night?” Miller took the keys out of her fingers and followed her to her car door.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Wren lied.

“When a friend smiles at me, I can see it in their eyes. You just give me the fake smile. And don’t even get me going on the overly sweet tone of your voice or the way you always call me ‘Counselor.’ My name is Miller,” he growled. He unlocked and opened her car door for her. If her grey Mercedes-Benz SUV surprised him, he didn’t show it.

“Sounds like you’re the one not being very friendly now,” Wren said as she plucked her car keys out of his hand. She didn’t want to touch him, and she was careful as she slid into the driver’s seat. Miller held the door and leaned in.

“I mean it, Wren. Whatever problems you have with me, get over them. I’m not the enemy and I’m not going away.” With that, he carefully closed her door.

Wren didn’t hesitate. She quickly started the SUV, did a U-turn, and headed for home. She hated that he’d gotten the last word in, just like her ex, Michael, used to do. Everyone knew there was no way to win an argument if you didn’t get the last word in. It was a sneaky rat-bastard lawyer trick.Darn man!It was more annoying that he was right. They were stuck together through the wedding. She needed to figure out a way to move from hate to tolerate.

Hate was a bit strong, though. She didn’t hate Miller. Hate wasn’t really in her. And hating someone assumed you had some feeling for them, even if it was negative. But she had to dislike him, on principle, if for no other reason. She’d sworn off lawyers. Never again. She wasn’t going down that path only to lose herself for someone else’s gain.

Wren stopped herself.You idiot. You’re not marrying the guy, you just need to survive being in the same room with him for a few hours.

She thought about that. She’d survived tonight, so there was no reason she wouldn’t continue to survive. She’d just have to break her promise to herself and use her ice-maiden facade when she needed to. Wren hated that persona, but desperate times lead to desperate actions so she’d have to give herself permission to revert to old tactics. She wouldn’t let Emily down.

The only hiccup she saw in her plan, and it was a huge one, was that Miller had already seen through her act.Well, tough noogies. She stuck her tongue out at the stoplight, pretending it was him.

The light caught her compass ring, and Wren’s plan disintegrated. She wore the ring as a reminder to be true to herself. Hiding behind her ice-queen facade would be a huge step back in her personal plan to rebuild her confidence and her life. She’d have to find another way, or at the very least, only use the ice maiden around Miller.

Maybe he’s not as bad as I’m making him out to be,she thought as the light turned green and she pulled through the intersection. Emily loved Jackson, so Jackson must be a good person. And, Jackson liked Miller. A good person like Jackson wouldn’t like a bad person, therefore, Miller must be a good person, she reasoned. Even if Jackson was a lousy judge of character, she knew Emily wasn’t. And Emily seemed to like Miller. Therefore, once again, Miller must be a decent person.

Wren thought about this as she parked her SUV and climbed the outer stairs to her one-bedroom apartment above Wallflowers. She couldn’t remember ever hearing a bad word spoken about him. Haven may be a city, technically, but it acted like a small town. The grapevine in Haven would put the one from her childhood hometown in Indiana to shame. And, as a florist, if there was something bad to know, she would know it. She heard lots of gossip.

Maybe taking him up on his offer was the best course of action. She’d stay mad at him until he had the work orders and the subpoena was completed. After that, she’d be like Switzerland—neutral, neither liking nor disliking. There was no way she’d like.

Even though Miller Lynch was intelligent, successful, the personification of tall, dark, and handsome, and probably a decent human being, she wouldn’t get close enough to like. She’d be true to herself and she’d keep things superficial. They’d be acquaintances.That’s the plan, she sighed as she settled into bed. Good thing she didn’t hear the universe laughing at her as she fell asleep.

Thebellsabovethefront door jingled, and Wren looked up from the bunch of carnations she was stripping of its leaves. “Hi, Sue.” Wren greeted the real estate closing agent whose business was a few doors down the block. Sue had been her first business friend. She’d filled Wren in on the ‘whos and whats’ of the neighborhood and always saved a seat for her at the Chamber of Commerce meetings. In return, if a client needed to pick up their documents from Sue but she had to be away from the office, Wren held the package for them at Wallflowers. A win-win. Wren helped Sue, and it brought customers into the shop.

Wren wiped her damp hands on the towel attached to her waist. She’d been cleaning flowers for over an hour and was happy to take a break. It was a quiet Friday morning, which always filled her head with business gloom-and-doom scenarios. She knew the slow season was ending, but that didn’t ease her discomfort. It would be a relief when her part-time designer, Cindy, clocked in for the afternoon. Her chatter would drown out the naysayers in Wren’s head. “What can I do for you?” Wren grabbed an order pad on the off-chance Sue needed flowers.

“I hate to bother you, but I’m wondering if I can leave this with you. It’s not my usual manila envelope.” Sue set a large open box on the counter. Wren peeked in. It was filled with a half dozen different cookies, a pan of blondies, and what looked like several loaves of homemade bread.

“Um, sure,” Wren said, puzzled. She wasn’t sure what was being asked of her.

“Thanks. Normally I leave it at Miller’s front door, but we’re going out-of-town tonight for the weekend and I don’t have time to swing over there.”

“How often does he get this, and what do I need to do to get in on it?” It had been a long time since she’d had homemade bread. Her grandma had always served it warm, dripping with butter and smothered with her blue-ribbon strawberry jam. Her stomach growled at the memory.

“It’s a thank-you. Miller coaches my son’s soccer team, and I secretly leave him some goodies every few weeks during soccer season.”

“That’s quite a thank-you,” Wren said enthusiastically, but inwardly she cringed. She’d have to deal with Trouble.

“It’s the least I can do.” Sue looked around the empty shop and leaned closer. “Don’t tell anyone, but Miller has helped pay for some of the boys’ fees. Soccer isn’t as expensive as football or hockey, but kids are expensive, you know? Plus, all the boys idolize him. I don’t think a boy can have too many good male role models these days.”

Wren nodded her agreement while her brain processed this new information. More evidence that Miller was a good person.You don’t need to like him just because he’s a good person, she reminded herself.

“Oh, darn!” Sue slapped the countertop. “I didn’t think this through. If I tell Miller to pick them up, he’ll know they’re from me.”

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