Page 44 of Love in Bloom

“Yes, but I’d like something more colorful for them. That’s where you come in, Color Queen.”

“Keep talking.”

“I’ve been thinking about this since I saw your paintings, and I’m wondering if we could collaborate.”

“What’s your vision?”

“I’m thinking maybe a green glaze with small flowers painted around the edges.”

“You’d want me to paint the flowers?”

Miller dunked his sponge into the water and squeezed as he pulled it out. “And you’d need to help with the glaze until we got the formula right. I don’t make my own glaze powders. I buy them from a guy in Minneapolis who has all the chemicals and minerals and a proper ventilation system for compounding. He’s willing to make small batches until we get the color right. Green is a problem for me.” Miller stopped trying to drown the sponge and looked at her. It wasn’t hard to see how nervous he was, and Wren sensed it was hard for him to ask for help with the colors. “Interested?”

How could she say no to helping Miller create this perfect one-of-a-kind gift for their best friends? It would mean working with him and spending more time with him. Time for him to persuade her. She’d have to double down on her head running the show. She glanced at her watch. Wren didn’t want to leave, but she needed to. There was a lot to process and to protect.

“I’d love to help, but not today. I need to get going.” She walked toward the door.

Miller wiped his hands on a nearby rag and followed her out of the room and up the stairs. Wren found her purse and used the remote starter for her car. Hopefully, by the time she got outside, it would be warming up. Everything would still be cold and firm, but at least it wouldn’t feel like sitting on a cement ice cube. She slid her feet into her winter boots and shrugged into her coat. Miller leaned against the wall and studied her as she dressed for her escape. “Well, I think that’s it.” She muttered and looked at Miller.

“Is it?” He walked toward her. Wren stepped back and felt the door knob against her back. Miller placed his clay-streaked hands on the door, caging her in and blocking her escape. “Look at me, Wren,” he commanded softly. Wren licked her lips and acquiesced.

Miller’s lips claimed hers hard and fierce, releasing his caged hurt from earlier. Wren knew he wouldn’t stop her if she ducked under his arm to escape, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to be anywhere but here. She leaned into him and slid her hands around him. He was solid temptation as Wren melted around him.

His kiss gentled and she opened her lips, encouraging him to explore further. She didn’t realize she was clutching the thin fabric of his shirt like a lifeline until he stopped and stepped back. “Let me know when you’re done thinking,” he said with a smirk before going back down toward his studio.Arrogant man!Wren chuckled as she stuffed her hands into her mittens and let herself out the front door.

Wren thought about it the whole way home. She thought about it as she cleaned her small apartment. She thought about it as she caught up on Wallflowers’ bookkeeping, which took twice as long as usual. She thought about it as she flipped through her sketchbook.

Wren grabbed some colored pencils and tried to settle into a still life, but her brain and hand weren’t communicating. The only thing she sketched was Miller.I’m doomed, thought Wren.

It didn’t look like she’d be able to function until this thing with Miller, whatever this thing was, was decided and done. No matter what she decided, she knew more poor functioning would be in her future, because how can you function with a broken heart?

If she agreed to his crazy plan of short-term happiness, her heart would break when it ended. If she did nothing, her heart would break from longing and the missed opportunity.Damned if I do, damned if I don’t, she groused as she snapped her pencil case shut.

But, right now, Miller made her happy, and she needed happy in her life. She deserved some happy. Before she could talk herself out of it, she sent him a text.

Sunday, 6:53 PM

Wren: I’m done thinking.

She set her phone face down in the kitchen and went to take a shower. She would not sit by the phone waiting for him to reply like a desperate woman. Wren had things to do. Important things like giving herself a facial, applying a deep-conditioning hair treatment, and shaving her legs all the way up, not just the lower leg. And as long as she was wet, she might as well clean up her bikini line, too. Just in case. For no particular reason. Wren forced herself to move slowly. When she’d finished her shower and was moisturized from head to toe, she sauntered into the kitchen and made a cup of tea.

She stole glances at her phone when she didn’t think it was looking. As though the phone controlled the outcome. A crazy game, yes, but she was afraid to flip it over and look at the screen. If he responded like he was still interested, then she’d have to figure out the next move. If he’d changed his mind and was no longer interested, she’d be mortified. And if Miller hadn’t responded? The suspense would be the death of her.

The quote from Lord Alfred Tennyson popped up unwelcomed into her head:

“Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

This isn’t love, this is fun.She lifted her tea bag out of the steaming water and dumped it into the garbage can.

She was starting to second-guess herself and wished she could unsend her text. Not a good position to be in for a woman who was working on rediscovering herself and her self-confidence. Finally, her phone pinged.

Sunday, 9:12 PM:

Miller: And?

Wren: I’d like to try short term but we need to go slow.

There. She’d done it. She’d foolishly opened herself up for future heartache.

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