Page 45 of All Dressed Up

CHAPTER TEN

Rachel stepped into her flower shop and flipped on the lights. Iced caffeinated coffee in hand, she was ready to shake off the disastrous evening and get to work. She’d spent way too much time trying to help Will solve his problems. This morning she needed to focus on her own business.

She’d pivot this morning and turn her attention to today’s orders. By lunchtime, her cooler should be filled with a fresh delivery. This afternoon, she’d make up some new summer bouquets to put on sale as the weekend approached. The town was full of romantics who liked to purchase her flowers to surprise their wives, girlfriends, and dates. That and no one could resist a good weekend sale.

She set down both her bag and the clear plastic container she’d been carrying that showed off four chocolate croissants courtesy of Marc.

He’d been awake when she’d gotten home last night, and they caught up into the wee hours over a bottle of red wine. She’d enjoyed hearing about his plans for a new fall menu. He was a smart man with a lot of talent.

He’d asked her advice on table arrangements for the upcoming season, and she’d listed off all of her favorite fall flowers while pulling up her Pinterest page on her laptop for him to see.

It was nice to have somebody in the house to talk to now that Donovan spent the majority of his time at Zoe’s.

It was also nice to end the night curled up on her sofa drama free.

This morning, she found Marc whizzing around her kitchen in sweatpants and a T-shirt, making breakfast pastries. He’d made himself at home and put together a full container to keep her belly happy until lunch.

She opened the lid, pulled one out, and took a bite. The flakey, chocolaty goodness melting on her tongue. Damn, her guest had skills. Before she left, he’d asked her if she wanted to start the French cooking lessons she’d won this spring, so they agreed to start tonight.

It was sweet of him to donate the prize to the contest her brother had held to bring new business into the Ice Heaven. Donovan would have done just about anything to help Zoe launch their new business venture.

She took another bite. It would be so wonderful to spend a casual evening at home and not stuck sitting in a police station waiting to bail a man out of jail.

Problem was... She put the remainder of the croissant back in the container, wiping her hands on a napkin... Problem was... No matter how mad she was at Will—and she was still more than a bit miffed at everything that went down last night—she’d come running when he needed her. Always.

Her feelings for him weren’t going away anytime soon.

But any hope of their getting together had gone out the window when he stood steps in front of her, looked her square in the eye, and admitted he wanted to date Amber. Like it or not—and she definitely did not like it—she was going to have to face facts.

Their ship had sailed.

She’d meant what she said last night about their being friends. She wasn’t quite sure if it was even possible, but she’d like to give it a try.

She moved around her shop, opened the cooler, and pulled out a pail full of pink and white Clarkia flowers, bringing them to her workbench. She touched one of the delicate crepe-shaped petals, casting her gaze up to the ceiling.

Would her new friend show up today? He said he would.

Will had said a lot last night. She hadn’t realized just how much it bothered him that his father had nearly run his business to the ground, but it made sense once he explained.

She could certainly understand being labeled. This town saw her as the popular cheerleader from high school with a pretty face. She’d had to work hard over the years to prove she was a smart, competent businesswoman.

Even when she broke up with Adam, there were whispers around town that she’d never be able to succeed on her own.

She pulled out a stem with four of the delicate flowers, playing back last night’s conversation. That Will’d been so blunt to say that they weren’t close had stung.

Mostly because it was true. In all the years they’d known each other, they’ve never been friends. Sure, Will was good buds with Donovan, but she barely acknowledged his existence until they started hooking up last December.

Maybe if they became friends, in time, they could be more.But what happens if in that time he falls in love with Amber?

She picked up her scissors and gave the stem—and that thought—a good snip. That might not happen.

Yesterday was supposed to be the start of her winning Will’s heart, instead everything was a complete mess.

And it was all her fault. If she hadn’t converted the upstairs into a temporary space for Will, he and Emma would have never been up there. He would never have been arrested.

And poor Emma. Rachel set her own heartbreak aside for a moment. Emma had been so incredibly distraught when she realized that her father was downstairs. That the estranged reunion after all these years could have happened in Rachel’s shop made her sad. Emma was the kindest, most loyal person in Buttermilk Falls. She deserved better.

One thing was for sure. Mama Stevens had her daughter’s back. Rachel picked up another flower and snipped its ends. Who knew Sheila had all that feistiness in her? It probably had been pent up for years.

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