Page 13 of Wallflower in Bloom

“No need to cry,” a gentle voice said a few feet away. “I’m sure the plants can’t feel pain when you manhandle them like that.”

She sat bolt upright. Oh no. She wiped tears away from her face with her gloves.

Great, she looked like a 19th-century street urchin now.

“Hey now,” Jack’s voice was soft as he knelt beside her. “What’s all this?” His hand rested on her shoulder comfortingly. She must have looked completely out of sorts if a stranger was comforting her.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she hiccupped. She tried to smile through the tears, but a few still ran down her face.

He smiled and sat down in the grass beside her. “Violet, you are a terrible actress.”

She let out a watery chuckle and fiddled with the witch hazel plant. “I just screwed up our big thing today, that’s all.”

“That’s all? That sounds like a lot.” He caught her eye, and his kind smile had her melting.

Everything sounds better in that accent. Sigh.

“It was horrible.” She nodded, wanting him to understand.

“All right, quite horrible then. What, did you call their mother a whore, or run over their beloved pet on the way to the presentation?”

“Oh god, no.” She laughed at his shockingly ridiculous suggestions. “I just walked out in the middle of it.”

“Ooh.” He let out a breath, and his eyes went wide in reflection. “I have been there.”

“No, you haven’t.” She shook her head. He’s just being nice.

His eyes grew wide, and he flexed his considerable chest as he wrapped his arms around his knees. “I most certainly have. You’re looking at one of the only actors that hates auditioning. Loathes it. Will do anything to avoid the panic sweats that accompany it. I’d rather go to the dentist every day for a month.”

“Then why are you–”

“An actor?” He finished for her. “It’s the only thing I’m good at. Once I get the job, I adore it. But putting yourself in front of all of those people, having them judge you, not sure if you’re doing the exact right thing—”

“Yes!” She pointed her finger at him. That was exactly how she felt. “Like any moment, any stray word could ruin everything. They’ll see your insecurities and how you curse when you’re frustrated.”

“How you’re not as handsome as they want a leading man to be,” he added with a self-conscious shake of his head, staring at the grass.

“That can’t be true,” she said with a smile. “You’re so—” She slammed her mouth shut.

Stupid, stupid Violet.

“I’m so what?” he said with an impish grin.

“…Famous. Everyone knows what you look like.” Her eyes fell back on the plants as she gathered her things.

“Hmm.” He smiled with a quiet warmth. “It sounds like you had a hard day.”

“And I let Rose and Lily down.” That hurt the most.

Her lip trembled. “They’ve done so much for me. My house was going to be repossessed in May because our dad owed so much in back taxes. They put their lives on hold to help me keep it.”

“So you feel like you owe them.”

She nodded, and relief washed over her to feel so understood. “But I just seem to make things worse.”

A breeze rippled past them, and she sighed at the relief of it dancing over her sweaty skin. She stole a glance at Jack, whose face was turned up, staring into the branches of the oak tree, his hair rippling in the breeze.

The cut of his jaw was highlighted with brown stubble. His skin was sun-kissed and golden from the summer day. She felt a physical craving to kiss right where his jaw met his neck. Wanted to know what he tasted like right there. Then, maybe after that, she’d wrap her hands around the biceps that bulged out of his t-shirt sleeves.

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