Page 1 of Wallflower in Bloom

Chapter

One

VIOLET

“And, finally, our no-plant-left-behind customer guarantee makes Bloom the top florist choice for the Fairwick County Wine Festival.”

Violet Parker stared at the silent houseplants surrounding her as she practiced her speech. “What do you think, Snake Gyllenhaal?” She eyed a tall snake plant that would soon go to her flower shop, Bloom. “Think they’ll give us the contract?”

Violet was in her favorite place on earth: knee-deep in lush, leafy houseplants in her century-old A-frame greenhouse outside her cottage. It was the high heat of summer in Fairwick Falls, Pennsylvania, and the humid air grasped her by the throat.

Her eye caught on a new baby pothos plant that had just sprouted. She crouched to get a good look at it, covering her stained gardening shorts with potting soil from her gloves.

She peered over her glasses and smiled with pride. “Hello, little friend. Look at you, being so brave and entering this world.”

Violet’s heart ached as she thought of her dad, who had passed only six months ago. He’d always greeted the new plants she'd bring into his failing flower shop, treating each one as the grandchild he didn’t have.

After he passed, she re-opened the flower shop with her two sisters. Though she was the only one with a green thumb.

She ran a finger along the light green shoot standing proudly out of the soil. “I wonder what we should name you?”

She picked up the small terracotta pot to get a better look at it, scrunching her face up in the dusky light of evening.

It had the most precious curl to its shoot, making it look quite dashing. It reminded her of the handsome hero in her favorite show, Beyond the Manor Walls, a historical romantic drama.

“Lord Eagleton it is.”

When everything else had seemed dark and dismal after she’d lost her father, Beyond the Manor Walls was the one show that could still transport her to a happier place. She loved getting lost in the delicate English accents, the rich costumes, and dramatic plot twists.

She was obsessed with the show. Had listened to all the podcasts, had the merch, and even thought about going to a fan meetup. But too many people would have stared at her when she was in costume, a plus-size girl with too many curves.

A smile curled her lips as she set the baby plant back down. She loved thinking about who might give Lord Eagleton the Pothos Plant a home once it sold in Bloom.

Customers got a kick out of the names she gave her plant babies. Her sisters had thought it was silly until they realized it was a selling point. But Violet named them because they were special to her. She didn’t care about things like marketing strategies.

She gently sprinkled water in the soil, careful not to give it too much. “Now, I need you to grow big and strong over the next few months so I can—”

“EhhhCHEW!”

Violet turned around suddenly toward the open door of the greenhouse. Echoes of the highest, loudest sneeze she’d ever heard reverberated from her backyard.

What the absolute heck?

It sounded like a squirrel had inhaled a bag of pepper.

“EhhhhhhhCHEW!”

The sneeze grew closer, and she popped her head out of the greenhouse door into the dusky evening air.

Rose, her older sister, hopped across the stone path meandering through Violet’s backyard to the greenhouse.

Rose paused on a stone with her foot in the air, looked up at the sky, and let out another loud “EHCHEW.”

Even when uttering the loudest sneeze known to humanity, Rose still looked irritatingly fabulous, like always.

“Holy clover, are you possessed by the god of ragweed?” Violet pushed back her sunhat and plopped garden-gloved hands on her hips.

Rose scowled, hopping from stone to stone along the winding path thirty feet away. She wore stiletto heels, which didn’t go well with Violet’s thick, grassy lawn.

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