Page 101 of The Floral Arrangement

Butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I slowly made my way to the front door, arriving just as Olivia hit the bell. I swung the door open and my heart skipped a beat.

God, she’s gorgeous.Olivia stood before me, wearing a green checkered dress studded with prints of colorful blossoms, her dark silky hair in waves framing her face, a dash of red lipstick accentuating her lips.

Shit.I didn’t know what to do with my body, especially my face and my hands. I wanted to smile at her, to throw my arms around her and apologize but that probably wasn’t appropriate.

I cleared my throat. “Hi. Please come in.” I winced at how formal I sounded.

I led Olivia into the living room and turned to her, biting my lip. I took a deep breath. “Thanks for agreeing to meet me here. I’m so sorry for Saturday. You were right, I was putting my pride before everything else by not asking my parents for a loan. But I asked them last night, and they said yes. So everything will be okay—the flower fields, the farm, Sapphire Blooms.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow!” She frowned, studying me closely. “Are you… Are you sure that’s okay?”

I shrugged, ignoring the heaviness that settled in my stomach each time I thought about the loan. “It’s not ideal. But it’s better than the alternative.”

Olivia stepped forward, flinging her arms around me. I pulled her in, enveloping her, closing my eyes as I inhaled her sweet scent, reveling in the warmth of her body.

“Thank you. I’m sorry too,” she murmured into the crook of my neck. “I shouldn’t have said what I did and stormed out. I was just so upset about losing the flowers, about losing Sapphire Blooms.”

“I know. It’s okay.” I rubbed her back.

I stayed there, gathering strength for what I wanted to say next. Eventually, I pulled my head back so I could see her beautiful face.

“There’s one other thing,” I said, brushing her hair back from her cheeks with my fingers. “I’ve done a lot of thinking over the past few days, about us and what I want…” I gazed deep into Olivia’s eyes, my heart pounding in my ears. I had to get the words out, otherwise I’d live in regret. “And I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to wake up next to you every morning, have coffee and breakfast on the deck every day and grow you the best damn flowers for your shop. And assuming things go the way I think they’ll go—with us only growing closer and closer—one day I’d like to have kids with you and let them run rampant on the farm.”I swallowed. “I would love to date you in a very real, not at all casual or fake, way. That is, if you’re still interested?”

I held my breath, waiting for her response. Had I come on too strong? Perhaps she’d reached the opposite realization over the past few days, deciding she was better off without me in her life. My stomach flipped at the thought.

Olivia reached out her hand, running her thumb down my jawbone. My heart fluttered.

“I would love that,” she said, staring up at me. Her face broke into a smile. “Although, can we leave the flower growing to Dana for now? While I appreciate the sentiment and trust you in every other way, I don’t trust you with my dahlias.”

I chuckled. “Come here, you.” I pulled Olivia in and kissed her gently on the lips. A warm glow lit in my belly. My lips parted and I deepened the kiss, running my hands over Olivia’s back.

“I’ve missed this,” I murmured as we came up for breath. “Before we get too carried away, would you like to stay for dinner?” I glanced at the clock on the wall. “I have something in the oven that will be ready very soon.”

Olivia smiled. “That would be amazing. I was wondering what that delicious smell was.”

I took her warm, soft hand in mine and led her down the hallway and through the kitchen. She froze as we stepped onto the deck, her eyes wide.

“What the…?” Olivia’s mouth dropped open.

I grinned as she looked around, taking in the vision before her.

In the middle of the deck stood a square table covered in a white tablecloth, with two place settings and chairs. A small bouquet of dahlias sat in the middle of the table—I hadn’t wanted anything too ostentatious that would obstruct my view of Olivia over dinner. However, I’d taken a no-holds-barred approach for the rest of the deck. The wooden railing was covered in glowing candles and vases of coral, pink and purple dahlias. A wine bucket sat in a stand next to the table, overflowing with red, orange and yellow blooms.

“Don’t worry, I checked with Dana on whether you needed them for your shop and weddings, and ended up buying some from Charlie’s Flower Farm in Shenorock to make sure I didn’t use too many. I’ve also taken my antihistamines, so I won’t be sneezing all over you.”

Olivia turned to me, the side of her face lit with the soft glow of the candles. “This is gorgeous, Roz.”

“The flower arrangements are probably not up to your standards, but I tried my best.”

“I love them.”

A loud moo sounded.

Olivia laughed. “And so do Thelma and Louise, by the sound of it.”

I shook my head, chuckling. “Thelma and Louise watched me set up all afternoon, adding commentary like that on a fairly regular basis. Thelma kept licking her lips like she thought I was preparing a chef’s tasting menu of dahlias just for her.”

I pulled out a chair for Olivia, and gestured for her to sit.

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