Page 103 of The Floral Arrangement

Fred held up a hand. “I know you’re sorry, Roz. Olivia told me everything.”

My head jerked toward Olivia, my eyebrows raised. “She did?”

I’d texted, called and emailed Fred without any luck. How the hell did Olivia manage to get through to him and what had she said?

She ducked her head. “Yes. Sorry, I was going to tell you… I was just waiting for the right time.”

Tell me what, exactly?

Fred chuckled. “She turned up at my office yesterday morning, saying it was her fault and begging me to still invest in the farm.”

I blinked. Olivia had gone all the way into the city to find Fred?

“And while I don’t think Olivia is entirely to blame for the situation by any means, I understand how the misunderstanding with your mom snowballed and got out of control. I don’t agree with what you did, but I can see how it could have happened. Aside from that, you’ve been frank and open with me about the farm’s issues and your proposal really was very convincing. And so, I’ve reconsidered my position.”

Adrenaline pumped through my body. I gripped Olivia’s hand to steady myself. “You’ve reconsidered your position. So does that mean you’ll invest?”

Fred nodded. “Yes.” He smiled at Olivia. “Olivia reminded me of all the reasons why I was interested in the opportunity to begin with: your business savvy, the farm’s potential, investing in a community—a community I’ll now soon be part of. I will be writing a clause into the investment agreement that will allow me to withdraw money if you do anything that significantly undermines my trust in you. But I have a feeling I won’t need to rely on that.”

“You have my word,” I said, holding in a slightly hysterical laugh that was threatening to erupt.

I wouldn’t be beholden to my parents after all.Thank god.

Fred slapped his thighs and stood up. “Well, I’d better be going. I’d planned to come up on Friday to start furniture shopping for my new place, so I thought I’d come up a bit earlier to let you know my decision in person. I’ll be working remotely for the rest of the week, probably a lot of it from Novel Gossip, so I might see you two there. My lawyers will be in touch with the paperwork.”

I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “Thanks, Fred. I really appreciate it.”

We walked Fred to the front steps, shook hands and waved him off.

As I shut the door, a mixture of relief and wonder washed over me. My body felt like it might float away if it wasn’t tethered by Olivia’s hand. What had just happened?

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me.

“Wow. Thank you for speaking to Fred.”

Olivia smiled at me. “Well, someone very wise once told me that successful businesspeople don’t give up. So I didn’t.”

I chuckled. “What an intelligent person.”

Olivia laughed and then let out a long exhale. “Thank god our fake-dating days are now behind us. I’m never faking anything again.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I should hope not.” I grinned. “At least, not while you’re dating me.” Our eyes locked, and an ache started low in my core. “I may have decorated my bedroom too. Would you like to see it?”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN

OLIVIA

Roz didn’t needto ask twice. Blood pulsing through my veins, I grabbed her hand and bounced up the stairs to her bedroom door.

“Just give me a minute.” Roz opened the door just enough so she could slip inside.

I bit my lip. What was she up to?

Roz reappeared, peering through a small crack in the door. “Okay.” She swiped her hand through her hair, her cheeks flushed and then swung the door all the way open.

My jaw dropped as I stepped into the room. Over the head of the bed was a huge arch, covered in gorgeous pink, purple and white dahlias and lush greenery. Two large candles flickered on the side tables at each end of the arch. Her normal gray duvet had been replaced with a purple one that perfectly complemented the flowers.

I pressed a hand over my thudding heart. “Oh my god, Roz. How long did this take you?”

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