Page 24 of The Floral Arrangement

Olivia beelined for an orange Volkswagen Beetle with large purple and pink flowers painted all over it. Humph. Of course she’d have a ridiculous hippy-looking car covered in flowers.

“She’s such a delight,” Fred said as Olivia opened the door to her car.

“She’s certainly special,” I replied, not willing to concede the point.

God, she was infuriating. Her parting words about the flowers would make it even more difficult to sell Fred on getting rid of them, especially since he seemed to be a huge fan of hers already.

“You two make a good team. You’re the numbers woman, and Olivia is clearly focused on the heart.”

My shoulders tensed. But I had to admit that, apart from Olivia’s comments about the flowers, we had complemented each other well today.

A sinking sensation tugged at my stomach. Fred thought we were a team, but we barely knew each other. And because we’d just spent the last hour pretending to be a couple, I was now in a very difficult position.

Fred and I had known each other since business school, but we were acquaintances, not friends. We weren’t close enough that I was confident we could just laugh this situation off and move on without jeopardizing Fred’s potential investment.

My gut told me that the only reason Fred had been willing to consider investing in Red Tractor Farm was because he trusted me. If he found out we’d been lying to him, the entire deal might be off the table before I could even put it on there.

Without his money, I’d have to let go of a number of the staff and possibly take even more drastic steps in an attempt to keep the farm afloat. Surely not correcting the lie was the least worst of two bad options?

I clenched my jaw. Probably not. But it didn’t feel like I had much choice now. I needed to focus my energy on convincing Fred to invest in the farm and work out how to get rid of the flowers after Olivia had extolled their virtues. And I also had to make sure Olivia planned on showing up tomorrow to avoid raising any suspicions with Fred. Hopefully, without her body pressed to mine in the confines of the old truck, I wouldn’t have any more of those irritating flashbacks to Pryde.

CHAPTERTEN

OLIVIA

I wrapped the red,orange, and yellow ranunculus in brown paper, tied them together with string, and handed them to Mrs. Seabourne. “Have a lovely day.” I waved as she exited the shop.

I’d been buzzing with adrenaline since I’d returned from Red Tractor Farm. I still couldn’t believe what I’d done. I’d been about to tell Roz’s mom, in no uncertain terms, that I was certainly not dating her flower-hating daughter who’d ghosted me and stolen my favorite t-shirt, when Fred had shown up and a half-baked plan to save the flower farm had materialized in my head. Before I knew it, I was playing Roz’s girlfriend. And I had to admit I’d gotten a perverse pleasure from seeing Roz clenching her jaw as I sang the flowers’ praises. Hopefully, I’d made it difficult for her to get rid of them now.

I turned back to the flower arrangement I was preparing for a wedding at Rivers Edge restaurant.As I added some greenery, a thought struck me. News traveled fast in Sapphire Springs. There was a real risk that Fred or Roz’s family would mention our “relationship” to someone else, and within twenty-four hours the entire town would know.

Shit.I was not ready to come out to my friends and family yet. Not like this. I needed more time to work things out. I took a deep breath. If word did spread, I could just explain to my family and friends that I’d pretended to be Roz’s girlfriend to try to save Sapphire Blooms and conveniently not mention that night at Pryde with her. Unless I told them otherwise, they’d continue to assume I was straight.

The doorbell jangled. I didn’t look up. I needed to secure the flowers first with twine, or the arrangement would collapse.

A shadow fell across the counter and someone cleared their throat. I jumped, letting go of the twine and the bouquet fell apart.Shit.

Roz stood in front of me, still in her ridiculous business clothes that were completely unsuitable for a farmer. Although, I had to admit she did look good in the dark suit that fit her long lean body to perfection, a cream silk blouse underneath. I swallowed as I thought about what was beneath that blouse.

“Hello,” she said, fixing me with a cool stare.

“Hi.” I collected the fallen flowers. If she’d come here looking for an apology, she wouldn’t get one.

She crossed her arms but said nothing. Silence fell.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked. “We have some beautiful tulips in stock. Although, they did come from your farm, so while I probably shouldn’t tell you this, it would be cheaper for you if you just picked them yourself.”

Roz pursed her lips. “I’m here about that stunt you pulled this morning?—”

“Stunt? You were the one who told your mom we were dating.” I glared. Whyhadshe told her mom that? Or perhaps she really was dating someone else named Olivia? At Pryde, she’d told me she didn’t date, but maybe things had changed since then.

“It was a misunderstanding—one I was in the process of correcting when you jumped in. Anyway”—Roz’s eyes darted around the shop—“I just wanted to confirm you’re coming tomorrow.”

I tilted my head. “Tomorrow?”

“To my parents’ house. For lunch with Fred.”

“Oh.” While my “stunt” had hopefully achieved its intended result of forcing Roz to keep the flowers, I didn’t want to spend any more time around the flower-hating, suit-wearing, rude woman than necessary. “No.”

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