Page 26 of The Floral Arrangement

I entered my number and then clicked on her camera icon, turned it on selfie mode, leaned across the counter and adjusted the camera settings so we were both captured in the frame. “Smile!”

Roz pulled back. “What are you doing?”

“If we’re going to date, then we should have a picture of us together. Actually, let me come around so we’re standing next to each other.”

I walked around the counter and wrapped my arm around Roz’s slim waist. When I’d touched it at Pryde, there’d been no shirt between us. Her skin had been so soft and smooth. Heat sparked low in my belly. I inhaled the faint scent of cedar I’d detected in the bar and again this morning when I’d been pressed up against her in the truck.Focus, Olivia.

I held my free arm out straight, pressing my cheek against Roz’s, smiling and trying to ignore the warmth emitting from her body.

“Okay, now smile!”

Roz’s face pulled into an expression that was somewhere between a smile and a grimace. I pressed the button to capture the awkward moment and then quickly stepped back to put much needed space between us. I glanced down at the image. Roz’s smile left something to be desired, but that would have to do. I handed the phone back to her, our fingers brushing. The heat in my belly flickered again.

Roz pursed her lips, and then her thumbs flew across the screen.

“I’ve sent you a text so you have my number. See you tomorrow.” With that, Roz turned and strode out of my shop, the doorbell jangling behind her.

My phone lit up with a text, and I glanced down. Roz had sent me the photo along with a text message.

Don’t fuck this up.

CHAPTERELEVEN

ROZ

My eyes dartedto the grandfather clock in my parents’ living room. Olivia was late.

I frowned. She better show. She was the whole reason I was in this mess to begin with. And if she didn’t play the part she’d created for herself, we’d both be screwed.

“Auntie Roz, you’re not paying attention!” Lottie yelped.

“Sorry, sweetheart.” I focused back on the Monopoly board spread across the lush carpet in front of us.

“So why have you been keeping Olivia top secret?” Matt asked, sliding his thimble piece across the board. “Is she the real reason you moved back?”

I paused. I didn’t like lying to Matt. But my parents were in the next room and could potentially overhear us. I couldn’t risk that. Not only were they terrible actors, but they wouldn’t approve of the fake-dating situation we’d found ourselves in. And they were both so thrilled to hear I was finally dating someone; I was eager to keep them in happy ignorance for a little longer. Mom’s constant badgering about me needing to settle down was pressure I didn’t need right now with everything else that was going on.

“No, it’s complicated,” I said. “I’ll tell you later.”

I stared at him meaningfully over Lottie’s blond head. Matt raised an eyebrow but dropped the subject.

Lottie had just declared victory when the doorbell rang. My pulse quickened. Was it Fred or Olivia? I glanced around the living room. I was used to meeting business partners in sleek meeting rooms with associates I trusted. My family members were loose cannons. And having Olivia present was going to add another layer of unpredictability to the mix. For the tenth time today, I wished Mom hadn’t insisted on Fred coming to lunch. I knew she was trying to be helpful by welcoming Fred into our family, but I preferred to keep business and family separate. My parents had a history of trying to be helpful in ways that were anything but. My chest tightened at the memory.

Lottie bounced up and raced to the door. I rose stiffly off the floor, following her.

By the time I’d reached the long hallway, Lottie had already opened the front door. Fred and Olivia stood on the doorstep, Fred dressed in tan pants and a navy polo shirt, and Olivia in a blue dress covered in purple flowers.

“Hello!” Lottie waved in their faces.

My mother’s familiar footsteps echoed behind me. I quickened my pace.

“Hello, I see you’ve met my niece, Lottie. Come in.” I smiled to mask my nerves as I shook Fred’s hand and then turned to Olivia.

Shit.While it’d been a long time since I’d been in a relationship, I was fairly confident that in this situation, most people would kiss or hug or show some type of physical affection toward their girlfriend. I needed to do something.

As I stared at Olivia, frozen in place, she leaned forward and brushed her soft lips against my cheek.

“Hi, babe,” she murmured, her breath tickling my earlobe.

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