Page 55 of The Floral Arrangement

I strode back into the house, grabbed a can of WD-40 and sprayed it at every conceivable section of the door that could be jamming. I yanked the handle, and after a moment of resistance, the door slid shut.

* * *

The bellto Sapphire Blooms announced my arrival with a loud jingle. Olivia stood behind the counter, wearing a green apron over a pink floral jumpsuit, her hair tied in a messy bun. Mason jars full of flowers sat in front of her. Brow furrowed, she added frilly red flowers to the jars.

I cleared my throat, and her head jerked up.

A slight frown flittered across her face before she broke into a smile. “Well, hello, Farmer Roz.” Her eyes scanned me up and down. “How are you liking your new clothes? Any more mooning incidents?”

I snorted, heat burning my cheeks at the memory of Olivia’s soft finger tapping my bare-naked butt.

“I’m pleased to report I have not exposed myself to anyone. And the clothes, they’re… comfortable. And not dry-clean only, which is nice.” Especially since I no longer had an assistant to take care of things like that. “How’s your hat?”

“Very sun protective, thank you.” Olivia plucked up another red flower and placed it in a jar. “Have you heard from Fred?”

I shook my head. “Unfortunately not.”

Olivia’s face fell, and my shoulders dropped. Olivia clearly wanted this whole arrangement to be over. Why did that bother me so much? I shook myself. It’s not personal. She just wants reassurance her business is safe, just like I do.

“So what do I owe this visit to?” Olivia asked, straightening a purple flower that had flopped over.

“I’ve got the van outside with your delivery.” I nodded my head toward Main Street. “Dana is very busy, so I thought I’d bring them over.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “Oh, thanks. I’ll come out and help you bring them in.”

Once we finished moving the flowers into Olivia’s climate-controlled storage room, I nodded at the mason jars. “Are these for a wedding?”

“No. I’m about to drop them over to Novel Gossip. They’re for the café tables. George has been doing a great job at selling my candles, so I’m taking an extra box of those as well.”

Olivia eyed a small metal trolley on the side of the counter. A large cardboard box sat on it.

“I’m probably being a bit ambitious trying to walk it all over at once. I might need to do two loads.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Scrap that, I didn’t realize how late it was. I’ll just run the flowers over now and drop off the candles after I close. Sorry, I’d better hurry.”

I took a step closer to the counter. “I can help. I can carry the box and you can use the trolley for the flowers. I’ve been meaning to check out the café anyway.”

Olivia’s face brightened. “Are you sure? That would be amazing. Although the box is fairly heavy. Lift it first and see what you think.”

I bent down and picked up the box. It was heavier than it looked and my arms were sore from cleaning out the barn yesterday, but Novel Gossip wasn’t far away. “This is fine.”

“Excellent!” Olivia grabbed another red flower. “Let me just finish adding the ranunculus into the jars and then we can head off.”

My arms burned as we walked down Main Street. I glanced over at Olivia, who was staring straight ahead, and cleared my throat. “I asked my architect to draw up revised plans of the events space, with your sustainability suggestions included. They’re going to send them through this afternoon. I was wondering if you’d be willing to take a look? It would be good to get another pair of eyes on them and given many of the changes arose from your suggestions, I’d love to get your input. If we’re both happy with them, I might forward them onto Fred as an excuse to prod him.”

Olivia’s eyebrows dipped for a moment. There was that hesitation again. Was she trying to think of an excuse not to help?

Olivia guided the trolley around a bump in the footpath. “I’m coming over to the farm on Wednesday to talk to Dana about planning for some upcoming weddings. Would that be too late?”

“No. That’s perfect,” I said, trying to ignore the pain in my arms.

By the time we reached George’s café, my arms were shaking.

I pushed open the door with my back, letting Olivia pull the trolley through. As soon as she was inside, I tried to place the box gently on the nearest free table. It landed with a thud.

As I stretched out my arms, I took the opportunity to look around. It was nicely set up. Customers sat at circular wooden tables chatting or reading. Exposed red brick walls with floating bookshelves gave the café-bookstore a warm, comforting vibe. Aisles of books stretched back on the left side of the store. On the counter, there was a display of delicious-looking baked goods. My stomach rumbled. Even though it was still early, a line of customers was queued in front of the register.

George stood behind a large shiny red coffee machine on the counter, a tall man taking orders beside her.

“It looks like George and Ben are swamped,” Olivia said. “Do you mind helping me swap out the flowers on the tables with the new ones, and we can leave that box with the candles in the corner for George to unpack later?”

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