Page 87 of The Floral Arrangement

“Oh. Thank you.” I could certainly use another set of hands, especially for the fiddly arch, but were Roz’s elegant ones a good idea? I needed to stay focused.

A gust of wind hit and the arch gave an ominous wobble.Shit. I shot out my hand to steady it. This was definitely a two-person job.

I swallowed my pride and nodded. “Okay.” I handed Roz the hammer. My hand grazed hers, leaving warm tingles on my skin. “If I hold the peg here, would you mind trying to hammer it in?” I grasped the peg with both hands.

Roz stared at the ground, brushing the dirt next to the peg with her long fingers. A small shiver shot down my spine.Those fingers were trailing all over my body last weekend.

“I think there’s a rock just here, which may be why you’re not having any luck,” Roz said. “Can we shift it a few inches?”

Heat rushed up my face. Of course the rock-hard patch of dirt I was trying to drive the tent pegs into was actually a rock. “That’s fine. Thanks.”

Together we shifted the arch back, and then tried again. This time the tent pegs slid smoothly into the soil.

“Thank you,” I said, standing and wiping my hands on my orange overalls.

“No problem.” Roz cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I left so suddenly on Sunday.” Roz’s gaze slid to the arch. “What do we need to do now?”

I blinked.Oh. She’s asking what the next step for the floral arch is, not our relationship.I pressed my lips together. As apologies went, that was a disappointing one. Where was the explanation, the details as to why she ran out the door? Was she going to say anything more?

I yanked the chicken wire out of the box. “Now it’s secure, we need to wrap the wire around the arch so we can attach the flowers.”

We began twisting the wire around the metal arch in silence, punctuated only by the faint sounds of the caterers setting up inside the venue and birds flitting between the vines. Roz started at one end of the arch and I took the other. I focused on the task in front of me, trying not to look at how gracefully Roz’s fingers were working. As we made our way up each pillar of the arch, we drew closer together. In my periphery, Roz opened and then closed her mouth a few times. I swallowed. Was she working up to say something else?

We were so close now, our bodies almost touching, as we reached up above our heads to wrap the wire around the top of the arch.

“I like you. A lot.” Roz’s voice was low and soft.

My heart jumped, my eyes darting to her face. Was she?—

“But I need to be upfront with you. I’m not looking for a serious relationship.”

Heaviness washed over my body, a lump forming in my throat. I swallowed. “That’s fine. You made that clear when we first met.”

I twisted the last piece of wire on the arch and stepped back. “Now, we need to feed the greenery through the chicken wire, like this.” I picked up a leafy frond from the box next to me and weaved it through the wire.

Roz watched closely, and then copied my actions. She bit her lip, her brow slightly furrowed, her blond hair flopping on her forehead. A pang hit my chest.Stop ogling her. She doesn’t like you like that.

“That’s great.” I dragged my eyes away from her face and pulled out another frond to thread through. Thank god I had something to keep me busy. This conversation would have been excruciating if we’d just been sitting out on Roz’s back deck together with nothing to do but sit in the long silence. Should I say something else? My mind was blank.

When the box was almost empty, Roz cleared her throat again. “I was wondering if you would be interested in something less serious?”

I froze, my eyes jerking up to her face. Her cheeks were tinged with pink. “Less serious?”

“Yes. More of a… casual arrangement.”

I chewed on my lip, my heart sinking. “I don’t think so. I really want to find someone to settle down with, have kids together. I can’t afford to be distracted by a relationship that’s not going anywhere.”

Roz’s face fell. “I understand.”

Everything I’d said was true, and yet my chest ached at the thought of never kissing Roz again, never running my hands over her breasts and watching her as I made her come. The lump in my throat expanded.

I bent down, picking up the two last fronds and pushing them into the wire.

“The flowers are next. But I can finish that part myself.” While Roz had done a surprisingly good job, I just wanted to be alone.

Roz shook her head. “I’m happy to stay.”

I glanced at my watch. The timing was still tight.Suck up your pride and accept her help.“Okay. We have to insert the roses carefully into the chicken wire, like this, making sure they’re secure.” I pulled a white rose out of the bucket next to me and pushed it into the top of the arch. “We’ll do the bigger roses first and then add the smaller spray roses.”

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