Page 91 of The Floral Arrangement

Olivia pushed openthe door to Novel Gossip and moaned. “Oh god, I think I can smell the French toast. I hope it hasn’t sold out.”

I stepped in after her. A distinctly sweet smell hit my nose, sending my stomach rumbling. The café was buzzing today. Most of the tables were occupied and there was a line of people waiting to order. My gaze flitted over them, looking for any faces I recognized.

Dana stood in the middle of the line, talking to a man who had his back to us. A man who, even from that angle, looked very familiar.

My heart stopped.

Fred.

My heart started beating at twice its usual speed.

“Shit, Fred’s here,” I muttered to Olivia.

Olivia followed my gaze, her eyes widening. “Oh.” She grabbed my hand, the heat of her soft skin sending a comforting rush of warmth up my arm. “It’ll be okay. We’re pros at faking it now.”

My stomach swirled. Why was I so uneasy about Fred’s unexpected appearance?

Olivia squeezed my hand. “I guess we’d better go say hi.”

My body did not agree. As we walked over to them, sweat pricked my neck and my legs itched. I wanted to run—fast—in the opposite direction.

Despite Fred facing away from us, his voice travelled clearly. “Once the contract is signed, it’ll be full steam ahead with the event space. I know they’ve only been dating for six months or so, but I’m kind of hoping Olivia and Roz will be the first people to get married in it. Assuming all the approvals go smoothly, it should be done by April next year—just in time for a spring wedding.” He chuckled.

“Six months?” Dana frowned. “More like one month—if that.”

I froze, my stomach plummeting to the floor.Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Sorry?” Fred asked.

“Olivia and Roz. I don’t know exactly when they got together, but it definitely wasn’t last year. Olivia didn’t even know who Roz was six weeks ago. When Roz took over the farm, Olivia asked me what she was like.”

Olivia and I stared at each other, our eyes wide.Shit.

“That doesn’t sound right,” Fred said.

My heart pounded in my ears.We should get out of here—quickly. Buy ourselves some time to work out what to do.I started to turn, tugging gently at Olivia’s hand.

Dana’s eyes landed on us and Fred turned, following her gaze.

“Roz! Olivia!” Fred waved.

Blood drained from my face. I plastered on a smile and we walked toward them.

“Excellent timing. I was planning to come around later today with a little delivery.” Fred patted the black leather satchel slung around his shoulder.The investment contract.“We were just talking about you. The two of you started dating around October last year, right?”

I swallowed.Oh god.Put on the spot, I couldn’t bring myself to lie directly to Fred.

“We met in October last year.” Guilt stabbed me in the chest. I sounded like an evasive politician.

Fred frowned. “But Dana said Olivia didn’t know who you were when you took over the farm?”

I shot a glance at Olivia. Her face was pale.

“She didn’t realize I was the same person she had met in October.” I cringed at how confusing that sounded.

Fred’s eyes narrowed. “You two were dating, but she didn’t know you’d bought the farm?”

Fuck.

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