Page 14 of A Future in Blossom

“No, Tessa. It was my fault.” Jaime rubbed her face with her hands. “I had come into the workshop to get a ribbon for a bride’s bouquet. The ribbon had fallen off and someone stepped on it and I needed to replace it. I was in a hurry, and the only ribbon I could find was all wrinkled, so I put the iron on as hot as it could go and started to iron it, and that was when I heard Tessa sobbing about her neighbor.”

Tessa visibly stiffened. “You heard?”

Jaime nodded. “But I already knew.”

Claire blinked. “What neighbor?”

Tessa, leaning around Claire, ignored her. “Jaime, how did you know?”

“One afternoon, Rose wanted me to drop off some flower books for you. You didn’t answer the door. I left the books on the front porch, but as I was getting back in my car, I saw you come out of your neighbor’s house. It was pretty clear something was going on.”

“What neighbor?” Claire repeated. “You mean, the famous mystery writer? What was going on?”

Everyone looked at Claire. Suddenly, the light bulb switched on. Full wattage. “Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh my goodness.” How had she missedthat?

Jaime turned her attention back to Tessa. “I should’ve said something. I should’ve stopped it. I should’ve told Rose. I just ... didn’t know what to do.”

Tessa shook her head. “You couldn’t have stopped anything from happening.”

Jaime lifted her head. “I could’ve told Rose.”

Tessa coughed a laugh. “Jaime, don’t you remember what it was like being a teenager? I would’ve just become all the more secretive. You couldn’t have changed anything.”

“One thing,” Jaime said. “I could’ve done one thing. I didn’t turn off the iron. I heard Claire come into the shop and shout at Chris and Tessa—”

Claire waved her hand in the air. “Hold it. I’m still back with Tessa and the neighbor. You knew, Jaime? How could you have kept that from me?” Another light bulb in her brain switched on. Why was she always the last to figure things out? “Sothat’swhy you came into the front room and shouted at me to leave them alone, that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I thought you meant Chris and Tessa. I thought you were defending them for sneaking around behind my back. I thought you had betrayed me like they had. But you meant Tessa and the neighbor.” She let out a breath. “No wonder you forgot to turn off the iron.” She dropped her head in her hands. “I’m responsible for the fire. No one else.”

“Claire,” Rose said in a quiet voice, “why don’t you tell us what went on that night from your point of view.”

Claire had to take a minute to pull herself together. Did she really have to say this out loud? Apparently, she did. Slowly, she lifted her head. “I’d come into the shop and found Tessa in Chris’sarms, and I just turned into a crazy woman. I thought they were together. I’ve always been so jealous of Tessa and—”

“Me?” Tessa said. “Why would you be jealous of me?”

Claire gave her a look. “Because of all”—she waved her hands up and down in front of Tessa—“that.”

Tessa frowned. “Well, then maybe you should know that I’ve always been a little jealous of you.”

“Me? Why in the world would you be jealous ofme?”

“You say whatever’s on your mind and you don’t care what others think.”

“I care. Sometimes. Saying whatever’s on my mind was the very reason I got fired from my job in Savannah. I might have said too much.”

Chris snorted. “Think so?”

Claire frowned at him. But it was the first normal interaction between them this morning and it felt good. Still, she kept her frown on.

“Claire,” Rose said, “I believe you were telling us that you had turned into a crazy woman.”

“It was my birthday and Chris had promised to take me to Highlands for a special dinner, but then he didn’t show up when he said he would, so I went to the shop to get him. And there he was, holding Tessa.”

Chris lifted his hand. “I wascomfortingTessa.”

Claire turned to him and locked eyes. “That’snotwhat it looked like.”

“That’s all it was, Claire,” Tessa said. “I’d never try to steal your boyfriend.”

“You neverhadto try. You just did it ... just by being you.” The look on Tessa’s face! Claire had had it all wrong. Tessa, Chris, all the anger and disappointment Claire had held on to. Seven years of feeling hurt and betrayed. And she’d had it all wrong.

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