Page 130 of Almost Love

Oakley nodded and then quietly added, “Your threats sound scarier in your Scottish accent. You should work on that.”

“Fuck off,” Mack said, laughing and waved him off. “And good luck.”

He considered taking some time to build up the courage to see Clementine’s friends, but when he realized that would be prolonging the inevitable, he drove straight to Daisy’s Patch. He stood outside the flower shop for at least fifteen minutes before setting foot inside. Daisy was already waiting for him, arms crossed over her chest, one perfectly done eyebrow arched at him. Before he could say anything, Ginny bumped her shoulder against his as she walked past.

Okay, here we go. Pull on those big boy pants.

“You were standing outside for so long, figured I’d call in reinforcements,” Daisy told him, hands moving to her hips. “You’re in deep shit,Oakley.”

“Why are you saying my name like that?”

“Because you fucked up! You told us you’d treat her like a queen and you did not!”

He looked between the women, then to the staff of the flower shop watching them. “Can we talk about this somewhere…else?”

They narrowed their eyes, then in perfect synchronization, turned and walked away. He blinked at the scene and hurried after them. He stepped into a large, spacious room that didn’t have a single flower in sight. He looked around in confusion before the door clicked shut and he realized he was now trapped with two women who could definitely kill him and not even flinch about it.

Swallowing hard, he held his hands up as a sign of peace. “Please don’t kill me yet.”

“Nobody would even know,” Ginny muttered, eyes dancing with amusement even if her body language said she would make him vanish.

“How could you, Oakley? We trusted you!”

“I know. I did the worst thing possible and believe me, nobody hates me more than I hate myself,” he explained.

“We don’thateyou,” Daisy offered with a slight frown.

Ginny scoffed. “Speak for yourself, I might hate him.”

“And you have every right. Clementine is the best person in the world and I hurt her. Unintentionally, obviously. Because I’m crazy about her. Completely in love with her."

Daisy’s tough exterior cracked and a small smile tugged at her lips, but Ginny still had her scowl in place. He was aware that he couldn’t win them over that easily.

“I just went through this whole thing with Mack, but since you’re glaring at me…” He relayed the situation to the women. They gasped and groaned at all the right places. But when he was done, their angry faces were replaced with pouts and teary eyes. “I don’t deserve a chance to explain my side of things, but I would love the opportunity to tell her…show herthat she’s so much more than everything.”

Daisy and Ginny exchanged a look and then nodded before turning to him. “You should grovel at the Spring Food Fling.”

“On the second day, so she’d be far more relaxed. You can use that to your advantage.”

Oakley made a face. “I don’t want to make a scene, can we do something a little less…public?”

“We’re making a fucking scene,” Ginny countered and Daisy looked slightly uneasy. “Ugh, fine. We’ll have to rope Mack in. Maybe use the new shop space. Then you can show up, drop to your knees, apologize and make promises, then run off into the sunset.”

“Do I have to be on my knees?”

Ginny huffed. “You can’t grovel while standing up, genius.”

Sighing heavily, he wondered if he had done the right thing by asking these two for help. Daisy looked like she was thinking of something else he could do while Ginny continued to stare him down.

“I might have something better instead of dropping to my knees in public.”

“What?”

“Can’t show you.”

Daisy pouted. “Why?”

“She needs to be the first person to see it.”

---