Page 23 of Almost Always

“He’s cute, so that’s one point in his favor. Nice tattoos too, so more points,” Ginny added. “Butishe worthy?”

“For fuck’s sake, he’s worthy.”

She saw the way Oakley blushed, but his eyes brightened at the words too. Clementine shot them a glare as she walked over and they laughed.

Hands up, Daisy backed away, Ginny by her side. “We’ll go set up for dinner!”

Not that either of them did that. Instead, they poured wine into reusable cups and stayed in the doorway as Clementine and Oakley talked. When it sounded like he was leaving, they leaned out of the kitchen and waved, making him blush some more. It took her a few more minutes, but the chef joined them in the kitchen, a small smile on her face. This was what she wanted for her friends. Monroe found it with Wyatt, Frankie had it withMilo, Ginny and Clementine deserved it too. One day, she’d have it again too.Maybe with Rafferty, her mind so politely offered and she grunted at the intrusive thought.

“Here, let’s get to work,” Clementine said, handing them colorful aprons. Daisy poured the chef a drink and the three of them started working on their dinner.

“So…when did this thing with Oakley start?” Ginny broke the silence.

“A little while ago.”

“Since Christmas?” Daisy asked.

“Why does it matter?” Clementine turned to them, eyebrows dipped as she shrugged. “It’s new. That’s enough.”

“Glowing review of a relationship,” Ginny deadpanned.

Clementine grunted. “The less I say, the better for everyone.”

With a dramatic gasp, Daisy clapped her hands. “Oh, he’s awkward in the streets and a freak in the sheets.”

Clementine grabbed a handful of flour, but changed her mind and shot them a smirk instead. They finished making dinner and sat right there in the kitchen and inhaled everything. All while interrogating Clementine about herrelationship.

This. This is what I’ve always wanted.

Another distraction presented itself, sort of, in the form of Milo Winters. She’d met him a few times since he and Frankie got together, but never actually interacted with him beyond the usual conversations. So getting a call from him a month ago saying that he was going to propose and wanted to plan a surprise wedding for Frankie was the best thing she’d heard all week. They’d exchanged pictures and notes and were finally on a video call to finalize everything.

“What are mums?” he asked, squinting at his screen, blond hair sticking up every which way.

“Chrysanthemums.”

“That sounds better than the short-form.”

“It’s easier to call them mums and most people know what I mean.”

“The only flowers I know are sunflowers and lilies.”

She chuckled. “Don’t worry, your wife-to-be is pretty good with flowers.”

At the mention of Frankie, Milo’s eyes lit up and his entire face transformed. She was happy for her friend, because she deserved someone who loved her so deeply that he went out of his way to do everything just how she liked it. Especially when he broke Daisy’s heart by telling her that spring colors would not work because Frankie was more of a fall person. When she got down to putting the flowers and colors together, she fell in love with what she was creating. She’d already figured out the table top designs and what would be added to every chair. She worked closely with Ginny to get all the plans and layouts, so she had everything needed to bring this dream wedding to life.

“I don’t think Frankie likes roses,” Milo mumbled, going through the list of flowers.

“Not a big fan myself, but she’ll love these.” She held up the toffee colored blooms and saw his eyes widen. It wasn’t a regular color and sourcing fall shades had been a bit of a task. But when the buckets were brought in a week ago, she’d been so happy with her selections.

“Those are amazing. Can I see the rest?”

She picked up her laptop to move through the shop. Her staff were putting all of the big arrangements together, so she flipped the laptop around to show Milo what was happening.

Roses were some of the best-selling flowers at every florist, but Daisy didn’t care for them. She made sure to alwaysdirect customers to the more beautiful ones like ranunculus or carnations. Even tulips and peonies were a good choice.

She’d ordered the toffee ones as soon as she saw them, along with a golden mustard color. They added bronze and terracotta carnations, richly colored cremons with gold-painted dried grass to round out the arrangements. The smaller tabletop jars would have peonies and hyacinths that were also in hues she’d never considered before.

“She’s going to completely lose her mind,” Milo said, awe clear in his voice. “Thank you so much for making this happen, Daisy.”

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