Page 13 of Finlay

Ten minutes with this man and he was undoing centuries of hard work.

“Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions just so I can get an idea of what you’re after?” All laughter had faded from Chester’s face, leaving behind a sympathetic albeit professional expression. “I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but I like to make sure the arrangement is a fitting memorial for your loved ones.”

I flinched at that. I’d loved Sarah and Maria, but they weren’tmyloved ones. They were Danny’s. That was far too complicated to get into with Chester though. “Aye. Of course.”

At Chester’s elbow, there was a box of tissues. That made sense. He probably had a lot of people crying back here. That wouldn’t be me though. I’d shed all my tears for Sarah and Maria many decades ago. The pain was different now—never fully going away, but not flaying me wide open either.

“Please tell me to stop at any time,” Chester said quietly. “Are you okay if I take notes?”

I nodded, and he grabbed a pad and pen from the counter behind him. “Why don’t you start with telling me the basics. What were their names? How old were they when they passed?”

The lump from earlier returned, making it difficult to speak. “Sarah and Maria. Their names were Sarah and Maria. Mother and daughter. Sarah was twenty-five, and Maria hadn’t seen her first birthday.”

Chester’s eyes widened in horror before his professional mask returned. “I’m so sorry, Finn.”

I nodded. I didn’t say it was fine, because it wasn’t. Not really. People usually say that to make others around them feel better. It was certainly why I’d said it over the decades. For some reason, I didn’t want to lie to Chester. The fake front I put up with everyone else didn’t seem right.

Chester cleared his throat before asking his next question. “Are the flowers for a funeral or memorial service?”

“Nae.” I grimaced, rubbing the back of my neck. “They didn’t die recently.”

Chester nodded in understanding. “You’re after something to commemorate them? To lay on their graves or in a place of remembrance?”

“Aye,” I said gratefully. “To be honest, I’m not even sure what I want. I didn’t come in here with a plan.”

“That’s okay, a lot of people don’t know what they want. That’s part of my job—to learn about them from you and then come up with something befitting their memory.”

The earnestness in Chester’s voice had me blinking. “That’s a pretty special thing to dedicate your life to.”

He shrugged it off, fiddling with one of his bracelets. “No more so than any other florist.”

Not only did Chester apologise more than necessary, but he had an issue accepting praise. My guard went up asmy wolf started sniffing the air, sensing, as I did, that there was a story to be told.

That wasn’t relevant though. Chester had made it clear that this was a professional meeting, and I was going to treat it as such.

Shoving my wolf down, I gave Chester a small smile. “What else do you need to know?”

“Why don’t we start with what they liked to do? Did Sarah have any hobbies?”

I took a steadying breath, opening the box I’d shoved all the memories into. It took me a second to find the ones that would answer the question. “Sarah liked to press flowers. She’d spend hours walking the woods, searching out different wildflowers. She knew all their names too.”

I wondered what had happened to the massive book where she’d kept them. Acquiring the paper for it had cost a small fortune at the time, but Danny hadn’t spared any expense. He’d travelled to Edinburgh to get it for her for her birthday.

But I was the one who’d learned how to bind the pages together. Danny had tried, but after he’d made a mess of one too many pieces of paper, Sarah had asked me for help.

Like I could ever say no to her.

“That’s lovely,” Chester said quietly, his pen scratching over the paper and bringing me back to the present. “I can work some pressed flowers in. We don’t get many wildflowers in here, but that’s just a good excuse for me to get out for some walks.”

My brows raised. “You’d really do that?”

“Of course.” Chester nodded. “It’s no problem at all. I want you to have something that truly represents them. Besides, the area I live in is surrounded by nature. I should make more of it than I do.”

I had to bite back the question. Asking him where he lived was completely inappropriate.My wolf whined, but I ignored him. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

His smile was more relaxed now, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You’re welcome.”

We continued talking about Sarah for a few more minutes. Chester asked about her favourite time of day and how she’d decorated her home. There were also the more obvious questions about her favourite colours and flowers, but it was the first few that stuck with me.

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