Page 50 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

When he’s done, the two of us admire his creation. It’s nothing special right now, just a wooden structure, but once the flowers are hung and the lights are strung, I’m sure it’ll be incredible.

‘It’s beautiful,’ I say with a smirk.

‘Just wait,’ he says. ‘I’ll be back with flowers.’

‘How ya doin’, Hollyn?’ Ian, our camera guy, asks as Dax leaves the tent.

Ian’s an older guy, easily late forties or early fifties. He’s got a head full of graying hair, yet he’s wearing skinny jeans. A middle-aged hipster.

I’ve been put in charge of winding five billion twinkle lights around the corner posts to disguise them. I never thought I’d hate twinkle lights, but after three splinters in one hand and hardly being done with post one after ten minutes, I already despise them.

‘I’m doing,’ I respond with a shrug, not looking up from my work.

‘How’d you feel helping with the arrangements yesterday? Did it take long?’

I burst out a laugh. ‘It took forever. Mostly because I was so slow, but Dax was incredibly patient and the perfect teacher, so imagine my surprise when we delivered them to the wedding party and got a brilliant response. Even about the ones I made.’ I glance over at the camera. ‘Dax’s vision is gorgeous.’

I wind lights tightly against the strand below, continuing my way around the post.

‘I think he’s nervous, though.’

‘About losing? Or something else?’

‘Um…’ I glance outside at Dax, who’s pulling two buckets of tulips at a time from the back of his delivery truck, setting them on the ground like he actually uses the gym. Those buckets full of water were so heavy I could hardly lift one at a time this morning when I helped him load them.

‘I think he feels like his life purpose is on the line. He wants to use this money to buy back his late father’s florist shop. He was just a kid when his dad passed and I watched his whole world collapse that day.’

It’s a day I haven’t thought about in years, partly because it still hurts to relive it.

When the police came to Dax’s mom Rebecca’s door, she immediately ran to our house because that’s where Dax was. I remember her collapsing in the living room, my mom lying on the floor with her. The two of them sobbed as Dad shooed us kids from the room. We had no idea what was going on, and ten-year-old Dax was scared.

I sat with him in the family room while River took off outside. When they finally told him a couple of hours later, I watched from the stairwell. I was supposed to be in my room, but I knew how scared he was that he’d done something wrong and was in trouble. I couldn’t leave him. I cried as I watched him cry. It’s still the saddest day of my life.

There are moments of being with Dax now that I’m surprised at how much he turned out like Robert, considering he was so young when his father died. Robert was amazing. Tall with dark hair, soft-spoken and gentle, generous, always making jokes, and incredibly protective of his family and friends. All those qualities now exist in Dax and I don’t even think he realizes it.

‘I was too young to really understand it myself,’ I continue. ‘But seeing Dax grieving was tough to watch. I know his dad’s old storefront means everything to him. I also know he’s put his whole heart into becoming a florist. It’s his passion, and he’s truly amazing at it. I’m not worried about the talent part at all. The thing is, who’s he competing against? And what do they have on the line driving them?’

Ian drops the camera momentarily. ‘That was excellent, Hollyn. Pull at them heartstrings, girl.’

‘Did that sound like a sob story?’

Crap. Why’d I go and say all that? Dax’s gonna be mad I just told the whole world about the moment his life changed forever. God. Why don’t I have a stop button on my mouth? He’s never liked to talk about it, and here I go, letting it fly to the whole freaking world.

* * *

A Couple of Hours Later…

‘This is gorgeous.’ I step down the ladder and stare up at the flowers above me. ‘I want to live here.’ I walk to the center of the arrangement and lie down, gazing up at the sky of suspended flowers.

‘Yeah?’ Dax asks, taking the few steps down his ladder and lying next to me. ‘Wow,’ he says, ‘this is even better than I’d imagined. Maybe we can convince everyone to lie underneath it?’

I roll my head his way. ‘You’re going to win.’

‘If I do it will only be because of you,’ he says. ‘Had you not been here, I’d have never finished this in three hours.’

‘You did most of it, Dax. I know I didsomethingbecause I’m exhausted and will probably need a massage or a hot tub soon because my neck, back, and shoulders are killing me. Not to mention I’ve got a dozen splinters in my hands. None of that matters though, because this turned out beautiful.’

‘I could make that happen for you.’

---