There was Gigi, leaning against the railing, bundled in her signature shade of black with a cigarette pinched between two of her fingers. A small puff of smoke unfurled in front of her.
Juliette frowned. “Still smoking, I see.”
Her mother didn’t even flinch. She turned slowly and eyed her daughter.
“Still judging, I see.” Gigi put out the cigarette with the toe of her black leather boot. “I was wondering how long I would have to wait until you showed up.”
Juliette spread her arms wide. “Here I am.”
“Good.” Gigi breezed past her and headed back into the house, stopping to check on the croissants in the oven.
Juliette was left with no option but to follow. As always.
“Hot tea?” Gigi asked, setting the kettle on the stovetop.
“Cut the crap, Mama.”
Gigi turned and leveled her with a sharp gaze, but Juliette refused to cower.
“Why wasn’t I ever good enough for you? And why did you change so much after Papa died?” She blinked away the sudden threat of tears, annoyed with herself for caving in to her emotions so quickly.
Her mother’s features softened, and for a brief moment, Juliette was reminded of the woman she used to be, the one who loved deeply, who was never shut off emotionally. “You were always enough for me,ma petite fleur.”
My little flower.
Juliette’s nickname from when she was five years old.
“You have a funny way of showing it.” Juliette swallowed down the knot of sadness building in the back of her throat. She couldn’t be swayed by sentiment. Not this time.
“I did the best I could, Juliette. It’s hard, you know? Building a business from the ground up in an effort to support your family.” Gigi planted both of her hands on the smooth granitecounter and sighed. Heavily. “Pouring your heart and soul into a flower shop, only to discover your extremely talented daughter, the one who would skyrocket it into greatness, wants nothing to do with it.”
Oh, but she laid the guilt down thick with that one.
“And as for your father,” Gigi continued while pulling the croissants out of the oven. “I was very much in love with him. Unfortunately, he was not so much in love with me. But—the car accident took him from me before another woman could.”
Juliette shook her head, blindsided by her mother’s startling admission. It sounded dangerously close to an acknowledgement, like her mother was admitting that she knew about their father’s supposed infidelity. But she needed to focus on one thing at a time. And she didn’t want to deal with her father’s past indiscretions without her sisters.
“So, let me get this straight.” She tapped her nails against the counter, willing herself to remain calm. “You’re mad because I didn’t want to stay here and run the family business?”
She knew her mother wanted her to take over Mystic Florals at some point, but she had no idea Gigi would be so upset for so long simply because Juliette wanted nothing to do with it.
“It is more than that, Juliette.” Gigi waved one slender hand through the air. “It is a way of life.”
“Yeah, but it’s your way of life.”
Then Juliette saw it. Hurt. It started in the fine lines of her mother’s face, deepened around the growing creases. It clouded her eyes and pinched at the corners of her mouth.
Perhaps she’d taken it a step too far, but if she tried to apologize and take it back now, Gigi would pounce on her remorse and wield it against her. She needed to change the subject. Maintaining the upper hand in the conversation was absolutely key, otherwise Juliette would fold too quickly and walk away, and their relationship would never heal.
“Papa wanted to divorce you, didn’t he?” Juliette asked, remembering Miss Bobbie’s words at Lovely Mud.
“Yes.” Gigi busied herself with setting the croissants into a bamboo basket lined with baker’s paper, carefully avoiding any eye contact.
A twinge of pity gutted Juliette, cutting through her like a cold blade. “So then, the car accident?—”
“Crushed me all the same,” Gigi interrupted. “Even more so when I learned I could have lost Anne-Sophie as well.”
It was almost too much—too much information, too much emotion. After all these years, Gigi was carrying a grudge against her for not wanting to step up and work at the flower shop for the rest of her life. But to complicate matters further, Juliette learned her father had wanted to divorce her, and while it seemed like Gigi would have eventually agreed, a car accident stole him from her instead. All of which she had failed to mention to her daughters. And there was still one lingering, damning question.
