Mac stared at her. "Does the entire town know?"
"It's Evergreen Cove, Mac. Everyone knows everything."Sophie came around the counter, pulling out several bouquets for his inspection. "And yes, before you ask, we're all rooting for you. Rachel deserves someone good, and you're good people."
"No pressure then," Mac muttered.
Sophie laughed. "So what are you thinking? Budget?"
"I don't care about budget. I want something... impressive. Pretty. Romantic. Does that make sense?"
"It makes perfect sense." Sophie's hands moved quickly, pulling flowers from different bouquets, soft pink tulips, cheerful yellow daisies, deep red roses, sprigs of baby's breath and greenery. Within minutes, she'd assembled something beautiful. "This?"
Mac studied the arrangement. "Can you add sunflowers?"
Sophie raised an eyebrow but complied.
"Like a lot. The tall ones?"
"Mac—"
"I want it to be special."
Sophie added, and the bouquet grew substantially. "Okay, this is getting pretty big—"
"Is it too big?" Mac asked, suddenly worried.
"Well—"
"Because I want her to know I'm serious. Can you add more?"
"Mac, honey, it's already enormous—"
"But is itimpressiveenormous or just... enormous enormous?"
Sophie sighed, but she was smiling as she added more sunflowers that definitely didn’t fit the bouquet anymore. The bouquet was now massive. Like, carry-it-with-two-hands-and-possibly-need-help enormous. Sophie stepped back, surveying her creation. "Mac, this is a lot of flowers."
"Is it too much?"
"It's... enthusiastic." She smiled.
"How much?"
Sophie rang him up, but before handing over the bouquet, she paused. Her expression turned serious. "Mac? Rachel's great.She's kind and smart, and she's been through some stuff. So if you're doing this, make sure you mean it. Don't ask her out if you're not serious."
"I'm serious," Mac said, meeting her eyes.
"Good." Sophie's smile returned as she handed him the massive bouquet. "Then good luck."
"Right…Yes… Luck?"
"Go, already! And report back. Ellie and I want details."
Mac walked down Main Street holding the enormous bouquet, acutely aware of every person who passed him. Mrs. Williams from the grocery store gave him two thumbs up. Rodney Stanton from the hardware store wolf-whistled. Even cranky Old Joe at the gas station cracked a smile.
His heart hammered against his ribs. His palms were sweating despite the cold March air that still had the bite of winter in it. This was it. He was really doing this.
The library came into view; a small brick building with classic architecture, the kind of place that looked exactly like a library should look. Mac had been coming here for months, slowly working his way through the mystery section, and absolutely not using it as an excuse to see Rachel.
Okay, mostly using it as an excuse to see Rachel.
