“If you have any problems, let me know. When are the shelving units arriving?”
“The supplier assured me they’ll be here by the end of the week. Can I put them together in the cottage on Friday night?”
“I can’t see why not. The walls will be painted by then and the floors should be polished and ready to go.”
Paris picked up the drill. “I can’t wait to see what everything looks like. I’d better leave you to enjoy the rest of the evening. I’ll see you at this week’s flower decorating class, Jack.”
“Are we still making wreaths?”
She knew how much he was looking forward to this week’s activity. “We are. Kylie has donated some pretty ribbon so you can hang the wreath when you get home.”
Jack looked up at his dad. “Can we put it in our new house?”
“As soon as we move in, we can.”
On that positive note, Paris said goodbye and walked back to her truck. After a lot of planning, she’d almost finished everything she had to do to open The Flower Cottage. She just hoped there were no unexpected surprises.
Chapter 9
By Wednesday, Richard was busy managing the crew who were working on the next cottage in Anchor Lane. Unlike the first house, the roof on the second cottage needed to be completely replaced. Luckily, Penny had asked a builder to look at each cottage before work began, so they knew how much time it would take to do a complete remodel.
“Did someone check the invoice from the roofing supply company?” he asked Tommy.
“It’s in the book with the other invoices.”
Richard opened one of the folders he’d left onsite. With Paris’s cottage almost finished, he was using her kitchen counter as a temporary workstation. By Friday evening, he’d take everything back to the old steamboat museum while they made the second cottage more weathertight.
“I’ve found it.”
Tommy picked up a box of unused tiles. “Paris is here.”
Richard looked up and studied the worried expression on her face. “What’s happened?” He hadn’t heard anything from her since Monday, so he presumed everything was going to plan.
“I tried calling you, but it kept going to voicemail.”
He picked up his phone and frowned. “I turned off the ring tone during a meeting. That will be why I haven’t had any interruptions this afternoon. How can I help?”
“Do you remember me telling you about the couple getting married in April?”
“The ones who’ll be your first major clients?”
Paris nodded. “They were originally getting married at the end of April, but the bride’s sister has to return to Australia earlier than she thought. They’ve brought their wedding forward to the last Saturday in March.”
“That’s the same day you’re opening The Flower Cottage.”
“It is. They aren’t getting married until four o’clock, but I don’t know how I’ll welcome customers to my shop and organize the flowers for Nadine and Carl’s wedding. They’ve chosen some big, over-the-top arrangements that will take me days to create.”
“Can Kylie and Jackie help?”
“Kylie has to work fewer hours because of her pregnancy, so I don’t like asking her. Jackie will help if she can, but she’s busy at Blooming Lovely. Do you know anyone in the construction program who would be interested in building the frames I’ll need?”
“I’ll ask, but they’re already working on these cottages and the tiny homes. If no one’s available, I could make them.”
“Are you sure you have the time?”
Richard knew he didn’t, but that wouldn’t stop him from helping her. “If I do it, I’ll have to start this weekend. Do you have somewhere you can store them?”
Paris nodded. “I have plenty of spare room in my garage. Nadine sent me some photos of the type of wedding arches she wants. The design she chose shouldn’t take too long to build.”
