“The sandpit’s over here.” As they made their way across the playground, Jack suddenly yelled, “Dad’s here!”
Paris shielded her eyes from the sun and looked at where he was pointing.
Richard waved and Paris’ traitorous heart gave a nervous flutter. Jack’s dad might not be too concerned about her flamboyant dresses, but she wondered what he’d think of the matching T-shirts she’d bought for the day.
When Richard saw them, his eyebrows rose. “I didn’t know you liked Legos, Paris.”
“I’m not as big a fan as Jack, but I appreciate the skill that goes into building the models. I thought this design would give us the winning edge.” Their matching T-shirts had black backgrounds with bright, fluorescent Legos blocks covering the front and back.
“We’re called The Blockbusters,” Jack said proudly. “Did you see Paris run? She’s much faster than most of the other moms.”
Richard placed his arm around Jack’s shoulders. “I didn’t see the race, but I’m glad Paris did well. What’s next?”
“The long jump. We’d better hurry. Otherwise, Mrs. Smith might think we aren’t coming.”
Paris stuck her floppy straw hat on her head. “Lead the way, block master.”
The gleam in Richard’s eyes followed her the entire way across the playground.
While Jack let the teacher know they’d arrived, Paris waited with Richard. “It’s great you could get some time off work. Jack’s happy you’re here.”
“I was hoping to arrive sooner, but I had to sort out a problem. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“It’s better than I thought. Jack’s happy with how many points we’ve scored and I haven’t fallen over. As an added bonus, everyone gets a bag of candy from Sweet Treats at the end of the competition.
Richard smiled. “You can’t beat that. Do you need a hand with anything in the store tonight?”
“I should be okay. Kylie and Jackie are helping me.”
“If you need more pairs of hands, Jack and I will be there, too.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
Jack raced across to them. “We’re number five, Paris. Everyone’s lining up now.”
She grinned at Richard. “We’ll see you on the other side of the sandpit.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
As she followed Jack to the line of people waiting for their turn, she glanced back at Richard. How anyone could look so good in a pair of blue jeans and a sweatshirt was beyond her. But he could, and she wasn’t the only person who’d noticed.
Early on Saturday morning, Paris added the finishing touches to the bridal bouquet for Nadine. Made from pale pink peony roses and lush, green foliage, it was absolutely stunning. In an hour, Nadine’s brother would collect the bridal party’s flowers and, hopefully, take good care of them. Paris’ biggest concern was keeping them fresh for the late afternoon wedding, but Nadine was confident they’d be okay.
Agreeing to provide the flowers for larger events was exciting, but Paris needed to plan her workflow differently. If it weren’t for her friends, she’d be in serious trouble. Kylie and Jackie had helped create the table decorations on Thursday evening. And, on Friday, Mabel and Andrea had rolled up their sleeves and completed phase one of the design for the wedding arches.
Combined with the opening of The Flower Cottage, this weekend was a mammoth undertaking. Even without Nadine’s mom’s changes, she’d underestimated how much help she’d need.
Jackie opened the back door of The Flower Cottage. “Good morning. How does it feel to be opening your store today?”
Paris placed the bouquet in a box and sighed. “I’ve been too busy to worry about anything. Nadine’s mom called me last night to ask if I could make another corsage. I just hope she doesn’t have any more requests before her daughter gets married.”
“If I were being uncharitable, I’d say she’s taking advantage of you.”
“She only wants Nadine and Carl’s wedding to be perfect. How are you?”
Jackie grinned. “Happy to be here to celebrate the official opening of The Flower Cottage.” With a flourish, she took a bottle of champagne from behind her back. “And we can’t do that without a glass of bubbles.”
“That sounds wonderful, but I haven’t had breakfast. If I drink any alcohol, I’ll be dancing on the counters.”
