I didn’t argue.
Juliet wasn’t flashy. Wasn’t loud. She didn’t flirt for leverage or soften for approval. She stood her ground without turning it into a performance. She saw through bullshit and didn’t bother calling it out unless it mattered.
She also worked harder than anyone I knew and didn’t pretend it was anything but necessary. That kind of woman didn’t wander into your life gently.
“She is different,” I finally said.
Blaze nodded, surprisingly serious. “I believe you.”
“Another?” Blaze asked, grabbing the bottle.
“Yeah,” I said.
He poured.
We clinked glasses, and I tossed the shot back.
To rides. To flowers. To things that came out of nowhere. To different.
Chapter Seven
Juliet
Saturday was coming.
Jenna had the order board pulled down from the wall, rewriting names and quantities in her tight, efficient handwriting. Jackie was elbow-deep in ribbon bins, muttering to herself as she sorted shades of red that only she could apparently tell apart. The coolers hummed steadily, packed tight with blooms that wouldn’t last long once the rush hit.
I stood at the prep table, sleeves rolled up, fingers sticky with sap as I stripped stems and lined them up by length.
Controlled chaos.
The best kind.
“If one more person asks if we do same-day custom heart arches,” Jackie said, popping up from behind the counter, “I’m going to fake my own death.”
“You can’t,” Jenna replied without looking up. “We’re understaffed.”
Jackie sighed dramatically. “Figures.”
I smiled faintly and kept working. Valentine’s week always crazy. It was exhausting, but it was familiar.
The bell over the door chimed, and I barely looked up at first.
“Be right with you,” Jenna called automatically.
The man who stepped inside didn’t look like our usual customer.
That registered slowly, like a pressure change. Heavy boots. Leather vest. A cut sat across his shoulders, patch bold and unmistakable even from a distance.
Chrome Warriors.
My hands stilled.
Jackie noticed first. Her posture stiffened slightly as she looked him over, eyes flicking briefly to me before she forced a bright smile and stepped forward.
“Hi there,” she said. “What can we help you with?”
The guy’s gaze swept the shop like he was assessing it for weak points instead of bouquets. He stopped at the cooler, then the counter, then Jackie herself.
