I wouldn’t consider myself the romantic type. Though as I played out the scene in my head, I could only imagine Mum’ssurprise at the flowers. Then with a skillful hand, I pluck out the rose and turn to Nick. Mum would swoon, Nick would blush, and then we’d kick off dinner. I didn’t hate the idea.
“You’ll leave them speechless.” She spun about. “Follow me.”
As I waded into the shop, it was almost as if I were walking into the woods. I thought of towering trees and pine needles layering my path. Here, there were luscious plants in massive pots and small trees yet to find a home. I had no doubt Marigold had a little woodland nymph in her blood.
“You remind me of him.” She opened the refrigerator doors and pulled out pots with colored carnations. “Every time your father came back from the woods, he’d buy your mom flowers.”
I hadn’t thought about it before, but she was right. Some days there’d be a vase stuffed with flowers, and others, a single carnation. I always assumed Mum had bought them to decorate the house. His determination to continuously woo Mum made me smile. He had been a romantic in his own right.
“Now.” She dropped the carnations on a massive wooden table. “While I work, I want to hear all about this boy.”
We locked eyes.
I flexed my fingers as my palms turned sweaty. My chest tightened as I cleared my throat, trying to buy time. Marigold hadn’t gone fishing for tidbits to share; she had asked the big question, putting it front and center. I could brush it off and retreat to the comfort of semi-anonymity or?—
“He’s a flatlander,” I blurted out.
“They can’t all be perfect,” she said with a smirk. “How’d you meet?”
I could run away or toward.
I reached for a stool and took a seat next to the table. Marigold plucked flowers from the bucket, gathering them on a sheet of parchment paper. It took a moment before I realized I could breathe. The suffocation of small-town curiosityhad dwindled. This time, her question sounded like genuine curiosity, not as if she were mining for social currency.
“It started with Moxie…”
TIE TROUBLE, HEART TROUBLE
“Damned tie.”
For the third time, I pulled out the knot. Adjusting the length, I mumbled about the rabbit running around the tree and jumping into the hole. I cinched it around my neck before taking a cautious look at the mirror in the hallway. I wanted to throw something. The tip only reached my belly button. Even as I hunched over, trying to make it longer, I readied a fourth attempt.
I only had one button-down shirt, a black-and-white checker pattern. The crimson tie wouldn’t have been my first choice, but it was all I could find in Pops’s closet. I pulled out the knot, trying one more time to get it right.
The tie slid off the back. “Charles. You’renota tie man.” She slid it around her neck. “Neither was your father.” Without effort, she weaved the tail around the tie and a moment later, had a perfect knot. “You look fine. Besides, if somebody is smitten with my son, it’s not because of how he dresses.”
“That’s not the compliment you think.”
In the mirror, I saw her flash a smile. “I know.”
Rapid knocking came from the front door. I didn’t need to look to know Lacie and her perpetual sugar high had arrived.As I pulled it open, my eyes widened to see Nick standing there, knuckles poised for a second round. I could handle Lacie… in doses. If the lack of a curse meant he had transformed into?—
“She made me do it,” he said.
Over his shoulder, Lacie stood on her tiptoes, waving. She didn’t wait for an invitation. With a brown paper bag, she barged in, pushing past me to Mum. “I brought bread. I didn’t know what you were making, so I have options.”
“Lasagna,” she said.
“Oh yeah, we’re golden. It’ll pair perfectly with Moxie.” I cringed at the thought. “Ellie, you know the doctor told you to stay off your feet. Put me to work while the menfolk take up space.”
I found it disturbing how much Lacie had absorbed during her short stay. At this rate, she’d be taking Mum to her next appointment. They reached the kitchen, and Lacie all but squealed. I chuckled when she belted out, “I want the sexy man apron!” Nick and I stood awkwardly in the hallway as if we were at a middle school dance and a slow song came on.
“How are you doing since the ritual cleansing?” Every word sounded wrong. How many people in town could utter that phrase? “That’s getting marked on my calendar.”
It was weird enough that we were just beginning this friendship. It didn’t help that I had seen him naked twice now. Did shagging make it better or worse? It left my cheeks blushing at least. If that weren’t awkward enough, we had to figure out how to navigate this, standing in my mother’s foyer.
“Forget the cleansing.” He rubbed his cheek. “Mabel knocked it out of me.”
“You’ll have to find a way to thank her.”
