“You said your husband would never go for it,” Adeline affirmed. “But did you ever talk to him about it? Did you give him the chance to hear you out? I think sometimes we think people are one way, and they surprise us. I’ve been surprised time and again in this life.”
“You don’t know my husband,” Ivy said.
“Maybe you both don’t know each other well enough yet,” Adeline offered thoughtfully. “You’re still at the beginning of your marriage. You’re still figuring out what the future will hold.”
For some reason, Ivy let Adeline’s message inspire her, so much so that the following morning, before Daniel returned from the boat, she worked diligently at a gorgeous and flavorful meal—a clam chowder with freshly baked corn and cheddar muffins. It was Daniel’s favorite meal and one she hadn’t made for him since Lily was born. She planned to butter him up.
When Daniel returned, he stopped in the foyer and let his shoulders melt. “You did it,” he said to her, sounding so tender and sweet. “You made my favorite dish.”
Ivy decided to ignore his fishy smell. She hurried up to him, kissed him, and said, “Get ready for dinner! We’re eating in the sunroom. I want to watch the sunset.”
Daniel didn’t ask where the baby was. Maybe he didn’t notice that Lily wasn’t there. Ivy had arranged for Wren to take her to a spare room at the Bluebell Cove Inn so she wouldn’t be distracted during her pitch. She needed Daniel to be focused.
Daniel went upstairs to shower and change while Ivy spooned ladles of chowder into two bowls and set everything up on the table in the sunroom. She poured a beer for Daniel and a glass of wine for herself. The smile on her face, for once, felt genuine and alive. She felt more like herself than she ever had—whoever this was.
Ivy let Daniel eat an entire first bowl of chowder before she broached the subject of the flower shop. He ate quickly, making a mess on his napkin. He frequently glanced up at her and gave her a smile that she remembered from their wedding day, one of disbelief that this was his life. She often felt the same. But she would never admit that.
She asked him questions about fishing and his sports teams. He didn’t ask her anything in return, but that was all right. In her experience, men rarely did.
It wasn’t till he had a full second bowl of chowder before him that she said, “So. I don’t know if you know the little flower shop? The one a few blocks west of the courthouse? It’s closing down.”
Was she speaking too quickly? He hardly registered her. She took a breath.
“I was thinking that I’d really like to buy it,” Ivy said. “I don’t have the money myself, but, you know, it could bring in a lot of revenue. And I’m sure the bank would agree to a loan if we both go in together. You know Reggie at the bank, right? He always liked you.”
Daniel squinted at her as though he’d never seen her before. “You do remember that the bank denied our loan last time?”
Ivy had, of course, remembered that. But that particular loan had been for a mega-expensive sailboat for what Daniel had called his “new business of bringing tourists along the coast of Maine.” Daniel had no tourism experience and very little “way” with people. Reggie had accepted them at first, but Reggie’s higher-up had rejected them. Ivy hoped that this particular higher-up would recognize that Ivy had the wherewithal to handle flowers.
Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, his chowder forgotten. Ivy marveled that she’d thought this would be easier.
“I really do think we can make a killing on this,” Ivy said.
“We’re already doing fine,” Daniel said. “And what about Lily?”
“There’s no reason Lily can’t be at the shop with me during the day.”
Daniel snorted. “You won’t be able to do both.”
Ivy felt a burning in her chest. She wanted to say, "I beg your pardon?" But she didn’t want to make matters worse.
“I think it’s good to show Lily that she can have it all,” she said. “She can have the career and the family. She can have dreams.”
Daniel picked up his spoon and set it back down. His cheeks were red, as though the anger was coming out through his pores.
“You wanted a baby,” he stammered. “You wanted to move into your parents’ house. You wanted all this. Isn’t it enough?”
Ivy couldn’t look at him. She understood that he was a brick wall.
If she wanted to find the money for the flower shop, she had to go about this in a completely different way.
That night, as she scrubbed the kitchen counters, Daniel paused in the doorway of the kitchen and said, “I’m glad you’re going to listen to reason on this. I mean, a flower shop? All that responsibility? On top of all this?” He clucked his tongue. “It’s too much!”
In the days that followed, Ivy considered her next steps. Daniel’s behavior had solidified her belief in her dream. She had to make it a reality, one way or another. She couldn’t let Daniel win.
To make matters worse, she called Adeline and told her she was going to make the flower shop work. “I have to find the money,” she said, desperation in her voice.
Adeline believed in her. “I’m going to keep it up for sale for the next few months,” she explained. “But I’m headed off to Florida the week after next. The estate agent knows how to reach me. But you can call me any time you need as well.”
