‘We didnotuse those,’ Logan grumbled.
‘It’s really all beside the point,’ Daisy said, ‘I’m not cursed. There’s no such thing as curses and even if there were, flower crowns for Beltane have nothing to do with weddings!’
‘But they have to do with love,’ Tammy said, continuing to argue.
‘Sex maybe, but not love,’ Daisy snapped back. ‘And you already blackballed me for Valentine’s Day…’
‘Again,love,dear.’
Daisy huffed. ‘What about your nephew’s baptism brunch? I heard that you bought flowers from Bakersville’s Blooms.’ Her hands came to her hips as she faced Tammy head-on.
‘Well, we can’t have a baby getting cursed!’
Daisy growled in frustration.
‘If it helps, my Great-Uncle Lenny is ninety-eight. We don’t expect he’ll be around much longer,’ Isabel piped up from the back.
‘Gee, thanks,’ Daisy gritted out. ‘And what about Mother’s Day? Are you all going to avoid the shop for Mother’s Day, too?’
The crowd shifted uneasily in their seats.
‘We love our moms, Daisy,’ Mac said, apologetically.
Annie glared at him. ‘We will be attending the Mother’s Day flower-arranging workshop, don’t you worry,’ she told Daisy, and Mac winced.
‘Right, of course we are,’ he said.
‘It’s really just love we’re worried about. We’re not trying to hurt you, Daisy, but you haven’t exactly been lucky in love, no offense,’ Tammy added.
Daisy’s face fell in defeat. She had no retort for that one, and it was the first time Elliot had ever seen her back down from a fight. It was like shebelievedwhat Tammy was saying. She really thought she was cursed—unlucky, bad at love. Elliot knew exactly how she felt. And that was what had him springing into action before he knew what he was doing.
‘I find that anytime you have to finish a statement withno offense, it generally means you’re being offensive,’ he said. He was standing now, not quite sure when that happened, and the entire room had turned to face him.
‘Who the hell is that?’ Norm said.
‘That’s Elliot,’ Annie said. ‘Hi, Elliot!’
He waved weakly. What had he gotten himself into?
‘Elliot’s new to town,’ Annie said, explaining to the group.
‘Not actuallythatnew,’ he said, probably only making matters worse. ‘Been here for about a year and a half.’
Everyone looked surprised, including Annie, whose blonde eyebrows rose dramatically. ‘Really? How did we not know?’
Elliot shrugged. ‘Not sure, but I’ve been here.’
‘That can’t be right.’ Annie looked truly horrified now, like she’d completely dropped the ball in failing to notice his exact day of arrival.
He shrugged again. ‘I was here when The Christmas Tree Farm reopened.’ He’d even gone and picked out a tiny tree and decorated it himself. It had been wildly depressing.
‘Really?!’
‘Yes, really. I was here when the diner was renamed.’ His favorite pancakes were the ‘Noah’. He was a big fan of blueberries.
The crowd looked truly shaken by this information, like an intruder had infiltrated their ranks and no one had noticed. It wasn’t great for Elliot’s self-esteem, but he powered on.
‘I just wanted to say that Daisyislucky in love. We’ve been dating for a month now.’ He held her gaze when he said it and watched as her eyes widened in horror. Uh-oh… he may have misread the situation, but the crowd had already latched on to this new piece of information.
