Which was absurd because he’d done this exact thing nearly every day for the past year. But today was going to be different.
He pushed open the door to the flower shop and Daisy beamed at him from behind the counter.
‘Elliot,’ she said, coming around to greet him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. Goldie happily circled them until Daisy reached down a hand and scratched between her ears.
‘Closest friends I’ve ever seen,’ Marty muttered as he headed out of the store with his arms filled with wildflower bouquets.
‘Friends with benefits,’ Cliff stage-whispered beside him carrying a new cactus for his windowsill. ‘That’s what the kids call it.’
Daisy stifled a laugh, pressing her face against Elliot’s neck. ‘See you next week, boys!’ she called over Elliot’sshoulder before straightening up. ‘Hey,’ she said, still smiling, and Elliot’s stomach did a concerning swoop right down to his toes.
‘Hey.’ He ran a hand through his hair, unable to stop fidgeting. ‘They can’t possibly believe we’re still broken up, can they?’
‘You know the town lost interest in us months ago. I think those two just forgot what actually happened,’ Daisy said, moving back behind the counter. Goldie followed, plopping down on the bed Daisy kept here just for that reason. ‘Crazy old men aside, I’m glad you’re here. Guess what?’
Elliot leaned on the counter. ‘What?’
‘We went viral. The shop, I mean.’
‘Really?’
‘Well,’ Daisy shrugged. ‘Mini-viral anyway, but yeah, we started a trend!’ She was nearly squealing, her face glowing with excitement.
‘I’m not surprised but tell me. What trend?’
‘You know how we did that thing on our socials asking people to tell us why their friend deserved flowers?’
‘Yeah, you got so many amazing responses.’
‘I know, and we picked a few people to send flower arrangements to, but then people started calling the shop wanting to fill in the gaps, soeveryperson that was nominated got flowers.’
‘That’s incredible.’
‘I know! And then, an influencer-type person learned about it and amplified the whole thing and now people are posting online about the amazing people in their life andotherpeople are buying them flowers. There’s even a hashtag!’
‘I think that might be the most wholesome thing the internet has ever done.’
‘I know!’
‘I’m really proud of you.’ Daisy had put so much work in over the past few months and had come up with so many new ideas to keep the shop going. And none of them had to do with fighting a curse. In fact, he hadn’t heard any curse gossip for a long time. All anyone wanted to talk about was the Dream Harbor glow up now that Daisy’s flowers graced nearly every business’s door, window, or counter tops. She’d taken over the whole damn town.
‘Thanks,’ she said with a grin. ‘I’m really proud of myself.’
Elliot laughed, sharing in Daisy’s excitement and nearly forgetting how nervous he was.
‘Anyway, I’m almost done here and then we can go home.’
Home.
Daisy moved in months ago. Slowly.
First, just her toothbrush.
Then PJs and a pair of cozy socks.
The drawer he set aside for her gradually began filling up. Soon she had a favorite mug in his cabinet, an opinion on paint colors for the kitchen and a routine to walk Goldie every morning.
Elliot let her take her time.
