‘I’m trying.’
‘How?’
‘I’m pitching an idea to the inn. I was thinking we could do monthly flower arrangements for the lobby. At least until construction starts…’
‘That’s something. And what else?’
Daisy sighed.
‘I… uh… I have a new boyfriend.’
‘Oh?’ Her grandma’s eyebrows rose, as though she hadn’t already heard this little piece of gossip. Grandma June had always liked to hear things straight from the source.
‘And it’s going really well.’
‘It doesn’t matter how it’s going, love, as long as everyonethinksit’s going well.’
‘What are you suggesting?’ Did her grandmother somehow know it was all fake? If anyone could sniff out a fake relationship, it would be Grandma June.
‘Just sell it, is all I’m saying. Make sure this town thinks you are so in love that hearts are flying out of your bottom! Make them believe that The Daisy Chain Flower Shop is the most romantic spot in town! Sell them the dream, Daisy. It doesn’t matter if it’s real.’
Well, damn. That was a lot to unpack. She had no idea her sweet little grandma was so… ruthless. Apparently, you don’t run a successful business for all those years without a bit of an aggressive streak.
‘Okay. I will sell it.’
Her grandmother smiled, once again the doting grandma. ‘That’s a good girl. I know you can turn this around.’
Daisy wished she had half as much faith in herself as her grandmother did.
ChapterFourteen
Elliot had spent the first half of his morning assuring his mother that she would get to meet his new girlfriend soon, and the other half explaining to Joseph and Mary that he couldn’t remove that pillar in the lobby because it was load-bearing and the whole damn roof would come down without it.
They were not pleased.
And now he was stuffing his face with muffins at the front desk with Jack. Again. Pretty soon, his mother would not have to worry about his ‘gauntness’ at all because he would have gained two hundred pounds from stress and muffins.
Except, he wasn’t actually that stressed about his mother’s demands. He was used to those. And he was very used to clients having insane ideas about what was possible for their projects. What he was actually upset about, if he was being honest with himself, was that he hadn’t heard from Daisy in days, and now he didn’t know where they stood or if they were still doing this whole fake relationship thing or if she was upset with him for some reason or if?—
‘Why don’t you just text her?’ Jack asked, after Elliot sighed for the fiftieth time since he’d joined his friend. He had texted her. A very casual,Hey, everything all right?Daisy had read it and hadn’t answered in two days. And for two days he’d been wondering why.
‘I did. She didn’t respond.’
‘Hmm.’
‘Hmm? What does that mean?’
Jack shrugged. ‘I don’t know… that just doesn’t seem like a great sign.’
‘That’s what I’m saying!’ Daisy’s silence had felt like a pretty clear message that this whole little charade was over. And that upset Elliot more than he would care to admit.
He certainly wouldn’t be admitting it to Jack.
‘You could ask her in person.’
‘I can’t just keep going into her shop?—’
Elliot stopped mid-sentence when Jack gestured toward the front doors where Daisy was juggling several large flower arrangements. They both rushed around the desk to help her.
