‘It’s not cute. It’s insane.’ Daisy put down the watering can and retreated to her stool behind the counter. Since her excitement this morning, the shop had been dead. It was pretty normal to not get too much foot traffic. It was doing events that kept her afloat. Events like weddings. Her calendar was usually filled with weddings for the spring and summer. But not this year.
The Daisy Chain Flower Shop was known for its floral wedding designs. It was what they did best.
Until now.
Until Daisy and her curse arrived back home and started messing things up. The first three weddings she was in charge of had ended in disaster. Word had spread and she hadn’t booked a single one since—and the few weddings her mother had booked before Daisy got back to town had called and canceled. No one wanted to risk it.
She’d gone from bouquets and centerpieces to casket sprays and funeral wreaths. It was depressing in more ways than one.
‘And it doesn’t matter anyway because it was just a panic reaction and it’s all done with now. So you can pass it back through the phone tree that I do not in fact have a new man.’
Iris was quiet for a minute thinking and stroking Owen’s fuzzy little head.
‘But what if you did?’
‘What do you mean? I’m in no state to be dating anyone right now. I think I demonstrated that quite clearly by freaking the hell out when I saw David.’
‘But what if it wasn’t real?’
‘Iris, I’m really going to need you to piece this together for me because I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ Except she kinda did. This sounded a little too close to the fantasy she’d had earlier today about keeping Elliot as her fake boyfriend for a while longer.
Iris winced. ‘Ah, this kid just kicked me in the bladder. Inside or outside of my body, he just loves to step on my organs.’
Daisy laughed.
‘Anyway, what I mean is, maybe having a fake boyfriend could be good for business.’
‘Good for business, how?’ Daisy had mostly figured it would be good for her loneliness.
‘Everyone is so worried about your failed relationships. Why not give them a good one to talk about?’
Daisy frowned. ‘And then what? Elliot and I stay together forever? Eventually we have to break up, and I’m right back where I started.’
‘Maybe. Or maybe you can book a bunch of weddings this spring and by next year no one will even care or remember because some new, weird town drama will be happening.’
Iris smiled like she was very pleased with herself.
‘That’s insane.’
‘Is it, though?’
‘Yes.’
‘But really?’
‘It absolutely is. I’m not asking Elliot to be my fake boyfriend. How much of a loser can I possibly be?’
Iris rolled her eyes. ‘You’re not a loser, Daisy. No one thinks that.’
‘Oh, right, I’m sorry, I forgot. They think I’mcursed. Much better.’
Iris winced at that. ‘Not everyone thinks that.’
Daisy just stared her down.
‘Okay, quite a few people think that, but you know how this town is. In a few months, they’ll all decide there’s a dead body buried at The Christmas Tree Farm.’
‘That already happened.’
