Her eyes narrow into slits. “Since when?”
“Since….” Shit. I keep digging a deeper hole. “Never mind.”
When I was a senior in high school, I was at Kaleb’s house, telling him my plan to give Amanda flowers and candy when I asked her to go to homecoming. Emily gagged and said my idea was totally unoriginal. If I couldn’t do better than that, I shouldn’t ask girls out. I still haven’t figured out what this ‘better than that’ is that I should do. I just know that doesn’t work for her.
She cocks her head sideways. “Let me tell you something about women. They like flowers and candy. Theyalllike flowers and candy. They just don’t like it when you do it while asking for forgiveness because you did something stupid or because you don’t want to put out any effort. When gifts are given in those instances, it’s a slap in the face.”
Maybe she’s right. It’s not like I have a lot of experience in the dating department. At least not in the long-term dating department. She runs a flower shop. I’m sure she’s seen many a man purchase flowers to get out of the doghouse. And other instances where things worked out.
Her eyes soften as she lifts a pink tulip off the counter. “But if you give gifts that have meaning, that’ll get her attention. If you know her favorite type of flower, her favorite color, if you notice she only eats the pink M&Ms, or that she obsesses over painted tea kettles, whatever the case may be….” She shrugs and places the flower in the arrangement in front of her. “If you know her heart, then you can’t ever go wrong.”
She stands back and inhales, firmly in her element as she smiles at her completed creation and then meets my gaze. “And you can guarantee that you’ll be greatly rewarded for your thoughtful gift.”
I pull on my collar. Lord, how high does she keep the temperature in this place?
Emily’s favorite color was always purple. Or lavender. Or some shade like that. And her favorite flowers are roses. Or were roses back when she was in high school. Who knows what her favorites are now.
And, she always picked the purple Skittles out of the package before giving Kaleb the rest. My eyes land on the deep plum roses in the cooler.
Don’t do it. She’s barely at the point of tolerating you.
“Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” She beams and brushes a stand of silver-tinted hair behind her ear. “Now, what are you really here for if it’s not for advice on women and relationships?”
Now onto a topic I’m confident with. I’m here to improve police and community relations, not to talk about my lack of understanding of how to get a girl.
“I’m going from shop-to-shop, touching base with the owners, seeing if there’s anything that the police can assist you with. I know this is a small town where everyone knows each other, so it’s probably not necessary, but if you need something, I want you to feel comfortable enough to call. This is something we did in the city, and I thought it’d be nice to do it here.”
“That’s a great idea.” Rosemarie settles onto the barstool behind the cash register. “We don’t have a lot of crime around here, but that doesn’t mean we’re immune. Last month, a kid from the city tried to steal a watch from Lloyd’s shop, and he was in my store a few minutes before. I thought he was acting suspiciously, so I alerted the other owners in our group chat.”
“Group chat?”
“Yes. We have a group chat where we keep in contact. Usually, it’s about community events, but it also comes in handy if we see something that doesn’t feel right.”
“That’s a great idea.” God, I love small towns. A group text between all the owners? I file that information in my head to send my old chief the idea.
“Thank you.” Her cheeks bloom with the same tint as the pink rose in the vase she designed.
She collects the arrangement off the counter and opens the closest cooler, sliding the flowers next to the plum-colored roses that caught my eye.
“When Lloyd messaged back that the kid wanted to look at one of his diamond Rolexes, we contacted Chief Carter at the station. He was here in less than four minutes.” Her eyes darken with the memory. “Right as the kid fisted it and turned as if he was going to walk out, Chief Carter swooped in and saved the day.”
“That’s good. I’m glad to hear there was a positive ending. Unfortunately, increased traffic from the city will find its way here, thinking that we won’t be prepared.”
“Well, they’ll think wrong.” Her chest puffs out with pride.
When my phone rings, I glance at the screen. Emily. My heart skips a beat. “Hello?”
“Hey, I hate to bother you.”
“You aren’t bothering me. What’s going on?” If Emily is asking me for something, it’s important. I step to the side, away from Rosemarie’s prying eyes and ears, but I’m not fooling myself. She’s going to listen.
“Bella is having problems with her ex. He’s been finding her phone number and harassing her. She’s changed it three times.” The tone of her voice is heavy with worry and something else. Exhaustion?
My shoulders tense as I turn away from Rosemarie. “She needs to get a restraining order against him.”
“She’s on her way to do that in a few minutes. Can you tell me what steps she needs to take?”
