"I'm just talking about finding my true love. I've never experienced it. Like, ever."
"What about Paulie?" she says, bringing up my college sweetheart.
"That was probably the closest I ever got to it, and I know we said it to each other, but now looking back, I don't think that waslovelove."
"Well, I'm sure the perfect man is out there for you, Joelle, and you deserve that. Someone who loves you and treats you super well."
"Like Flint treats you," I say, smiling at her.
"Exactly," she says, putting her arm around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze.
We continue to sit like that, listening to the music and the faint sounds of Sherman splashing in the bathtub.
The crisp Januarymorning air greets me when I step out the front door to walk over to my flower shop. Inheriting this house from our aunt was life-changing for me. I've worked with flowers my entire adult life, but this inheritance allowed me to start my own business. And given my skills with bringing flowers back from the brink of death with simple incantations, it has allowed me to make a name for myself in the Sea Glass wedding scene.
I open the front door and wipe down my consultation table. The bell above the door jingles, and Tanner Boyd walks in. However, behind him is not his fiancée, Alyssa, but a tall, handsome man with salt-and-pepper hair, a bit of scruff on his face, and bright blue eyes.
"Hi, Tanner. How are you?" I say, reaching out my hand and giving his a quick shake.
"Morning, Joelle. Alyssa woke up with a stomach bug, so I dragged my brother Evrard with me."
He says this with a look, and his brother gives me a glance that tells me that the "dragged" part is 100% true.
"Okay. No problem. Here, please sit down," I say.
I take them through my portfolio, and Tanner mentions how Alyssa was hoping for as many tulips as possible given that they are marrying on the first day of spring.
"That sounds really lovely. I can totally work on that," I say, grabbing a small pamphlet on tulip varieties.
Tanner looks it over, showing his brother, who gruffly checks it out and gives a curt nod, which makes the groom laugh.
"This guy is a big grump when it comes to love, and he's in a bad mood because our grandmother is expecting him to bring not only a date to my wedding but aseriousgirlfriend."
As the groom says this, he bumps his shoulder into his brother, who then gives him a quick shove.
"She didn't need to know that," Evrard grumbles, and Tanner bursts out laughing.
Seeing this, I decide it's probably best not to engage in their family squabble. I flip to the back of my portfolio and show Tanner the photos of flowers that were on the brink of death before I brought them back to life.
"Wow. This is amazing," he says, and I notice Evrard looking at the pictures with interest.
"I can also show you, if you'd like? I have these flowers over here that are on death's door," I say, standing and grabbing a vase of flowers I purposefully left out without water overnight. Placing the vase on the table in front of the men, I close my eyes, and mutter my typical incantation while dancing my fingers close to the petals and leaves.
"Wow."
The appreciation in Tanner's voice makes me smile. I open my eyes to see that the flowers are once again blooming brightly and look like they were just picked.
"That's amazing," Evrard says, glancing over at me, and my stomach flips at his gorgeous baby blues.
"Alyssa told me you were a witch, but she didn't say you could do cool stuff like this," Tanner says, smiling.
After my client signs all the paperwork, the brothers stand up, and Tanner offers his hand for me to shake.
"Thank you so much, Joelle. I'm really excited we were able to book you."
He turns to leave, and Evrard looks at me uncomfortably, then offers his hand as well. Smiling at him, I take it and almost gasp out loud at the fiery sparks that shoot up from his touch through my arm and swirl around my body until they reach my toes. His blue eyes widen, but he doesn't acknowledge if he felt the sparks as well.
Instead, Evrard clears his throat and mumbles, "Nice to meet you," before dropping my hand and following his brother out the door.
