“You are a lifesaver.”
“It’s literally my job.” She laughs, then shoos me away. “I’m sure you have more important things to do. I’ll make sure she gets her food.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” I give her a quick wave before leaving the bar. One more stop and I go home and get everything ready.
Paula is standing by the door when I pull into a parking spot in front of Whoopsie Daisy. The drive took only minutes since everything is pretty close to the town square.
“Finally,” she says as she yanks the door open. “I thought you were heading straight here after you texted me.”
“I had other errands to run.”
“Whatever.” She waves me off and beckons me to follow her. “These are the bouquets we have ready to go. The rest of the ladies are in the back working on more, but they won’t be ready for another hour or so.”
That’s time I don’t have. There are four arrangements on the glass counter, but only two contain roses. “Is there a difference in price?”
“Does it matter?”
“Not really.” I’ll spend whatever they are asking, though I’m sure my sister will try to give me some sort of discount since I’m her brother.
She follows my eyes to see which ones I’m drawn to. “So, the yellow roses pretty much represent friendship. Which is cool if that’s what you’re going for.”
“Definitely not.” While being friends is fine, and I’m okay with it, I’d much prefer for the flowers to signify more.
“That’s what I hoped to hear.” She grabs the roses in the middle. They are red and pink with other flowers I don’t recognize sprinkled throughout. “I always wondered when someone would snag your attention enough to stop doing whatever our big brother asked.”
Well, I’m about to pop her happy bubble. “She’s not the reason.”
“What do you mean? There isn’t any other reason for you not being a workaholic, even on your day off.”
Huh? There are things our baby sister doesn’t tell everyone. “Piper made me make a New Year’s resolution. Basically, I’m supposed to do things that make me happy and stop ‘being Pierce’s lap dog.’ Her words, not mine.”
She laughs because only Piper could bully her older siblings into doing something. “Well, I’m glad you’re listening to someone.”
“Glad to know everyone thinks I only listen to Pierce.” They aren’t wrong, though. I’ve been this way for as long as I can remember. The need to prove myself to him runs deep inside me. That feeling is slowly fading. Pierce will only ever look out for himself. He proved that last summer.
“Can you blame us?” She puts the bouquets I didn’t pick to the side and moves behind the counter to give me my total. “You always set yourself apart from the rest of us and only hung out with Pierce if Miles was busy.”
When she puts it that way, I can see why they think that. Out of all my siblings, Paula should understand the most. She was the person Dad wanted to run the company with Pierce. She had everything lined up for her. But she decided to do her own thing. Even that was a big deal in Pierce’s eyes and he basically cut her out of his life until last year. She’s doing just fine, though.
I wish I had her and Piper’s strength to defy our brother. They did it in different ways, but it was effective. He has a lot more respect for them. Respect I wish I had.
“Well, that changed after he kept Dad’s retirement from me of all people. It’s kind of nice not working all the time. Even if it’s mostly because of the snow storm. I did tell him I wasn’t staying late the other day to count inventory.”
“Look at you growing and all that jazz.” She holds out her hand for my card. “Isn’t it great when you aren’t trying to live up to other’s expectations?”
“Yeah, it kind of is.” I pull out my wallet and reach for my card. “How much is it?”
“Does it matter?”
I hand her my card. “Not really.”
“So, are you planning something big to proclaim your undying love.”
“Love is going a bit far. We’re still only friends.” When she hands me the card, I shove it back in my wallet. “It’s nothing big. Today was her first day at her job. I’m making a steak dinner, and I’m sending her lunch to the office. Angie’s delivering it.”
She nods and I know I have her approval. “Nice job. I didn’t know you knew how to be romantic.”
“I watched that movie you were obsessed with when we were kids.”
