"Don't worry. I'll make sure everything gets shipped to you,” he told me. "And after I handle this Oro shit, I'll come to the States, and you can help me kill the Irish Mafia's Chicago Don. Deal?"
“Deal,” I agreed.
I would definitely help him with the Irish Mafia. Terzo wasn’t just my ally. He was my friend. He was my brother. I would always have his back. But it was time for me to leave one brother behind and return to the two I’d grown up with. And hopefully to my Juliet. I smiled as I stared out the window.
Juliet With Curves, ready or not, I’m coming for you.
And soon, I'd know if what we had was real or if I’d placed my trust in the wrong cyber-criminal.
PART TWO
ROME & BLOSSOM
There’s nothing sweeter than a kiss from a woman you love. There’s nothing more bitter than the kiss from a woman who’s betrayed you.
-ROMANEO CATTANEO
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
BLOSSOM
A WEEK AND A HALF LATER...
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The morning sun warmed my skin as I moved through the garden behind my flower shop. A wicker basket hung from my arm while I clipped flowers from the rows around me, putting together an order for a client.
Red oleander.
Yellow gloriosa.
Blue monkshood.
For people who didn’t know flowers, it would sound like I was reciting a spell instead of referring to flowers in our special part of the garden. Flowers and nature were my happy place. I felt at peace in my garden.
All the troubles of the world melted away, and I was briefly allowed a chance to breathe, a chance to be alone. I desperately needed that after the week I’d had, the week we’d all had here at Blossoms and Vines.
This past week was one of the busiest we’d had in a while. The shop had three weddings this weekend, and we’d been in charge of all the flowers and getting them set up at the venues.
It had been all hands on deck all week as we made sure everything was perfect for each bride. We’d also had twofunerals during the week. One of the deceased sons had his coworkers order their condolences flowers from here.
Then we had a baby shower order that still needed to be finished. But Ivy was taking care of that while I handled a special order for one of our regulars. I was mentally sorting through everything I still needed for the order when the shop's back door opened.
“Hey, Blossom?” Ivy called out.
I glanced over my shoulder. “What’s up?”
“You working on that order for Noelani?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Ivy stepped outside carrying a tablet.
"Noe just called and said she needed to add something to her order."
I sighed.Of course, she did.I’d asked her three times if she was sure that was all she needed. Each time, she assured me she was. Yet, now she was calling to add more items. She did this every... single... time.
"What does she need?" I asked, unwilling to allow anything to disrupt my peaceful day.
