Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
The residents of Castle Falls took pride in the shop, just as much as Naomi, Henry, and I had. Our customers wanted it to succeed just as much as everyone who worked there.
I walked back through the shop toward the office and the computer mess I’d left there, stopping to eye a bouquet of tulips I’d put together the day before. To get the most life out of a display, I always used some buds that were still tightly closed. It never got old watching them open gradually over the course of several days.
I rubbed a thumb across one of the buds, smiling to myself as I thought of how pretty it would be once it had a chance to bloom, a chance to show off its true colors.
It was just another one of the million little perks I got from working with what nature had created. I’d never be able to fully explain how it made me feel to be surrounded by that kind of life and beauty every day—and even get paid for it—but I’d always be grateful to Henry for having given me a chance to discover that side of myself, and to the community of Castle Falls for continuing to let me indulge it.
It was comforting to know that the tight-knit town was rooting for their little shop, but it was also a bit melancholy.
I had never set out to be a florist; I’d only ever stayed at Patty’s Petals because I truly loved the work and the people I worked with. Henry had been like a surrogate father, and Naomi was the little sister I had never known I’d wanted.
I could have made more money working just about anywhere, doing just about anything else, but being able to show up for work every day and do something creative—to work with the beautiful, perfect things that nature had created—had turned out to be the most fulfilling thing I’d ever experienced.
This job and those people had seen me through some rough times—bad dates, break-ups, near bankruptcy, moving back in with my mom—and everything I’d been through in the past several years had been easier to manage because of the fact that for eight hours of the day, five or sometimes six days a week, I could put it all aside and play with flowers.
Who wouldn’t want a job like this?
How could anything else even compare?
I truly wanted to do it forever, and I’d always imagined I would. That I’d work at Patty’s Petals—with Henry—for a long, long time.
I shook my head as I dropped my hand from the tulip’s soft petal and walked back into the office.
I’d never really realized how much I’d taken for granted that Henry would always be there—sharing wisdom, giving advice, and keeping my life feeling stable. Losing him had been a shock to everyone but also a reminder to me that nothing in life is certain.
And that nothing lasts forever.
Even with the best care and all the love I could give them, the beautiful flowers I surrounded myself with every day would eventually wilt before my eyes. It was the same with life, with everything.
But rather than let myself get down about it, I was determined to make sure I took time to appreciate and enjoy the beauty, the complexity, and the life that bloomed around me while I still had the opportunity.
And at least—through showing up and working in the space I’d shared with Henry—I still felt a connection with the man whose life and death had taught me that.
That was something I definitely wasn’t going to take for granted anymore.
I had barely had time to sit back down and start looking for the IT guy’s number when the bell above the front door jingled again.
For a moment, I wondered if Mr. Robbins had changed his mind about checking out the carnations. However, when I peeked back out of the office, it was obvious that the man walking through the door was definitely not Mr. Robbins.
Even with the morning sun in my eyes, I could tell this customer was much taller and more muscular than the wiry old man who’d been in earlier. In fact, the new customer’s silhouette didn’t match any of the mostly elderly clientele who frequented the flower shop.
Those silhouettes didn’t make me crane my neck to the point of nearly falling out of the desk chair. They didn’t make something quicken inside me that I hadn’t felt in God knows how long.
I squinted against the glare of the sun, my imagination already filling in the details that I still couldn’t quite see.
This guy was big. And built. And probably—almost certainly, based on the parts I could see—the kind of guy that I always seemed to fall for.
Tall, dark, and handsome?
Yes, yes, and yes, please.
The man didn’t walk right up to the counter to place an order. Instead, he took a few moments to stand near the entrance and take it all in, as if he was inspecting the place from floor to ceiling.