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“Do you have a color palette you would like to stick to, or certain flowers in mind?” Ellie asks, once again rescuing me from my own head and my bad manners.
“Pink, white and green would be wonderful. Peonies and hydrangeas are my favorite. Let me see here.” She circles the store, and my pounding heart seems to echo the sound of her heels against the floor. “Something this size and in a vase like this one,” she says pointing to a medium size clear glass vase bursting with cut flowers we had just created this morning.
“They will be beautiful. Ellie and I will make sure of it,” I answer, as confidently as possible. ‘Fake it till you make it’ is apparently my new motto.
“It was lovely to see you again Olivia. You as well, Ellie. I will be in touch.” I suddenly want to hug her, but I realize that would be crazy and completely awkward, so instead I reach out to shake her hand. She returns the gesture with a soft squeeze, her warm eyes meeting mine.
I watch her walk out of our store after graciously thanking us over and over again and securing her date with her Amex black card. Finally, able to breathe again, I whip around to go full fight club on Ellie.
“Jesus Ells! What were you thinking? You know I can’t do this!” I move towards her, my hands planted tightly at my waist.
“Oh please, Liv, it was eight years ago and you’ve both begun new lives. You need to move on. You were eighteen! And besides, it might actually be good for you to see Parker again.” Ellie finishes the transaction on the computer and returns to the large wooden worktable.
“Put the past where it belongs, make amends so you can really move on. So you can open yourself up again to love. You deserve love, Olivia. You deserve a man in your life who puts you first and gives you the feels. All the feels, Liv.”
I roll my eyes. How the hell would she know? Neither of us are exactly experts when it comes to love. We’re both in our late twenties and have yet to find “the one.” Parker Bennett was the closest thing to it, and that ended a very long time ago. My chest tightens. Thinking about Parker inflicts this kind of reaction on my heart.
“And besides, do you know what this type of event will do for our business? It’s the Bennetts. It’s their Seaside Hotel chain... the publicity alone will take us next level.”
I know she’s right. The Seaside Hotel chain is listed as the place to be in almost every popular publication on the east coast. Influencers post pictures daily to their social media pages from the hotel lobbies, their rooftop pools and their luxe lobby bars. The Bennetts have been opening new boutique hotels yearly and show no signs of slowing down. Their properties are upscale and modern with luxury amenities like extensive pillow menus, custom toiletries and swanky lounges. The place to be seen, or so I’ve been told. Stepping foot into a Seaside Hotel means running the risk of seeing Parker. That’s why I stay away.
“Olivia, there is no guarantee he will even be at the party.”
I stare at her, my eyebrow raised. “Ellie, are you huffing something? Do you really think he would miss his parents’ anniversary party?”
“Nope, you’re right! He will definitely be there.” Ellie grins and throws her hands in the air. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
Parker rarely comes home to visit since he moved to New York, but there’s not a chance he would miss a family celebration. The Bennetts are close. They always have been. It had always amazed me, the way he got along with his two brothers and sister. As kids they actually loved spending time together. They always had each other’s backs no matter what.
It’s not the family dynamic I grew up with. My younger sister Kate and I weren’t exactly tight back then, but that changed in our twenties. We needed each other to make it through the pain and embarrassment caused by our Dad. Now we are inseparable; along with Ellie, we are a three-pack. It feels good to know that I always have my two best friends to count on to bring me a bottle of my very favorite rosé when I have a bad day. After this particular bad day, though, I’m not sure one bottle will cut it.
“Ells, I’m not doing it. This is on you. You got us into this mess, and you will get us out. This is not up for negotiation.”
“You are being ridiculous, Olivia.”
“I don’t care, Ellie!” I exclaim with a huff.
“Fine, Olivia. I’ll take this one for the team. I’ll do the delivery and setup alone at the estate and save you the horror of running into Parker Bennett,” she states dramatically, her right hand to her forehead.
I can’t help but smile. That is Ellie. She speaks her mind no matter what, never sugar-coats a thing. She also has the mouth of a trucker and just loves making me cringe with embarrassment with the innuendo that flies from her mouth. My brunette, five-foot-two bestie since middle school has stuck by me through it all - even when my family lost everything, when it would have been much easier to walk away. She is best friend goals and, apart from Kate, is the only person in my life to know what losing Parker did to me.
It is because she is the greatest friend a girl could ask for that I will not murder her and hide her body. Joking, but I would be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind for a second time today.
Ellie knows that taking on the Bennetts’ anniversary party could be a huge win for our small business, and I can’t fault her for that. I’ll find a way to wipe Parker Bennett from my mind. I’ve done it once, I’m sure I can do it again.
* * *
It’s a beautiful, sunny Friday morning and Ellie and I are busy with the Bennett order for tomorrow. Since Mrs. Bennett walked through the doors of Bloom three weeks ago, my world feels like it has been turned upside down. I am flooded with memories of the two perfect years I spent with Parker, before it all ended. I am also in dire need of a manicure after biting my nails right down to the cuticles. I know it’s not a good look, but it’s how I’ve always dealt with stress. That and a good five-mile run.
The only silver lining to this situation is that my part in the Bennett order ends here. Thank God. I still can’t believe I said yes to this job; I must be a sucker for punishment. There is no way I will be stepping foot in their estate, though. That is all on Ellie this time, the deal we made still standing.
“Everything okay, Olivia?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” I roll my eyes, jabbing a peony into the wet floral foam at the bottom of vase.
“You just seem a little… edgy.”
“The flowers have to be perfect, Ellie.” I anxiously adjust three pale pink peonies and hold my breath. “This is a big deal.”
