The Flower Shop: Episode 3

Time for another episode of The Flower Shop! Let’s see what’s going on this week with our couple. *rubs hands together*

When Peter Ross returns to upstate New York, his plan is to sell his grandfather’s hardware store and return to life in the city. But a chance meeting with his old girlfriend Rhonda Jefferson makes him second guess his decision, and wonder about what could have been. 

Genre: Contemporary Interracial

Trope: Second chance

Heat level: Sensual

You can’t spare a little time for the man you used to love?

Peter had to know that question was unfair, shooting straight to her heart and making her feel like she was overreacting—because he was right. Rhonda had loved him once—maybe still loved him on some level after all these years. What they’d shared had seemed like a once in a lifetime love—all consuming at the time. 

She’d been adamant she didn’t want a boyfriend and wanted to focus on her school work, but Peter had been relentless. He convinced her to be his girlfriend with a laid back smile and persistence. Here he was again… persisting. 

Truth be told, she wanted that conversation too and needed the closure it would provide. Their relationship had ended so abruptly.

 “I can spare a little time,” she said slowly.

Now that she had agreed, a bit of relief filled her chest, and the apprehension from running into him eased somewhat. This was Peter, after all. She didn’t hate him, and they had history. Good history, for the most part.

A faint smile touched his lips, and his eyes softened, causing her skin to heat. Whenever he used to look at her like that, she’d smile into his eyes and let her fingers feather through his hair, lean in and nuzzle his hard jaw before pressing her lips to his to enjoy the texture of his soft mouth. 

He shouldn’t still be able to make her feel giddy, yet her body’s reaction was the same. An excited flush coated her skin, and her pulse rate kicked up several notches. 

“I have to admit, I’m a bit surprised you agreed,” he said.

“That makes two of us,” Rhonda said in a low tone, and the smile on his face broadened. 

“In that case, I better lock you down before you change your mind. Let’s see…” His brow furrowed before his eyes lit up with an idea. “How about dinner at that little restaurant on Forester Avenue, you know the one that—”

Rhonda shook her head. “It closed a while back. The space was leased a few months ago for another restaurant, but it won’t open for another four or five months.”

Peter swore softly. 

“A lot has changed since you moved away,” Rhonda said pointedly.

He frowned. “Seems that way.”

“I could pick a place,” Rhonda offered.

That would probably be easier since he was practically a stranger. He’d only been back twice that she knew of, and they hadn’t seen each other any of those times. Once his father moved away, his grandfather was his only tie to the town, and that hadn’t been enough to bring him back for regular visits. 

He shook his head. “No, I invited you out, and I’m going to make the plans. I can come by to pick you up around seven.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Positive,” he said with determination.

“Okay.” Way too much anticipation swelled in her chest, but she maintained an outwardly calm exterior, playing it cool and keeping her voice neutral. 

The seven o’clock meeting time gave her a couple of hours after the shop closed to get ready. She’d have just enough time to do something with her hair, paint her nails, and dig into her closet for a nice outfit. Something cute that didn’t show she was trying too hard. 

“Where do you live?” Peter asked.

“Same place. Mom left me the house.” 

“You live in the same place,” he said slowly, and she knew what he was thinking. 

He was thinking what she was thinking. So many memories in that house. Not only memories of her family, but memories about her and Peter. 

Memories of all the times she sneaked out to see him, or the times he climbed through the window into her room, and she prayed her mother didn’t pop in and catch them. Memories of all the times he’d come over and eat dinner with them, and later they’d sit on the porch and talk for hours, well into the night, until her mother called her in because she had school the next day. 

That’s where he picked her up for their dates, and after he left for college, it was the first place he stopped when he returned to town. 

So many memories…

“I know where to come get you then,” Peter said. “You’re not going to bail on me, are you?” He was half-joking, but she caught the concern in his voice.

“No, Peter, I won’t. To be honest, I don’t want to dredge up the past, but… we both said things we shouldn’t have when we split, and… I think we need to clear the air. We’re adults and should be able to talk openly and honestly.” 

“I agree.” He studied her for a moment. “All right then. I’ll see you at seven.”

“See you later,” Rhonda said. 

Peter backed away, a faint smile on his lips, before he turned and walked up the street toward the bed-and-breakfast, his stride long and sure, the jeans hugging his thick thighs and cradling his firm behind. He climbed into his car at the curb, and Rhonda climbed into her van, watching in her rear view mirror as his car disappeared around the bend.

When she returned to the shop, Bryn was cutting and arranging flowers to freshen up the window display. 

“Hey, boss lady,” the redhead said. “We received a big order from the hotel again.” Amusement filled her voice. 

Rhonda sighed and shook her head, which made Bryn burst out laughing. 

“He’s not giving up,” Bryn said, snipping some greenery to add to the bouquet she was working on.

“Apparently not,” Rhonda muttered. 

She’d gone out twice with Shane Weathers, the manager of the Fountain Springs Hotel. While she’d had a good time, they had zero chemistry. When he invited her out for a third date, she’d declined his invitation. 

Instead of giving up, he resorted to ordering elaborate arrangements for the hotel. One for the front lobby, and one for the tables across from the elevators on each of the five floors. 

“I’m sending you to do the delivery and arrangements this time,” Rhonda told Bryn, setting down her clipboard and slipping her apron around her neck. 

“Oh come on, you know he doesn’t want to see me.”

“Well, that’s who he’ll see this time.”

“You’re going to give up all that money? The man orders six arrangements.” Bryn rested a hand on her hip.

“I’m not going to lead him on to keep his business. Unlike you, I have a conscience,” Rhonda said playfully. 

Bryn rolled her eyes and resumed her work.

“I’ll be in the back prepping for the weddings. Holler if you need me.”

“Will do,” Bryn said over her shoulder. 

There were two weddings this weekend that they had to prepare for, which meant getting vases and ribbons and preparing the boutonnieres and corsages, among many other tasks. 

Fortunately, they were on schedule. Rhonda adhered to a rigid schedule, which kept the operations on track and running smoothly. She’d learned to be a florist from her mother, but she’d learned the skill of organization from her father before he passed. 

Former military, he didn’t believe in wasting time and drilled in her head the importance of efficiency. Both her parents would be proud to see how she’d grown the business her mother started. 

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, baby girl,” her father used to say. 

His constant praise had been the catalyst for her high performance in school, and had she been able to attend college, she knew she would have excelled there too. But college hadn’t been in the cards for her. 

Rhonda set buckets, flowers, and all her tools on the long, wooden work table. She placed a large, lined trash can beside her and then went to work. 

As she tore off leaves and trimmed stems, the scent of the flowers wafted up into her nostrils, and her mind wandered to Peter. Right now, she was calm, but as seven o’clock drew near, she knew she’d become nervous. 

First, because she was ridiculously, painfully excited about spending time with him. He was as handsome as ever but had a calm maturity that his younger self didn’t possess. The intensity remained, but he seemed to be reigning it in, as if he didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her away. 

A deep-seated ache filled her, a long-buried feeling she’d assumed would never return, but all her old feelings came back with a vengeance, and she ached to spend an hour or however long he’d give her, soaking up all the information she could about him. She wanted to know everything about his job and his life in New York. Did he still have the same sense of humor, or had he become more serious? Which parts of him were the same, and which parts were different? Was he the same Peter she’d fallen in love with? Would he care if she flung her arms around him and buried her face in his neck one last time?

Rhonda laughed out loud. “That won’t happen.” She chunked bruised flowers in the trash. 

The second reason she would become nervous was because she and Peter were going to talk about the past, which meant discussing their final argument. Rhonda stopped working and dropped her hands to the table. She stared at the flowers before her. 

If tonight was about closure and discussing what happened, then she needed to be completely honest with Peter. Could she do it?

Could she tell him the real reason she’d broken up with him thirteen years ago?

_________

So much yummy yearning. Continue to Episode 4!