A soft sigh escaped her. “Yeah, I’m beginning to see that. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward. I just can’t get caught up in another situation like that.”
“I really do get it.” I nudged her shoulder with my arm. “We’ve both been in shitty situations before, but this isn’t anything like that. Let’s just agree to be honest with each other if something’s up and with whatever we say to each other. Sound good?”
“Sounds good.” She pointed at a concrete bench situated underneath the gently swaying vines of an old willow. The clear blue sky reflected in the still waters of a pond beside it. “Wanna have a seat so you can tell me what information you got for us?”
“Sure. I even bought a notebook to document this process in.” She laughed when she saw the inscription on the front but didn’t comment on it. “Okay, Grinch. Show me what we’re working with.”
“Okay, so apparently one of the big items on the list is finding a venue. They’ve found a few they liked on the internet, but I have to go check them out in person.”
“If they haven’t booked one yet, I think we need to prioritize that. A lot of other things will be dependent on the venue. For example, some will only allow natural and biodegradable confetti and others will provide the DJ with their fee.”
I used the pen that came with the notebook and fitted into a small elastic sleeve on the side of it to make a note. “Okay. What else?”
For the next hour or so, Luna and I went over every detail I’d gotten from Peter in meticulous detail. She also asked me more about them as a couple, but this time, it felt like she was asking me to get a clearer idea of what they might like instead of asking to make sure they really were the couple getting married.
In between wedding talk, we got to know each other a little bit better. I told her I hated teal as a color but loved black and gray, and I learned that she loved just about every color as long it was bright. Except for orange. She hated orange, which I found strange considering how many flowers came in that color.
We talked about music we liked and disliked, briefly about our families and friends and what we’d like to spend our days doing once we retired. Luna grinned when I asked that question. “I want to visit every floral show in the state and I want to walk through parks just like this one every day. You?”
“I don’t know. Travel probably. I’d like to buy a one-way ticket to the country of my choice and just stay there until I was over it before moving on to the next one.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t mind doing that, but I’m trying to be more realistic.”
“I am being realistic.” I wagged my eyebrows at her and sat back against the bench, spreading my arms along the top of it. “But I like your plan too. It’s nice here.”
“It sure is.” A serene smile curled on her lips as she leaned back as well, ending up being basically under my arm.
If this had been some rom-com or teen movie, I’d have been slowly inching my arm forward until it was draped over her shoulders. I didn’t, of course, but the thought made me appreciate what we had even more.
Before I could ask about her plans for later, her gaze dropped to her watch and she straightened up. “Come on. It’s time for us to go.”
“Go?” My dick took notice as I wondered if it was reward time yet. “Go where?”
Luna laughed and rolled her eyes at me, though I didn’t know what had given me away. “Go to look at some flowers, silly. We’ll talk about what else you can look at later.”
Chapter 15
Luna
“Where are we?” Cyrus frowned and he slowed his car when I told him to, his eyes flicking to the side to take in the greenery-filled sidewalks, the leaves and stray petals lining the streets, and sellers dragging potted plants along as they dodged the pedestrians.
My smile was wide and genuine as I opened my arms. “Welcome to the New York Flower District. We got here a little late so it’ll be busy, but boy, is it worth it.”
“New York has a Flower District?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at the hustle and bustle happening right there on the street.
I hummed my confirmation under my breath, bursting at the seams to get out and get started. “We do. Isn’t it great? It’s like a little paradise, a lush garden so close to the crowded Manhattan streets. I love it here.”
“Okay, but why are we coming here?” Cyrus pointed his frown in my direction now, flicking a hand toward the market.
“We’ve come here because the market is nothing short of legend. It’s the busiest flower market in the country and it also happens to be where I first realized I wanted to be a florist.” Some of my fondest memories of my childhood had been made right here on this tiny stretch of city block. “It’s like a sweet-smelling heaven. This is where I was going to get my wedding flowers from.”
Cyrus had slowed the car but hadn’t stopped. He pulled over onto a narrow shoulder where nursery trucks usually filled up all the spaces, and ignored the annoyed honking coming from all around us.
“Okay, that’s great. I’d love to hear about it sometime, and you and I could even come back to walk around if you want, but why did you bring me here to look at flowers?”
“Because we’re looking for flowers for your brother’s wedding, aren’t we? This is the best place around to get them from. In the mornings, they only sell wholesale, which is why it’s such a circus right now. We can use my shop to order what we need, though. A lot of people around here know me and all you need is your card, which I’ve got.”
For some reason, his jaw clenched and those green eyes flashed with irritation. “Only one problem with that. Peter and Jenny are getting their flowers for the wedding from your shop, Luna-tic.”
“There’s so much more choice here,” I said and saw a spot opening up down the street. “There. Quickly. Go. It’s like a sign. No one ever gets parking right at the market.”
“We don’t need parking because we don’t need to visit the market. If you want to walk through to see what you need to order for the wedding, fine. But the flowers are still coming from your shop.” His lips curved into a smirk. “Unless this is your way of trying to get out of doing the work?”
“Never. I love my work.” I was being serious, but I could see Cyrus was too. He didn’t want to get the flowers from here if it meant my shop would lose the business. “Fine. Let’s just go do a walk-through and take some pictures for your brother and Jenny.”
“I can do that,” he agreed, then gunned it off the shoulder and cut off another car aiming for the parking spot. Again, he totally ignored the other driver and shut off his engine, giving me a shrug. “What? We saw it first.”
“You know, I was just thinking that you had such a good side to you for not wanting to order flowers from here instead of from the Watering Can, but then you go and do something like that.”
“Racing into a parking spot we really did see first negates an entire wedding I want your business to attend to?”
“It’s a matter of principle.” Amusement tugged at the corners of my lips, but I didn’t give into it.