Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
The diner is full. Chock full. Of flowers. Hundreds of them. Vases are piled on every imaginable surface. Roses, lilies, tulips, carnations, sunflowers, peonies, daffodils even. It looks like somebody bought out a flower farm.
I come to a halt so fast Sadie bumps against my back. My eyes scanning, I find Calliope in the middle of the room.
“What’s going on?” I ask. “A flower explosion is not what I pictured when you said emergency.”
“Well, it kind of is. They’ve bought out all three of the flower shops in town. I’m kind of afraid they’ll start moving up the coast next.”
“They who?” But even as the question forms I know the answer. Calliope smothers a smile as she stomps to the closest bouquet, plucks a card from between the blooms and hands it over.
My mouth drops open as I read.
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
We’ve been looking for someone
We now know is you.
Call us- Levi and Tripp.
555-6756
Room 231
“They sent all of these?” I gasp. “What am I even… How do I… What? Why?” I can’t even manage a full coherent thought as I look around the diner that now has more flowers than all the flower shops in town combined.
Sadie steps up beside me, grabs the note from my hand, scans it and hands it back with a grin. “I believe this is what they call a grand gesture.”
I whip to face her. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Call them.” She taps the note. “Or you could not call them, and see what they think of next.”
Oh god. I can’t even imagine. This is over the top and embarrassing enough. I don’t even want to think about what they might do next.
“You don’t think if I ignored this, it would just… go away?”
Calliope raises her eyebrows. “A gesture like this? Not likely.”
Sadie puts an arm around my shoulders and squeezes gently. “It’s okay. Just hear what they have to say and tell them how you feel. What’s the worst that could happen?”
I stare at her, frozen like a deer in headlights. The worst that could happen? Did she really want me to answer that? Does she want to know the thousands of actually insane thoughts running through my brain right now?
She nudges me with her shoulder and says gently, “Remember what you said about being more adventurous going forward? This seems like a good place to start.”
Dammit. She’s right. I look over and see Calliope nodding, along with a handful of diner patrons I recognize.
Fuck. I guess I’m doing this.
Chapter Thirteen
Tripp
Levi spent all his rodeo wins on flowers. Hundreds upon hundreds of flowers. It’s silly, crazy, and wildly romantic. I never would have come up with it, and now that I know about it, I can’t decide how I feel.
I stare at his phone on the table in my hospital room and will it to ring.
It doesn’t.
I’m still not sure that staying in Blue River is the thing to do, but I love Levi and I respect him, and I know it took a lot for him to lay down the law like that. But I can’t imagine staying here without Marci, watching all the happy throuples build their lives and knowing that we let our perfect girl slip through our fingers.
I’m still staring at the phone when there’s a knock on the door to my room. I look at Levi. We don’t know anyone here and the nurses don’t usually knock. He shrugs.
“Come in,” he calls.
I see the flowers before I see her. A huge vase of them. At least five dozen. They cover her face but I know it’s her. Who else would come through looking like a walking flower arrangement with legs?
“Marci.” Levi rushes to her, grabs the vase and sets it on the counter. Without it, she stands there awkwardly, looking first at me, then at him, then back at me.
“You’re okay, then?” she asks. “You’re gonna be all right?”
“I’m alive,” I joke. I don’t really know what to say yet.
“He busted up his arm pretty badly, and had a mild concussion, but he’s doing good.” Levi fills her in on my injuries, then we all fall silent.
“Thank you for the flowers,” she says at the same time I say, “I’m glad you came” and Levi says, “It’s good to see you.”
We all three laugh. Marci smiles weakly. “I was… worried. Watching you fall was…” She grimaces like she can’t bear to finish the sentence.
“I completely agree,” Levi tells her. “It scared the shit out of me and put some things in serious perspective.”
“Oh, like what?” Marci asks. Then she puts her hands up in front of her. “Don’t answer that. I don’t need to know. I wanted to say thank you. For the flowers, and for our date. It was enlightening. It really helped me in a lot of ways I’ll never be able to explain. But the rodeo thing is a little much for me. I didn’t realize how terrifying it was when someone you care about is out there. I don’t—”