“Our babies are back,” she whispered. “We can see them all the time.”
“Yes, we can.” My father wrapped his arm around her and held her, letting her lean on him.
Muse turned to me, a knowing smile on her lips. “I knew they would be happy.”
“Yeah.” I grabbed her hand on her stomach. “And I know we’re going to be happy too.”
Eleven
Vanessa
Arrangements of geraniums, tulips, and other flowers were right outside the store on a stand. Recently picked and blooming, they were bright with color and vibrant with life. The small shop was several blocks away from my gallery, but I didn’t take my car because I enjoyed the walk. I grabbed a coffee on the way and finished it by the time I got there.
When I walked inside, various flowers were scattered across the table, scissors and tools right beside it, along with a thick pair of gloves. Arrangements in glass vases were in the small refrigerator in the back. Directly next to the shop was a little greenhouse, a plot of land that had the perfect location to get sun exposure for most of the day.
Carmen emerged from the back, her hair pulled up in a loose bun. She wore a yellow sundress, an ideal shade for her olive skin. With bright red lipstick, Barsetti eyes, and a slender figure, she was the perfect person to work in a beautiful shop all day. “Vanessa!” She set down the flowers she was holding and gave me a hug. “What a pleasant surprise. I’m so glad you stopped by.”
“The shop looks beautiful. You’ve made a lot of changes.”
“Yeah, I did,” she said. “But I like the way it turned out. I wanted something unique, and I think the number of customers has increased because of it.”
“Or because of the pretty girl behind the counter,” I teased.
She rolled her eyes. “Most of my customers are women.”
“They might like the pretty girl behind the counter too.”
She chuckled then grabbed the flowers she’d set down, purple tulips. She carried them to the island in the middle of the store. A plastic wrapper was on the table along with some ribbon. “I was just making another arrangement to put outside. I had a whole selection, but it was wiped clean this morning. I’m going to have to find a new place to grow my own flowers. Buying them from someone else is just too expensive, and I’m running out of room.”
“Well, both of our parents have a ton of soil.”
“No.” She dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. “I don’t want to use them for anything. I want my business to sustain itself.”
“I know what you mean.” My family didn’t help with my business either. Bones did all of that, his parting gift to me. I stood across from her at the island. “Can I help?”
“Sure.” She gave me a pair of shears and some gloves. “Trim all the extra leaves.”
“Got it.” I started to work.
“I’m surprised you aren’t at the gallery.”
“I’m on lunch right now. I did a painting this morning, had a few customers, and then closed for an hour. I got a bagel at the coffee shop.”
“Some lunch,” she teased.
“At least I eat,” I countered.
“Whatever,” she said with a scoff. “You weren’t eating for weeks at one point.”
Because I was too depressed. Thinking about that dark time made me falter in my movements.
Carmen immediately looked guilty for what she’d said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Let’s just forget it.”
She gave me a smile and kept working. “So…rumor has it a hunky man is after you.”
I never told her about Antonio, so there was only one way she could have found out. “My father told you?”
“My mama did.”
“Which means he told everyone…”
“Naturally,” she said. “But don’t act surprised. Nothing stays a secret for long with the Barsettis. So why the hell did you say no? That man sounds sexy as sin.”
“Because I’m not over Griffin.” I shouldn’t even have to say that.
“Well, are you ever really going to be over him?” she countered. “That’s never going to happen. He’s always gonna have a piece of your heart, Vanessa. Even when years pass, you’ll never forget him. So maybe the best thing for you to do is move forward.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But that wouldn’t be fair to Antonio. What kind of man wants to be with a woman who’s still hung up on her ex? I wouldn’t be interested in that…”
“He might not care, Vanessa. He might want you enough to be patient. A really confident man wouldn’t care about something like that, because he knows he can make you forget about the other man.”
“Not possible.” Even if I fell in love again, I would never forget what I had with Bones.
“You never know…” She finished preparing the flowers then arranged them with her fingers. She took the ones I was working on and combined them, placing them in a perfect arrangement because she had a natural ability. “So, you’re just going to ignore him forever?”