Chapter 1
The door to Beach Blooms flew open just before closing time, startling Daisy, and she dropped her scissors with a clatter. She looked up from her workbench where she was arranging a simple bouquet in a mason jar as a man stepped inside.
He ran his gaze around the shop, looking a bit panicked, and quickly crossed the distance to her. “Afternoon, ma’am. Glad you’re open. I’m looking for flowers.”
“You’ve come to the right place.” She glanced around at all the flowers on display in her shop, suppressing a smile.
“Right. I mean… I need a bouquet. No, not that. A pin-on thingie.”
“A pin-on thingie?”
“You know, a thing of flowers you pin on a woman.” He shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin.
“A corsage?”
He snapped his fingers. “Yes, that’s it.” His brown eyes glittered with relief.
“Okay, when do you need it?”
“I need it right now. Well, it’s for tomorrow morning. But, you know, I’d need to get it now.”
“Ah, okay. I can make you one. Do you know what kind of flowers you want?”
He frowned and chewed his bottom lip. “No. I don’t. She likes yellow, though. That’s her favorite color.”
“Okay, I have some yellow roses. I could do a rose with some baby’s breath and a bit of greenery.”
“Sure. I mean, I guess.” He let out a long breath. “My brother usually orders this, but he’s gone. He could have at least left me some instructions. Told me what he usually does. Now I’m here and I’m left to do this. I better not screw it up.”
“Okay…” She wasn’t quite sure who or what she was making the corsage for, but the customer was always right.
“But no, that sounds great. Anything.”
So he wasn’t a really picky customer. Some people were like that about flowers, but she’d never understand that attitude. She reached into the fridge, pulled out a single yellow rose, and started to make the corsage.
It was a bit of a strange request. One corsage. Didn’t sound like it was for a wedding, and he was way past the prom age. She glanced at him, then back at her work. He looked to be about her age, actually. A dark tan that spoke of a life in the sun. Muscular arms stretched out of a faded, worn gray t-shirt. A few strands of gray peeked out at his temples.
He looked over her shoulder. “I really appreciate this. My brother would never let me live it down if I didn’t to get this. That looks really nice.”
She finished up the corsage and boxed it in a clear container. “You’ll need to keep it refrigerated until you give it to her. I hope she likes it.”
“Me, too. I’m sure she will.”
She led him over to the checkout, rang him up, and he paid for the purchase. She glanced at the name on the charge. Jackson Rayburn.
He picked up the box. “Thanks. I was really glad to see you were still open. I almost wrecked everything.”
“Glad I could help.”
He flashed her a smile, then turned and strode across the shop in a few quick steps. He stopped in front of the door and turned back around. “Oh, and nice shop you have here. Super glad you’re here in Moonbeam, so I didn’t have to go driving all over searching for a flower shop. Anyway, thank you. Oh, and I didn’t catch your name.”
“Daisy.”
He grinned. “Great name for a florist.” With that, he slipped out the door.
She shook her head. She’d heard that before. Daisy didn’t know if she became a florist because of her name or if the universe had nudged her mother into naming her Daisy because it knew that all things flowers would be her calling in life. Either way, she was glad to have her flower shop here in Moonbeam. Glad that she’d recently found a new place to live. A place far from Colorado. A state she vowed she’d never return to.
But she’d found Moonbeam, a quaint beach town on the southwest coast of Florida, and she loved it so far. She didn’t have many friends yet. Okay, really had none. But she was slowly getting to know people. The townsfolk were friendly, and business had slowly begun to blossom. She smiled at her thoughts. She even thought in terms of flowers.
She finished the bouquet she’d been arranging in the mason jar and plopped it into the refrigerated display. Then she adjusted the container of yellow roses that didn’t look quite right since she’d snagged one for the corsage. She wasn’t certain what woman was getting a corsage for what reason, but she’d done her job. She went over and flipped the sign on the door to closed, then wandered around straightening and putting some more flowers back into the refrigerated display case. She stood back and surveyed her handiwork. The shop was coming together nicely in the few weeks she’d been open. She loved her work, loved owning Beach Blooms. Loved being away from Colorado…
She turned out the lights and slipped out the door, locking it behind her. It was a short walk to her cottage on the beach, and she enjoyed her leisurely strolls home after her days in the shop. And it was nice to not have to bundle up against Colorado’s bitter cold. She shoved those thoughts away.
Florida. Moonbeam. A new start on life. Things would be much better here. They had to be.
***
Jack ducked into his cottage at Blue Heron Cottages and placed the corsage in the refrigerator as instructed. At least he hadn’t screwed that up. Tomorrow was his mother’s birthday, and he’d just found out his brother, Shane, always ordered her a corsage to wear to church for the Sunday nearest her birthday. Evidently, the churchgoers would all ooh and ahh over it and wish her a happy birthday. Fine. If that was some kind of tradition, he could run with it. At least he could now that he had the corsage. Anyway, he didn’t want to disappoint his mother.
Well, not more than he already had by staying at the cottages instead of with her. He just couldn’t see himself sleeping on her pull-out couch. He’d been looking for a place to live since he moved here to Moonbeam, but it had only been a month or so. First, he’d stayed at The Cabot Hotel, but that was pricey, and he really wanted to be on the beach. He’d found Blue Heron Cottages a few days ago and moved in here. ...
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