“They’re all grown at my son’s farm.” Mrs. Martin beamed with pride.
While Riley wrote a note to go with the flowers, I glanced over a flier on the counter that talked about the fresh produce and flowers produced at Abbey-Mill farm by someone called Robert Martin. That must’ve been the son that Mrs. Martin spoke about.
“Are these for your girlfriend?” the woman continued after a minute with a smile in my direction.
I flushed. “Oh, I’m not—”
“Not all of them,” Riley told her before winking at me. He picked up the lone tulip and handed it to me with a flourish. “Just this one.”
Mrs. Martin’s grin widened. “That is an excellent choice. In the language of flowers, red tulips are a declaration of love.”
“Thank you.” I accepted it without looking at Riley, my cheeks burning even as I reminded myself that it wasn’t real. Surely Riley hadn’t known what that tulip meant when he’d picked it. And even if he had, it didn’t matter.
“Please send the rest to 114 Maple Hollow Lane with this card.” Riley passed her the paper.
I squinted at the card, trying to place the familiar address as we walked out together. The autumn wind whipped up the edge of my scarf, and I tightened my grip on the tulip.
“Why did you do that?” I tried to fight off the smile pulling at my lips so I could give Riley a stern look. “Now she probably thinks that we’re dating.”
“It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s not like it’ll hurt anyone,” he said. “No burn, no bother.”
Was that like no harm, no foul?
“Besides, I wouldn’t mind giving people a different reason to gossip about you.” He gave me a slow smile.
I looked away before he could see the flush creeping up my cheeks. I wasn’t the sister people usually talked about or wanted. It was probably the potion talking, which meant I’d need an extra dose of patience to deal with Rileytoday. Sure, it was his fault he’d eaten that stupid love potion—one I wished I’d never brewed—but he’d done it for me, and I needed to remember that. At least it would wear off in six more days, and the truth potion would only last a few more hours. With any luck, that might make him a little less flirty.
“What do you want to do first?” I bit my lip, then added, “I was thinking it would be good if we visited Graham’s apartment and talked to his roommate at some point.”
“I thought the same thing. The roommate should definitely be on our list.”
“I don’t think Jaxon did anything,” I said. “I just wanted to get more info from him.”
Riley smiled. “Then let’s head there and see what info we can gather.”
I stopped and stared at Riley as the pieces clicked together. That was it—the address from earlier. “You sent flowers to Graham’s parents’ house.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because even though Clara just lost her son, she was willing to speak to me this morning, and I wanted to show my appreciation for her time and my sorrow for her loss.”
“That’s really nice of you.” I looked at the sidewalk, trying to hide my relief that he’d gone to see her without me. Clara was one of those moms who made it worth marrying their son just so you could be part of her family. Even if Graham didn’t always get along with her, she’d loved me. I couldn’t bear the thought of facing her now in case she thought I had anything to do with what happened to Graham. I couldn’t see her until I’d figured out the truth and gotten her the answers she deserved.
I studied Riley from the corner of my eye.
He met my gaze. “What?”
“You just seem awfully on top of things. First at the bookshop, then finding me outside Elaine’s, and now you’ve already met Graham’s mother.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling me.
“Like I said, I have a nose for a good story.” He tapped his nose. “And did you get anything accomplished today while I was out sleuthing?”
“Actually, I did.” I pulled the timeline from my pocket and unfolded it with a quiet rustle.
His gaze skimmed over it, his eyebrows shooting up as he took in the timeline. “This is very thorough,” he said. “I can tell you and Lizzy are related.”
I winced at the casual mention of Lizzy, of how I was never enough to be my own person. Even the love potion wasn’t enough to make Riley forget his feelings for my sister—not that I wanted him to.
