“Good to know, in case we ever find ourselves on the same side in a street fight.”
“Or in the produce section at the Hellcat Canyon grocery store on coupon day. Same difference,” she added.
“The two of us in our rubber-soled shoes would be nimble as hell. We could totally take those gals from Heavenly Shores Mobile Estates.”
She laughed, delighted. Damn it all, anyway. Like sunlight, true charm always found its way in through any little fissures and chinks and structural weaknesses.
And on the heels of the laughter, she didn’t like the reminder that she had any weaknesses. She needed to be a fortress of competence for Annelise’s sake.
“You know, I thought you subdued Jan pretty well with your own weapons,” she said thoughtfully.
After a little silence during which they stared at each other.
“Myweapons?”
“Yeah, you know... this bit.”
She flung her arms high in an imitation of his long, leisurely, chest-expanding, woman-mesmerizing stretch.
And then crossed them behind her head.
She held his amazed gaze the entire time.
She hiked a brow. A silent way of saying,I’m onto you, Gabe Caldera.
Then she pivoted, turning her back on his expression of wonderment and dazzled appreciation, and took off at a brisk walk down the hall, with one final wicked flash of blue eyes over her shoulder and a casual flick of her hair.
“Hey, Avalon...”
“Mmm?” Avalon was perched on one of the lushly upholstered little wheeled chairs pushed up against the round antique oak table where Eden held little conferences with demanding brides-to-be. She’d decided she could hang out for a few more minutes. But then Eden’s flower shop was such a pleasant little cocoon that guests always seemed to want to linger: the high walls were painted a soft shade of dusty rose; the window sheers floated like pretty ecru ghosts when a breeze wafted in; it always smelled wonderful. Annelise was upstairs in their apartment, supposedly getting her homework underway.
Eden was leaning over the counter of her shop scrolling through phone orders. Behind her and along the wall, tall thriving plants—as well as vivid, enticing blooms in buckets and vases inside the windowed fridge—waited for new homes, eager to soothe or lighten someone’s heart. She was having a pretty great week, sales wise. She could give her assistant, Danny, more hours, if he wanted, and Danny, who was nineteen and hands down the most enthusiastic person she’d ever met, basically Tigger in Chuck Taylors, would totally want them.
“Okay, I don’t want you to make a big deal of this...” she began.
Avalon levered her head up alertly. “Did that mole on your butt finally go funny?”
Siblings knew way too much about each other.
“No. I think... I think Principal Caldera might, um... like me.”
Wow.
She felt exactly the way she had when she’d been caught passing a note to Timmy Cohen in her first-grade class that included two check boxes.Do you like me? Yes or No.
Avalon went still. “Likeyou, like you?”
“Yeah.”
Avalon’s face slowly illuminated with a sort of mischievous glee.
So help her, if Avalon teased her right now, Eden would roll her right out the door on that chair and out into Main Street traffic.
“Okay, let’s hear the supporting evidence,” Avalon said carefully. Wisely.
A strummed A minor came through the vents. Leesy was upstairs playing her guitar and probably admiring herself in the mirror while she did it. She’d do just about anything to postpone the math homework.
Eden would be up in a second to put a stop to that.
