“I’m in no rush at all,” Nat assured her. “Take care of whatever you need to do. If you want me to, I can also ring up your customers, as long as their order isn’t too complicated.”
Nat had pinch-hit for her before at Evergreen & Ivy when she was in town, between her stints as a travel writer and digital nomad. She knew the drill for working the cash register and the credit card system.
“Thank you,” Holly said. She was deeply grateful for all of her friends, especially the three she considered her ride-or-die team: Natalie, Amanda and, of course, Hannah.
She was in the back organizing the deliveries by address when Ryan opened the back door.
“Okay. What am I taking and where is it going?”
The deliveries were nestled together in two large cardboard boxes with dividers between them to protect the delicate arrangements from damage.
She gestured to the boxes and handed him a paper full of addresses. “These numbers I’ve written next to each arrangement correspond with the delivery address on this paper. I can also text it to you if that is better.”
“That would probably be best. That way I can punch it right into my navigation app.” He looked at the flowers. “Wow. These are all lovely. You really know what you’re doing.”
She smiled, gratified at the praise. She had loved working with flowers since she had taken a job during the summers here at the store, owned at the time by her father’s sister.
After college, Holly still worked the occasional part-time shift for some extra spending money, arranging her schedule around her full-time job as an office manager for a medical clinic in town.
Around the time of her divorce, Aunt Mary had decided she wanted to retire and asked Holly if she might be interested in purchasing the store.
To this day, she wasn’t sure if Mary really had wanted to retire or if she was only offering Holly a way to support herself and her daughter after Troy left.
Regardless, she would always be grateful for the opportunity and for Mary’s willingness to carry the loan so she could afford it.
“Thank you,” she answered Ryan. “Most of the time I feel like I’m winging it but I’ve worked here since I was a teenager so I’ve been able to pick up a few skills here and there.”
She picked up one of the boxes and carried it outside the delivery door while he picked up the other one.
He had opened the back door of his pickup truck and she slid the box inside on the floor.
“Those boxes should be stable, as long as you don’t take any wild corners.”
“I’ll drive like an eighty-year-old on the way to church.”
“Maybe you’d better not do that,” she said with a smile. “I know a few eighty-year-olds in town who drive hell-for-leather. You don’t want to be on the road when any of them are heading to church.”
“Thanks for the warning.” He smiled and for one charged moment, he gazed down at her. Once more, she remembered being in his arms and felt breathless and tongue-tied and silly.
She turned away, closing his truck door to protect the flowers from the cold. “Thank you so much for doing this. Once more you’ve come to my rescue. This is becoming a habit.”
“I’m glad to do it,” he answered, swinging into the driver’s seat. “I’ll stop back in when I’m done with the deliveries to bring back the boxes and give you my report.”
She should probably tell him he didn’t need to return the boxes, he could simply find a recycling bin somewhere, but he closed the door and put his truck in gear before she had the chance.
She definitely needed to work harder to resist the man, she thought as she returned to the store. At this rate, she was going to end up with a broken heart, something that certainly hadn’t been on her wish-list for Christmas.
Chapter Thirteen
BY THE TIME HE MADE THE FOURTH DELIVERY, RYAN FELT LIKE Arock star.
With the exception of the subdued employees at the funeral home where he had dropped off a striking arrangement of white lilies and roses, as well as eucalyptus, ferns and succulents in muted colors, everyone seemed delighted to see him. It was kind of nice to be in the business of delivering something that made people happy.
All of the recipients had also wanted to know who he was, how he knew Holly and why he was helping deliver for Evergreen & Ivy.
She was clearly well-known and well-liked around town.
He checked the final address and saw it was for a resident at the Shelter Inn, a retirement community he had seen when driving through town. The arrangement was cheerful and bright and also particularly fragrant.
