Levi narrows his eyes, suspicious, like he’s a detective and I’m the world’s least convincing liar. “Management of…?”
“Operations,” I say flatly, sipping coffee.
“Operations,” he repeats slowly. “That’s the vaguest job title I’ve ever heard. Congrats…you just out-mystified every guy on Grindr who lists ‘creative director’ as a profession.”
“Thank you,” I reply, dry. The urge to smile is…annoying. I look past him to the window, back toward city hall down the block. “Specifically old contracts,” I add, too soft. “Complicated ones.”
The shift comes first in my shadows. Pulling sharp, restless, drawn toward the corner of the café where she’s chosen to make her presence known. Levi rubs his forearm as if catching a draft.
A spirit flickers two tables down, half formed in the daylight, drumming her fingers like she’s been waiting on me. Impatient. Young. And if she truly knew her destination, she wouldn’t be in such a hurry.
“Hayden?” Levi’s voice pulls me back, gentle as if he senses something he cannot see. His brow furrows as he follows my gaze.
“Hmm?”
“I asked if you ever get tired of funerals,” he says. “Doesn’t it ever get…heavy?”
I take another sip of coffee, navigating around the question. “What about you? Doyouget tired of flowers?”
Levi blinks, surprised by my pivot, but then grins. “Not a chance. Flowers are the best part of my day. They’re colorful and messy and unapologetically themselves. I mean, sure, sometimes they wilt, and sometimes you run into a pest problem, but they’re never boring.”
“Messy,” I repeat. “And you…enjoy that?”
“Of course,” Levi says, leaning back into his chair. “Life’s messy. Might as well embrace it.”
I glance toward the spirit again, who’s now rolling her eyes dramatically. Spirits are like houseflies. Persistent, annoying, terrible at boundaries, much like certain florists. And as quickly as we lock eyes, she’s gone. Levi follows my gaze again, frowning.
“You okay?” he asks, taking me by surprise.
“Fine,” I lie. “Tell me more about your shop. Why ‘Full Bloom’?”
Levi lights up instantly. “Cheesy, I know,” he says. “But I love the idea of flowers at their peak. Bright, open, entirely alive. People deserve a full-bloom moment, too. And I kind of made it my mission to help them get there.”
His voice softens slightly at the end, and for a moment, I remember why I hesitated to join him. His optimism feels foreign, so…opposite of everything I’ve built my life around. He speaks so easily of hope and growth, things I buried long ago, and yet I find myself leaning closer, a moth drawn recklessly toward a flame.
“What about you?” Levi asks again, catching me mid-thought. “What’s your full-bloom moment? Don’t say anything to do withmanagementoroperations, for the love of God.”
“I don’t think I have one,” I say softly, realizing now how empty that sounds. How much I wish it were otherwise.
He rests his chin on his hands. “Then maybe it hasn’t happened yet. Doesn’t mean it won’t. Sometimes the best blooms show up late.”
I resist the urge to look away. I am older than…just about everything. No one should talk tomelike hope is still an option.
“Maybe,” I repeat quietly, feeling something in my chest stir. Something fragile and tentative.
Levi smiles, and it feels like sunlight breaking through the clouds. “I’m holding you to that.” He checks his watch, and a flashof disappointment crosses his face. “Shit. I should go. City hall hates when I miss paperwork deadlines, and I’ve already got invoices, deliveries, and a greenhouse full of temperamental orchids waiting for me. Five minutes late, and suddenly I’m the guy begging a clerk to waive my fee with a smile.”
I nod, remembering he’d left with me without turning in his paperwork.
“Thanks for the coffee,” I say, voice more uncertain than intended.
“Thanks for saying yes,” Levi counters, tugging on his coat. “I’ll consider us even. No more lily break-ins. Unless you secretly liked it.” He winks like he knows exactly the effect it has.
I glance up, arching a brow. “That remains to be seen.” If he knew me, he wouldn’t leave flowers. He’d leave town.
Levi grins, wide and apologetic. “I’ll be seeing you, Hayden Harlow,” he teases, like it’s both a promise and a dare, before disappearing out the door. Then the café grows quiet, as if Levi took a piece of its warmth with him.
This was supposed to be a disaster. But instead, Levi has left me disarmed. And worse, curious enough to let it happen again.
