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“Miles, right?” I asked.
The man smiled and nodded. “I hope I’m not intruding.”
“As a matter of fact, you woke me up,” I said. “So, if Chance has anything to do with this, please let him know that if he wants to frustrate me this early in the morning, he should do it himself so I can scream at him instead of you.”
“Mr. Ridder actually sent me to pick you up,” Miles said, still smiling despite my threat. “He would have done it himself if he believed you would have opened the door for him in the first place.”
“Smart man, your boss,” I said. “And what makes you believe I’ll come with you? I think I made it pretty clear to Chance where I stood in regards to…well, whatever.”
Miles nodded again. “He told me you might say that, and wanted to let you know that he is in no way trying to intrude on your life. He merely wants you to join him while he unveils his new business venture on Main Street.”
“That was you?” I almost yelled. “Chance bought the store? Why the hell would he do that? He doesn’t take a hint, does he?”
“I’m afraid not, Miss Carter,” Miles said.
“Well, you can tell him that I wish him all the best, and hopefully will not run into him while he’s here,” I said, closing the door.
Miles stopped me, and quickly pulled what looked like a small picture frame out of his inside suit pocket. It was barely the size of my palm as he handed it to me, and I looked at it in confusion. A dried lily had been expertly placed inside the glass frame. I looked up at Miles and frowned at him, waiting for an explanation.
“On the back,” Miles said with a smile.
I turned the frame over and read the inscription.
One of the lilies that was in my room.
The reason why we met.
Chance
I felt a short surge of emotions, and a small twinge in my chest. Stop playing hard to get. You’ve missed him, just admit it, and now he’s here and wants to see you. Go, goddamit!
I looked from Miles to the frame, then back at Miles again. He stood there waiting, his smile unfaltering, his hands behind his back.
“Give me fifteen minutes,” I finally said.
I had never been in a limousine before, and the drive back into town was amusing yet borderline uncomfortable. I felt like I was being whisked away by some rich guy back to his mansion, where he would show the small-town cottage girl all the wonders that gold could buy. It was pretentious to say the very least, but then again, I couldn’t expect Miles to pick me up in the old Chevy truck, right?
A small crowd had gathered around where Polly’s store once stood, and I felt all eyes turn towards the car as it pulled up on the opposite side of the street where I was to get out. I hesitated, feeling a little awkward, scared of what the people watching and waiting would think once they saw me exit the car.
Miles turned around and smiled at me. “I would open the door for you, but I have a feeling you’re already uncomfortable enough,” he said. “Unless you’d prefer it if I do.”
“That’s alright, Miles, I can open a car door on my own,” I said, smiling awkwardly. I hesitated for the briefest of moments, took a deep breath, then let myself out.
Everyone watched me as I approached the store, some smiling, others frowning in confusion as they tried to figure out what was going on. The cold weather had most of the onlookers crowded beside each other for warmth, but as I walked past them, they seemed to detach from each other just to get a better look.
Chance was waiting for me near the door, and I froze in my tracks when I looked past the store windows into the space inside.
The store had been turned into a retail greenhouse similar to the one behind my house. Flowers of all shapes and sizes decorated the store front, and inside I could make out rows of shelves and benches, all stocked with plants. My eyes slowly rose, and I gasped when I saw the sign hanging above the door.
Ashlyn’s Flowers.
I felt tears well up in my eyes, and my hands began to shake. I clenched them together, trying to force the tremors to stop, but couldn’t. My lower lip quivered, and I quickly bit down on it, fighting back the tears, willing myself to hold it together.
“I always love it when you did that,” Chance said, coming up beside me.
I looked at h
im, his blue eyes boring into mine and mesmerizing, his smile instantly making me melt. If it were possible, he looked even better than when he had last been here, and his face seemed to shine. His eyes had a mischievous little glint in them, and I could see he was proud of what he had accomplished, happy that I was reacting to his surprise this way.
