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Charlie came running through the hallway behind the counter, coming to a halt when he saw Chris.
“Hey, Chris. Didn’t hear you come in. Fair warning, she’s in a bit of a mood—”
“I am going to kill you, Charlie!” Kenzie yelled, coming up behind him with a vase in her hand.
“Good to see you, Chris.” Charlie sped up to the door and turned to Kenzie with a grin. “See you later, Kenz.”
He ducked out of the door before she could throw the other vase, which she set down on the counter with a deep exhale.
Kenzie pushed some blond tendrils that had escaped her bandana out of her red face. “That man drives me crazy.”
“I can see that,” Chris deadpanned.
“Sorry about the drama. What can I get you?”
Chris pointed to an assorted arrangement of bright Gerbera daisies in a mix of orange, yellow, and pink in the case behind her. “I want those.”
Kenzie smiled. “Excellent. Do you want a card?”
“No, I’ll be delivering these personally.”
Kenzie pulled the arrangement out of the case and set them in front of him with a wink. When she handed him the price tag, he knew why. Yowza. He was in the wrong business.
“You want to make a comment about my flower prices too?” she teased.
“No, ma’am,” he said, handing her his credit card.
As he was walking out, his phone rang. It was his mother, whom he adored, but balancing the vase and his phone proved tricky. He couldn’t answer for at least four rings, barely managing to hit talk before it went to voicemail.
“Hey Mom, can I call you back?”
“I just wanted to let you know that we booked your ticket for Leah and Tim’s vow renewal in three weeks.”
Chris wrapped a sweatshirt he had in his car around the flowers to keep them from moving, then realized who his mom was talking about. “Kelly’s parents?”
“Yes. Now, they’re doing it in Hawaii, and I’ve already talked to your receptionist about clearing your schedule, so you’re all set.”
Except that things were incredibly confusing and tense right now, but his mother didn’t need to know that. “I need to talk to Kelly first, before I confirm—”
“Kelly’s fine with it, I already spoke to Leah this morning. It’s all taken care of and non-refundable, so I don’t want to hear anything about you being too busy. Like you always say when I ask you to come to dinner.”
Forty-five seconds in before the guilt trip. Must be a new record. “Mom, please don’t start. You know I’ve been trying to get new clients, and things are crazy right now.”
“Fine, I will let it go for now. But, we will see you in Hawaii if not before. And tell Kelly she is welcome to come with you to dinner anytime. We miss her!”
Chris climbed into the driver seat and started the car. “Thanks, I will. And thanks for letting me know.”
“All right, bye. Come to dinner soon, or I’ll make your father call.”
That was all he needed. An awkward conversation with his dad about why he was disappointing his mother.
“Okay, I will, Mom. Love you. Bye.”
Chris headed for Something Borrowed’s office, holding onto the flowers with one hand and the steering wheel with the other. He parked right next to Kelly’s car and jumped out of his truck, whistling the whole way up to the front door.
He smiled at the receptionist as he came through, and stopped in front of Maggie St. Clair’s desk. “Hey, is Kelly in?”
Maggie’s frizzy brown air swung around her head, her brown eyes wide. “She is, but Mr. Ryan, she’s in crisis mode.”
