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Chapter 20
“Are you nervous?” Poppy asked me for the fourth time.
We stood in front of the newly installed coolers at the Watering Can. I opened one of the doors and grabbed a bucket of fresh tulips, then added in a few hydrangeas, three buttercups, and some myrtle for greenery.
I’d ordered a few dozen of each flower from a local wholesaler to assess the quality, and I was impressed. This company was definitely going on our list. I planned to order as much local product as I could.
I brought the flowers to the tall table we’d stationed in the middle of the room and grabbed two vases. “Of course I’m nervous. I’m meeting Marco’s parents for the first time. What do you think? Lavender or salmon? The flowers are all in peach and yellow tones, so salmon is the logical choice, but lavender poses a nice contrast.”
Poppy bit her lip, then gestured at the salmon. “I’m a fan of monochromatic things. I think it’ll be a smash.”
I hoped so.
It’d been a few weeks since Marco had told his parents about me. His mom had been released from the hospital a week and a half ago. She’d ended up being under observation for three days, and the situation had been a little more critical than they’d first thought. I hadn’t felt right about meeting his mom and dad during such a trying time.
She was doing much better now.
In fact, her last PET scan had shown that the tumors were shrinking again, like they had the first time around. Everyone was cautiously optimistic.
“Yoo-hoo!” Yasmine called as she came through the back door. “Where are you?”
“We’re in here,” I called from the refrigeration room.
“Man, it looks fabulous in here,” Yasmine said. “It’s been a while since I stopped by.” She walked to the front of the shop. “Nice. It’s all coming together. I love all these pots and vases. Can’t wait until they’re up for sale. I’m buying a ton.” She made her way into the room we were in. “Hey, Poppy.” She gave us each a quick hug.
“Hey, yourself,” Poppy said. “Looking glamorous, as usual. It’s not fair that you’re always putting us to shame. I actually thought I killed it today. But compared to you, I look like Drizella playing dress-up as the real princess goes to the ball.”
Yasmine flipped her hair over her shoulder and giggled. “Thanks. I tried. And what are you talking about? You look great. Those capris are totally on point. I need a pair.” She came up to the table. “What’s going on here?”
“These are for Aleah.” I nodded at the blooms I was arranging in the vase. “I hope she likes them.”
“She’s going to absolutely gobble them up.” Yasmine took a seat on one of the stools. “I have it on good authority she loves flowers. She’s so excited that you and Marco are running the shop together. I was finally able to speak with her a few days ago, and she was super upbeat. Literally brimming with joy. It was so good to hear. That woman deserves to live a nice long life. She’s the absolute best.”
“Her tumors are shrinking,” I said. “Everyone’s very excited.”
“She told me,” Yasmine replied. “But that’s not the first thing she wanted to talk about. Before anything else, she made me tell her all about Matt. When I was done, she said my joy was contagious. It was odd, yet wonderful to hear. This was someone who I thought for a long time was going to be my mother-in-law. I’m so glad she’s accepted everything and still wants to talk to me. It means so much. It’s really put my heart at ease.” She put a hand over her heart. “In fact, my parents have taken notice of how the Cruzes have received the news of our breakup and have readjusted accordingly. It’s been so much better all around. I’m ecstatic.”
“That’s great,” I told her. “I’m so glad Marco ended up telling his parents you guys broke up before your mother got a hold of Aleah. That would’ve been awkward. She would’ve been the one to tell them about the engagement ending.”
“For sure,” Yasmine agreed. “But the thought that Marco hadn’t told his parents wasn’t in any of our brains.” She tapped the side of her head with a beautifully done deep-purple nail. “I would’ve thought a lot of things, but not that. Not only did he tell you a false story, I got the same one, too. I never questioned it.”
“But after we heard everything about his mother’s cancer,” Poppy said, “it made total sense. I mean, he couldn’t crush her with that kind of news when she was in the middle of getting that other kind of awful news.”
“Yes,” Yasmine said. “I’m glad he waited. It would’ve been a lot for them to take in. But not telling us.” She moved her hand between her and me. “That was out of character. But I understand why he did it.” She grinned at me, bouncing in her seat. “Do you want to know why? Do you?”
I laughed. “I’m not sure if I do. But tell me anyway, because I know it’s about to come tumbling out. It looks like you’re about to pop.”
“It’s because he’s in L-O-V-E.” She took her time spelling out the word with lots of gushy exaggeration.
“You know not of what you speak,” I told her.
“She knows exactly of what she speaks,” Poppy chirped, nodding along. “And he totally is. I mean, the man flew down to Montecito at the last minute to get you out of jail before you were even dating. You guys drove back together and basically settled the whole deal. He’s been head over heels since the very beginning.”
“He has not,” I protested. “We haven’t said that word to each other. We’ve literally only been dating for a little over two months. It’s way too early.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been in love with him for eight years,” Yasmine pointed out. “Don’t lie to us, because we know.”
“Yeah, we’re the great and powerful Oz.” Poppy wiggled her fingers like she was casting a spell. “Nothing gets past us. The man was insanely desperate to make sure nothing rocked the boat. The boat of love, that is. Or maybe we should call it the Love Boat?”
