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By 9:45 I’m about to call the meeting off when she comes bursting into the room like a hurricane. “I made it!” she exclaims and I make a sound at the back of my throat.
She removes a large sling bag brimming with flowers on her shoulder and drops it on the table. “Good morning.” She offers the couple a warm smile.
“Miss Ortiz, did it occur to you how highly unprofessional it is for your clients to arrive before you, and you come rushing in and exclaiming with no regard for the people present.”
Her smile falls as her eyes spark, but Harry stops her reply. “It’s okay.” He returns her smile and gestures at her bag. “So, what do you have for us?”
She perks up immediately under Harry’s attention and I make a noise at the back of my throat again. Moving to the front of the room with her load, she smiles at the couple. “So, the flower arrangements. I believe the proper flower not only provides the perfect ambience but also gives meaning to the event.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out a bouquet of white flowers. “Chrysanthemums, significant for innocence and loyalty. Their broad leaves also make them the perfect background flower to layer other colorful flowers on top. And it goes with your color scheme.”
Cecilia narrows her eyes. “Yes, but the second color is still undecided.”
Bella’s smile remains undaunted. “And the first thing I thought was let’s splash as many colors of that white as possible. But then I thought,” she puts her hand to her chin and then snaps her fingers.
“More is less which brings me to my other flowers.” She pulls out two more bouquets, one colored lavender and the other colored red. “Introducing African Violets and Poppies!” she exclaims a little too cheerfully.
“Poppies?” Harry and I say together.
“Do you know what Poppies stand for Miss Ortiz?” I ask her.
“I did my research, sir.” I don’t miss the venom in her voice.
“Poppies are an enduring symbol of the remembrance of the First World War and I am aware that you come from a long line of war veterans, Mr. Levine, all the way to the First World War.”
Harry points at himself, bewildered. “Oh, that’s true.”
“Let’s give some respect to our heroes, shall we?” Harry nods enthusiastically.
“The next bouquet here is called African Violet. This beauty signifies a long-lasting relationship which I bless your marriage with.” She smiles at the couple again. Then she proceeds to take some African Violets and Poppies and mix them into the Chrysanthemums. She smiles at her handy work and delivers it to Cecilia. Cecilia takes it and stares at the bouquet mesmerized. She actually likes it. Bella returns to her bag and pulls out another bouquet.
“These are called Lily of the valley, another unvoiced blessing on your marriage. I think this would go perfect with your dress and did you know this is what princess Kate carried on her royal wedding day?” There are sparkles in Cecilia’s eyes. She actually managed to win her over and Harry looks more than pleased at his bride’s happiness.
“So, what do you say? Is that a yes on the flower arrangements?” Cecilia nods eagerly and I make another sound at the back of my throat.
After getting the approval from his bride, Harry hoots, “Perfect! Now we can move on.”
They both get up and Harry clasps my hand and whispers to me, “How the hell did you find a wedding planner on such short notice and a competent one at that?”
I only offer a smile. Even I didn’t know she was competent. I look at her; she is smiling broadly and talking animatedly with Cecilia. Her smile makes me smile. She is cute.
“Interested, aren’t ya,” Harry says beside me. “She’s beautiful, competent, and smart sounds like your type of woman.”
“She is my sister’s best friend and she is way younger than me,” I tell him. But I feel the words are more for me than him.
“You and your boundaries,” he teases me. “You’re so strict. I’m sure you’ve drained fun out of you completely. You probably only see in black and white.”
Rolling my eyes, I ignore him. True, Bella surprisingly ticked all my boxes but I could never. A few years ago she was a simple teenager, and now a full grown adult like me. I couldn’t possibly…could I? Of course not!
She glances at me from her conversation with Cecilia and I flash back to the night, the way she looked at me when she…
I quickly grab a bottle of water to distract myself and pull my gaze away from her. What the hell was that?
“What’s wrong? You good?” Harry asks, looking at me with concern.
“I’m fine,” I grumble. But now he is staring at me like I suddenly grew two heads.
He looks at Bella then back at me. “You seem more than fine,” he looks down at my trousers and I follow his gaze. Shit!
“Seems like your body already crossed that boundary for you.” The tone of his voice is a little too happy for my liking.
