“Oh. Well.” He shifted from foot to foot, still fighting that same rising fear of rejection. “I thought I might take a shower first.”
“Then take a quick one and put on something halfway decent. While you do that, I’m going to make you a bouquet from those pink peonies out back. They’re blooming real good right now. Then get your butt over to the shop. That sweet girl has waited for you long enough.”
SECOND CHANCE FLOWER Shop closed at four thirty on Fridays, and Ria was ready to go home long before the clock told her it was closing time. When Madeline texted and said she should just close up shop ten minutes early, it was like her friend had read her mind. And the text gave her enough incentive to do what she almost never did. Leave early.
She was tired. Worried. Simmering with anxiety and hope and too many other feelings to sort out. And she felt like she was always waiting for a call from Jacob that wouldn’t come.
She wanted to go home and hibernate for the evening with ice cream and Netflix.
After closing everything up and turning off the lights, she went out through the front door, looking behind her to make sure the door was locked.
When she straightened up and took a step forward on the sidewalk, she pulled to a sudden stop.
Because right in front of her, standing a few feet away on the sidewalk, was Jacob. He wore tan trousers (slightly wrinkled) and a blue shirt that actually had a collar. His hair was combed and still slightly damp from a shower. He was holding a bouquet of peonies, the stems neatly wrapped with twine.
There was a sheepish smile on his face, and the slanting look he gave her was hopeful but also nervous.
He was nervous.
She stared at him with her mouth open, unable to move or get a word out.
“Hi,” he said, looking down and then up again.
She tried to say hi back, but no sound came out.
“I’m back.” He licked his lips and took a step closer to her. “My heart hasn’t changed. It’s never going to change. I still love you more than... anything. I want a life with you. Here. If that’s what you want too.”
Ria had always assumed she was a fairly sensible person who would react appropriately, even in extreme circumstances. She was wrong. Dead wrong.
She burst into tears.
“Oh God,” Jacob mumbled, closing the distance between them and pulling her against his chest. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to pressure you. If you don’t want me, or if you’re still not sure, then I’ll... I promise I’ll...”
“No!” she wailed, way too loud. But she couldn’t stand the broken anxiety in his voice. “I want you too! I love you too!”
Way, way, way, way too loud.
Jacob was momentarily stunned. He didn’t move a muscle as he processed what she was saying. Then he finally let out a long, helpless groan and pulled her back into a hard hug. “Are you serious, sweetheart? You mean it?”
“Yes, I mean it. I love you so much. I never stopped.”
“And you think you can trust me?” He was mumbling the words against her ear. “Because I’ll understand if you want to take it slow. We don’t have to be... We can take it as slow as you want.”
“I don’t need to take it slow. I know what I want. And I know now that you want it too. I love you. I trust you.” She pulled away from his now damp shirt so she could smile wetly up into his face. “I want everything with you.”
His face contorted with emotion he couldn’t control. He was shaking as he kissed her, so it wasn’t the most coordinated of embraces. But it didn’t matter.
It was perfect.
When they pulled away, he offered her the bouquet of peonies, muttering dryly that Martha had picked them for him. As she accepted the flowers, she was suddenly conscious of a cheering from around them.
She looked around blankly.
The first thing she saw was Madeline and Skye across the street, grinning and clapping their hands. Belinda had come out of the office where she worked down the block, and she was shaking her head as if she were silently saying it was about time. Fitz was hanging out not far away, giving her a dorky thumbs-up. The laundromat ladies had filed out to watch the proceedings. And everyone in Anna’s had emptied out onto the sidewalk, not wanting to miss the show.
That was where the applause was coming from.
Ria looked back at Jacob, bewildered and unable to stop smiling.
“This wasn’t my fault,” he said. “I promise. I never would have put this kind of pressure on you. But Martha knew, and I guess she...” He shrugged. “Are you mad?”
Ria broke into helpless giggles and hugged him again, taking care not to crush her flowers. “No, I’m not mad. I’m too happy to be mad.” She extricated one hand and waved at the various people gathered to witness her big moment. “But can we maybe now go somewhere private?”
Jacob laughed and kissed her again. “I’ll go anywhere in the world you want, sweetheart, just as long as I’m with you.”
A MONTH LATER, JACOB let out a groan as he sank down onto his new couch, the only piece of furniture (aside from a television now mounted on the wall) that he’d bought new when he moved into his apartment. The rest of the small place was furnished with what he’d kept from his grandfather. Bed. Bureau. Table with two chairs. And a hand-carved rocking chair near the window that Ria adored.
Jacob liked his new place, although he was still trying to work on the kitchen in his spare time. Most of his time and effort was being spent on the commercial property, fixing up the currently occupied storefronts and the ones he was trying to lease. He already had two new renters—one that
