“That’s the wonderful thing about flowers,” she told Candy kindly. “All of them are pretty.”
They shared a smile, but Candy gave a wistful sigh.
Seeing the need to rein things in, Gabby said, “Those are ranunculus. They were in the first design we agreed upon and you decided to eliminate them by the third round.”
“Did I?” Candy gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. “Gabby, the way you say it makes it seem like I’ve changed my mind over and over again.”
Gabby blinked at her. Willed herself to be quiet. Told herself the client was always right. That the wedding was now less than two weeks away, and then Candy would be on her merry way, off to her honeymoon, giving all the Conway girls a chance to breathe for a little while.
“I was just tweaking things,” Candy explained, giving her a dismissive wave before flicking to the next page. “Oh!”
Gabby pinched the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from bursting out laughing when she saw the photo that had caught Candy’s eye. “You like that one?”
“Like it?” Candy set a hand to her heart. “I love it, Gabby. Oh, I don’t mean to be difficult, but this photo of this arrangement… It’s perfect. Truly perfect. No more tweaks needed.”
“Good, because that’s your arrangement,” Gabby said, giving her a sly grin. She’d slipped that in there after the last sample she’d created for Candy, simply because she’d been so happy with how it looked, but now it seemed that her effort had paid off.
“It is? It looks different here than in the photo I have.” Candy began rummaging through her oversized pink binder for the last contract she and Gabby had settled on. There were several pages from the shop, Gabby noticed. Candy’s cheeks turned pink as she leafed past them, not admitting that there were numerous changes, and not all of them were tweaks.
But here, at last, they had indeed settled on the perfect arrangement, and hopefully Candy’s mind would be put at ease once and for all.
“I took these in a different light, that’s all,” Gabby said. “The colors may look a bit lighter in my photo, but that is also how they will look in the chapel and at your reception.” On gloomy days like today, her shop was cozier and dimmer than most wedding days turned out to be, and thankfully so.
Candy pulled the final contract from her binder and compared the two photos, giving Gabby a dramatic pout once she’d confirmed that they were, in fact, the same. Gabby straightened her workspace while she waited for Candy to get to the real reason for stopping by today.
“Will you be at the Cherry Festival this weekend?”
“I’m going to try!” It was the one free weekend in Gabby’s foreseeable future, and as much as she enjoyed the Conway Orchard and Winery event each year, she didn’t want to commit too soon. Besides, she could tell by the gleam in Candy’s eye that she was getting at something.
“I love that orchard. It’s the perfect location for my rehearsal dinner, don’t you agree?”
Gabby nodded, assuming the question was rhetorical.
Finally, after shoving everything back into her bag, Candy opened her eyes with strained innocence. “Have you given any more thought to a plus one for my wedding?” she asked, and Gabby wondered if this was the point of her visit. Would redesigning her bouquet for the umpteenth time be an easier task? Possibly.
“Nothing is going on between Jackson and me,” Gabby said firmly. “Never was. Never will be. He’s handsome, but he’s entirely too much trouble.”
“And here I thought you liked that roguish charm,” Candy said mischievously. Their shared love of romance novels was common knowledge.
Gabby shook her head. “At this point in my life, I’m not looking to change anyone. Years ago, sure, that would be exciting, but Jackson is a flirt, and…I’m looking for forever.”
“Nothing wrong with a woman who knows her mind!” Candy nodded her approval.
Gabby moved some cuttings into the trash can and wiped down her workstation. “Try telling that to my sisters. They seem to think that I’m getting in my own way of finding true love.”
“They think you’re holding out,” Candy nodded, as if this too, were common knowledge.
Gabby realized with a start that it probably was, at least amongst her own family.
“They think I’m too picky,” Gabby said.
“And what is it exactly that you’re looking for?” Candy asked frankly.
Gabby hesitated, her long list of attributes on the tip of her tongue until she realized that the eager gleam in Candy’s eyes meant she was about to start committing that very list to memory, so that she could turn around and start calling every person she even vaguely knew until she could present Gabby with that perfect man, probably on a silver platter.
“Let’s just say that if he walked through the door right now, I’d know it,” Gabby said blandly.
As if on cue, the bells jangled, and there, in the doorway, his hair slick with rain, stood Doug Monroe.
Candy gaped at him, and Gabby felt her eyes hood. Of all the timing…
Still, she smiled brightly, making sure to keep her tone strictly professional. “Doug, nice to see you. Candy, this is Doug Monroe. We went to high school together. Doug, Candy is marrying my Uncle Dennis.”
Doug shook her hand, and it wasn’t lost on Gabby that as Candy set her free hand to her heart, she all but swooned.
Gabby’s eyes rolled to the ceiling, but not before catching the suggestive glance that Candy slid her. A not so subtle one at that.
“My, I don’t recall seeing you around town,” Candy said, shifting her full attention back to Doug.
“I just moved back.”
“I see.” Candy blinked repeatedly. “Is your wife from these parts too?”
Oh, for heaven’s sake! Gabby shook her head, refusing to take part in this spectacle.
“I’m not married,” Doug said good-naturedly.
Now, Candy’s eyes went wide, and she locked them on
