Sprinkled with Love

“I put the box in the office on the desk.”

Jillian moved to the office. She hung up her coat and turned to the desk to find a white oblong box with a big red bow. That box definitely didn’t contain wristbands. Her guess was that it contained flowers. From Avery?

Her heart picked up its pace. Was it possible she’d totally misjudged him? Did agreeing to teach him to bake create that big of a response in him?

She rushed over to the desk and slid the bow from the box. Inside were a dozen long-stem red roses. They were absolutely gorgeous. She’d only received roses from one other guy and that had been Glenn after their first date. He’d done everything he could to turn her head and it had worked, until she refused to let him control her life.

There was a little white envelope enclosed. She withdrew it and slid out the note.

I know that we’re meant to be.

Give me another chance.

Glenn

Jillian’s heart sunk. She slid the card back in the envelope. Did he really think that after the way he’d publicly dumped her that this would make up for things?

When she returned to the showroom, Suzanna glanced her way. “So which man are they from?”

“Glenn. Can you believe that? He breaks up with me one minute and the next he wants me back.”

“That’s because he came to his senses and realized what an amazing woman he gave up.” When Jillian didn’t respond, Suzanna asked, “Do you think there’s more to this?”

Jillian shook her head. “I think I didn’t get enough sleep last night and my imagination is running wild. Enough of that. It’s time to get to work. The first thing I’m going to do is find out where those wristbands are.”

*

Don’t make a big deal of this.

That evening, Jillian stopped running the vacuum over the floor—for the second time. After all, it was only Avery coming over. It wasn’t like they hadn’t known each other forever.

But this was different. She was no longer his employee and there were no longer energetic kids pulling them in opposite directions.

And that made this feel more—ugh, what was the word she was searching for? Intimate? No. Special? Maybe. But there was another description just beyond her reach for how she felt about this evening.

Jillian returned the vacuum to the closet. She glanced around the living room. Everything was in its proper place, thanks to Romeo not being there. She’d quickly learned that he enjoyed rearranging her decorations, especially anything round or lightweight. But this evening, her mother’s favorite show was on television so Romeo would be busy helping her mother knit. Jillian smiled at the thought. Her mother spent more time untangling Romeo from the yarn than she did knitting, but they both seemed to enjoy it.

Jillian glanced down at her outfit, wondering if it would do. She’d switched her clothes three times now. When she’d arrived home after closing up Tangled Charms at a few minutes after six, she’d immediately changed into her usual jeans and a sweatshirt. However, that just didn’t feel right. So then she’d put on some fresh work clothes consisting of black slacks and a white blouse, but that felt too dressy—like she was trying too hard to impress him.

After another search of her closet, she’d settled on a fuzzy purple sweater and dark jeans. It wasn’t dressy but it wasn’t too casual. It was something that she’d wear to a friend’s house or FlintWorks for a night out.

Before she could change her mind again, there was a knock at the door. Avery was early. She’d forgotten that about him.

She rushed to the door; all the while her stomach shivered with nerves. Stop freaking out! Everything will be fine. Jillian paused and took a deep breath.

She swung the door wide open. “Hi, Avery. Come on in. Don’t mind the mess.”

He glanced around. “What mess?”

Erm, she was nervous and had uttered the first thing that came to mind. “Oh, um, I guess I got it all picked up.”

“This is the first time I’ve been in your new place.” He glanced at the galley kitchen and then the living room. “It’s smaller than your house, but it has a lot of character.”

“Thanks. My mother was between tenants at just the right time. We, or rather I, remodeled the place and made it my own. One of the perks of being related to the owner.”

“If I’d have known you were this good, I would have asked you for some remodeling tips for the house.”

This casual conversation was helping her to relax. “You definitely didn’t need my help. You did a fantastic job. What did Beth and Jordan have to say about all of your hard work?”