Sabrina

 

Please don’t worry one bit. I’m happy to help in any way I can.

How did I get so lucky to meet such a wonderful person? I was beginning to believe Addi really was my guardian angel.

After stressing and worrying for a few days, I finally got up the nerve and asked her if she’d go to Todd’s to collect my things for me.

Addi didn’t respond right away, which made me concerned I may have stepped over the line. I was so relieved when I finally heard back from her and she said yes!

I told her not to worry about it, but she still insisted she was happy to help. I sent a message to Todd, asking him to gather my things and that my friend would be in touch with him to set a pickup time. I also asked him how he wanted to handle the wedding gift situation. I definitely wasn’t going to ask Addi to assist with that monumental project. She was already doing enough for me.

Much to my surprise Todd was already on top of the gift situation. Apparently, after our official breakup, he decided to start the returning process. I imagined him sitting at home, staring at the piles of gifts all perfectly wrapped in white and silver paper. That had to be totally overwhelming.

I wondered what he thought as he sorted through the stacks of wedding cards, full of well wishes and cash?

I closed my eyes and pulled my knees to my chest as I lay on Addi’s guest bed. I was supposed to be helping Todd do that.

Maybe I really was as selfish as my mother had said I was?

Ah, my mother. She was giving me one of her famous silent treatments. And I have to admit, I was enjoying the peace and quiet.

After several attempts, I was finally able to get my father on the phone. He was so much easier to deal with than my mother. I had always been more of a daddy’s girl, so I was extremely relieved to finally get to talk to him. He was kinder than my mother and much less concerned with what other people thought. Of course.

Our conversation began with him expressing his disappointment in me for my disappearing act.

“I know, Daddy, and I’m sorry about that,” I interrupted.

“Let me finish,” he scolded. “Although I was disappointed, I want you to be happy. And if that means not marrying Todd—well, so be it.”

I could barely believe my ears. What a relief! The way my mother made it sound, the whole family was ready to write me off—forever.

 Thankfully, someone in my family was rational.

“Thank you,” I replied, tears welling in my eyes. “I know this is not what you and Mother envisioned, but I couldn’t pretend anymore. I had to get out of there. If I could go back and do things differently, I would.”

“I understand,” he said.

I felt much better knowing I could still talk to him, and even though he wasn’t happy with my choice, he wasn’t trying to force me into a life that wasn’t right for me.

* * *

I wasn’t prepared for what I found when I arrived at Blooms the following morning. Mrs. Watson was there, and she was in a vile mood. Isabella sat on the edge of a stool, patiently listening to her rant. Surprisingly, she didn’t look scared at all. In fact, she looked amused at Mrs. Watson’s concerns about flower vases and color schemes.

With all the fuss, you would have thought Mrs. Watson was planning the event of the century!

Before I left San Francisco for The Wedding That Wasn’t, I had been working with my customer Mrs. Thornhill on her daughter’s wedding. Now, that wedding was going to be quite the social event! Of course, my mother wanted to know every detail. After all, she wanted my wedding to outdo Lucy Thornhill’s big day.

“I don’t understand why Addison isn’t back yet?” Mrs. Watson bristled. “There’s something fishy going on here that you’re not telling me. If I didn’t know better, I would guess Addison was in some kind of trouble.” She folded her arms tightly across her chest.

I could tell she was trying to intimidate Isabella into giving her information—and I was glad to see it wasn’t working.

“Good morning, Mrs. Watson,” I said, interrupting the intense stare down she was giving Isabella.

Mrs. Watson gave me a side-glance. “Are you still running this shop?”

Was this woman for real?

She acted like she was shocked to see me, which was completely ridiculous. We’d had several conversations since I had taken over Blooms. I’ve now done a few different floral orders for her, and each time I’d felt extremely relieved she didn’t complain. Maybe she was looking for something to complain about?

I got the feeling Addison spent quite a lot of time coddling her, and Mrs. Watson obviously enjoyed the attention.

“Yes, I am,” I replied, jutting out my chin in defiance.

She narrowed her eyes at me. Her platinum blonde hair was teased extra high today, and her choice of outfit didn’t disappoint. She was wearing a peacock feather print jacket along with peacock blue polyester pants. I tried to drag my gaze away from her . . . err “creative” ensemble.

“Hmm . . . I’m starting to think I should notify the authorities. Addison wouldn’t leave her shop this long unless something bad had happened.”

What is she talking about?

“Mrs. Watson, as I’ve told you before, Addison is fine. You don’t need to be concerned about her. I’m more than happy to assist you with anything you need.”

Isabella opened her laptop, causing a horrified gasp to escape from Mrs. Watson’s mouth. I noticed her clench her fists as she stared at the innocent electronic device. I knew she thought computers were “the devil,” but what exactly did she think was going to happen?

Maybe she expected an alien to reach out and drag her into the screen?

“Why don’t you come with me and we can review your order for this week?” I suggested, steering her away from where Isabella sat, typing away on the keyboard.

Isabella obviously had no problem passing the high-maintenance woman off to me.

After several minutes of reassuring Mrs. Watson that Addison hadn’t been abducted by aliens, been murdered, or run away with a convicted felon, I was able to review her floral order. She did mention that Faye Stanley had been using Fuchsia Flowers and Gifts for all her floral-design needs but that she was staying loyal to Blooms—for now.

I still had no idea who this infamous Faye Stanley was. I assumed she was Mrs. Watson’s friend, but probably more along the lines of the women my mother associated with. In other words, they pretended to like each other but gossiped about the other behind one another’s backs.

When she finally left the shop, I let out a huge sigh. I had plenty of experience dealing with difficult customers, but they were at my shop. This was Addi’s shop, and I would feel terrible if I was the cause of her losing an important customer.

“You’re very good with her,” Isabella said, taking a long sip of her coffee.

I shrugged. “I’m trying.”

I could hear my phone buzzing from inside my bag. I hopped off the stool and dug around for it.

It was a text from Ethan. As soon as I read it, I felt exhilarated and terrified, all at the same time.

Are we still on for tomorrow morning?

It was happening. I was about to spend time with a man—a man who wasn’t Todd.

I had no idea how to act, what to say, or even what to wear, for that matter. After being in a relationship for such a long time, I had become complacent. I knew Todd better than I knew myself, and something simple like meeting for coffee was a no-brainer.

But meeting Ethan was different, even if it was just as friends.

Which is what we were: friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

I typed a response, telling him how much I was looking forward to it, but I thought that might give the wrong impression and erased it. Instead, I decided to send him a short and sweet reply. I didn’t want to risk saying something that sounded like I had certain expectations for our meeting.

Yes, see you then.

“Sabrina, are you okay?” Isabella asked, shooting me a concerned look.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.” I shook out my hair, trying to appear normal—not like I’d just agreed to meet a man who wasn’t Todd. “Why?”

She pursed her lips. “You just look pale. Did you get some bad news?” She pointed to my phone.

I shook my head. “Oh, no. I—” I paused. I really could use someone to talk to, and Isabella had been really nice to me since I’d arrived.

I took a deep breath and launched into it. “I’m just a little nervous because—” I stopped to collect my thoughts. “You may think I’m an awful person after I tell you this.”

She pulled her black hair back into a ponytail, tying it with a band from her wrist. “I doubt that. Try me.”

I told her all about my plans to meet Ethan and how guilty I had been feeling about it.

“It’s just coffee,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. “What’s the big deal?”

I leaned against the counter, letting out a heavy sigh. “It’s a big deal because Todd and I just broke up. It was only a short time ago that I was supposed to marry the man. Now, I’m going out with someone else.”

Isabella raised her eyebrows. “I guess I didn’t think about that. But, you’re just friends, right?”

“Right.”

Of course, we were just friends.

“And he knows you and Todd just broke up?”

“Yes.”

“And he knows about what happened with your wedding, right?”

I cringed. “Oh, yeah. He was sitting next to me on the plane. And for some reason, I felt comfortable enough to tell him all about it.”

I thought about that flight and how Ethan had been so kind to me, a perfect stranger who went on and on about her life. He seemed like a pretty special guy.

“There you go. Obviously, he doesn’t scare easily.” She giggled.

“Very funny,” I replied defensively.

But, she had a point. Ethan knew what I had just been through, so he had to be going into this with no expectations other than friendship.

The only problem was I couldn’t get his gorgeous blue eyes out of my mind.

* * *

“Hey, stranger. I was just thinking about you,” Naomi said as soon as she answered.

I figured I owed my best friend a phone call.

“Hey. I just wanted to thank you for helping Todd with the wedding gifts. I guess your role as the maid of honor involved more than you bargained for.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind helping at all.”

I felt like crying. Between her and Addi, I was definitely lucky in the friend department.

“I appreciate that,” I said softly. “I don’t know what I would do without you and Addi. It sounds like she’s doing a great job with The Flower Girl.”

“Yes. Addi’s so nice. We went out for a drink.”

Hearing that made me happy. It was hard being in a city where you didn’t know anyone, and between my mother and Mrs. Thornhill, Addi needed a friend.

“So, how are you really doing?” she asked. “Are you ready to tell me where you are? Addi refused to reveal your whereabouts.”

Bless you, Addi.

“I’m doing better. After I finally talked to Todd and we officially broke up, I felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” she said sympathetically.

“Yeah, it was difficult, but at least I know we’re both in the same place now. The problem was, neither of us wanted to admit that we didn’t want to get married. And we should have spoken up because it would have saved everyone a lot of grief.”

“So, does this mean you’re coming home?”

I didn’t know how to answer. Although I missed San Francisco, I was enjoying the more laid-back lifestyle of Florida—especially without my mother and her “friends” constantly breathing down my neck.

“I’m not sure, but you will be the first to know.”

“Okay.” She paused. “Do you at least know some people wherever you are? Or are you just sitting home alone, reading romantic comedy novels?”

I laughed out loud. Naomi and I had read our fair share of romance novels over the years. It was kind of our thing.

“I’ve met a few people. In fact, I’m meeting a friend for coffee tomorrow morning.” I could feel my cheeks heat up at the prospect.

This was the perfect segue into telling her about my friend, Ethan.

“Oh, really? And who’s this friend?”

I knew she was asking if the person was a woman or a man.

“I met him on the plane after I left Dallas. And trust me, it’s strictly platonic. He knows all about what happened with my wedding. That story alone would make another man want to run the other way.”

“So, it is a man. And what does this ‘friend’ look like?”

That was a typical Naomi question. What she really wanted to know was if he was hot.

“That doesn’t matter. We’re just friends.”

“It certainly does matter,” she said. “And what’s the big deal? You’re a free woman now.”

I groaned. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone,” I begged. “I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. I know my reputation is in the toilet right now as it is, but I don’t need to make things worse with people jumping to conclusions.”

That was another thing I was worried about. After what happened with my wedding, I wasn’t sure how I would be received if I returned to San Francisco. I was sure the news was spreading like wildfire, and then there was that whole YouTube video. That alone made me nauseous.

“You can’t worry about that. So, you didn’t go through with the wedding. You weren’t happy, no one would expect you to live a lie.”

“Except my mother,” I interjected.

She hesitated. “Okay, that’s true. But, other than Prickle, no one would expect that.”

“And Bitsy,” I added, just to prove my point.

“Fine,” she replied with a chuckle. “Prickle and Bitsy are the only two people. And that’s only because they had that ridiculous dream of your two families becoming one, or whatever that crap they wrote for you was.”

Priscilla and Bitsy actually wrote a few lines for Todd and I to read at our ceremony. I would never forget the day they handed us our “scripts.” It definitely helped to push me over the edge.

Looking back, that should have been the day I escaped through the bathroom window.

“Anyway, the important thing is that Todd and I are both moving on,” I told her, truly believing it. “I know we will always care about one another, but . . . it’s over.”

It felt so good to be able to say those words out loud and to know in my heart I meant them.

If I got anything out of this whole switching lives thing Addi and I had done, it was that I felt like I had my life back. The life I wanted to live for me. Not for my fiancé, not for my family, not for my mother, not even for my friends. For me.

And I couldn’t wait to start living it.