Sabrina

 

Everything looks set for the Thornhill wedding. I hope I’m going to make you proud!

“Sabrina? Hello, Sabrina?”

I shook my head to force myself out of my daydream. In my mind, I was envisioning every detail of my next evening out with Ethan. We made plans to go out on Friday night, and he was taking me to the Orlando Eye, one of the places I hadn’t visited yet. I was busy imagining the two of us looking out over the lights of the city and maybe catching some fireworks from one of the theme parks.

I was secretly hoping for some kind of romantic gesture, maybe his arms around my waist with this chin resting on my shoulder? Obviously, I had put a lot of thought into the upcoming evening, especially after he kissed me on the cheek at the end of our coffee date. It had taken everything in my power to stay on my feet, because when his lips touched my face, my legs turned to Jell-O.

I was actually proud of myself I’d managed to stay upright.

After being out of the dating world for many years, I didn’t know what to expect. It made me feel good knowing Ethan respected my situation and the fact that I just got out of a long-term relationship. He didn’t even try to bust a move, other than putting his hand on mine when we were sitting at the table, which was probably just him being nice, anyway.

I didn’t consider it to be a big deal, especially by today’s standards. Naomi and a few of our single friends had profiles on those online dating websites and apps. The idea of meeting some random guy online just didn’t appeal to me, but to each their own.

Not to mention, my mother would probably lose her mind if I joined one of those sites.

Huh, in that case, maybe it was something to consider?

“Sabrina?” Isabella called again.

Hmm . . . I wondered if Isabella was on those dating websites.

“Sorry. I zoned out for a second.”

Okay, so maybe it was more than a second. I was doing a lot of daydreaming lately, but today wasn’t the day to act like a silly teenager with a crush. I was supposed to be focused on the flower arrangements for Christina’s bridal shower.

Although, according to Kiki with the lavender hair, sitting across the table from me, there was already trouble in paradise.

“Christina and her mother had a huge fight about the menu and some other stuff,” Kiki said as she smacked her gum. “It was so bad Christina told her mother not to come to the wedding! But, the next day she realized she needed mommy’s credit card for all the expenses that were coming up, so she retracted her statement. She claimed the stress was getting to her, and now she says a spa day’s needed to ‘calm her nerves.’” Kiki rolled her eyes as she began to play with the tulip petals.

Judging by her reaction, I couldn’t help but think Kiki was more than a little annoyed by Christina’s behavior.

“And then there’s the situation with Ben and another one of our sorority sisters.”

What the hell? Did I suddenly walk onto the set of The Young and the Restless?

“Ben, as in her fiancé? What do you mean a situation?” I asked.

I was completely intrigued. And it was refreshing to be reminded that I wasn’t the only one who had relationship drama.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, he didn’t sleep with her or anything. At least, I don’t think so.” Kiki paused. “Anyway, the story goes like this: Ben dated Whitney for about a minute before he and Christina got together. The three of them started out as really good friends, only Ben dated both girls. I know it totally sounds like something on TV.”

I knew exactly what she was talking about. Naomi, Todd, and I had a similar relationship. Other people would call us Brenda, Kelly, and Dylan, just like the famous friendship-slash-love triangle on Beverly Hills, 90210. And, of course, Todd eventually had to choose someone, and he chose me.

Naomi moved on after that, and we hardly talked about it again. Although, every now and again, I would get a weird feeling Naomi was more upset about it than she let on. I never confronted her about it, and then, when we announced our engagement, she happily stepped right into the role of maid of honor, and the rest is history.

Looking back on it now, maybe we should have addressed it, but it was never anything serious. I always thought Naomi liked her freedom. She never wanted to be tied down.

“Is there something still going on with Ben and this Whitney girl?” Isabella asked, bringing me back to the present.

Kiki shook her head. “Not that I know of. If you ask me, I think Christina is just looking for reasons to call off the engagement. It’s been ages since she mentioned the Ben and Whitney thing, and now all of a sudden, she brings it up and is acting like it’s a big deal. And she keeps putting important things off. She’s all about the shower, the parties, and the gifts, so much more so than the actual wedding planning.”

“About that, has Christina chosen her wedding flowers yet?” I tried to look indifferent, but I really wanted the business.

Kiki looked confused. “What do you mean? She said she was meeting with you to do that.”

I looked at Isabella and she shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t heard from her.”

I wasn’t trying to cause this poor girl any grief, but by the sound of it, Kiki was right: Christina was stalling.

It didn’t sound like she wanted to get married.

And if anyone knew about that, I did.

“See what I mean? She hasn’t even selected flowers for the wedding. She was all over us to plan the shower, but when it comes to the big day, she acts like she doesn’t care.” Kiki gave me a confused look. “Of course, every time we bring up the possibility of them waiting a little longer, she freaks out on us. Danielle has given up on the whole thing, so she doesn’t say anything anymore.”

“Planning a wedding is stressful,” I replied, pushing my feelings about my own wedding planning away. “She could just be feeling a little overwhelmed. I’m sure we’ll hear from her soon.”

I was trying to cut the poor girl so slack. I knew what it was like to have family and friends constantly on your back. I watched as Kiki picked up her phone. I knew what was about to go down.

Poor Christina.

“Hey. I’m at the florist’s right now. When are you planning to meet with the owner?”

I opened my mouth to explain that I wasn’t the owner of Blooms, but really, what was the point?

Kiki was quiet, picking at her gel nail polish.

“She did? Are you sure? I’m at Blooms on Valencia right now, and Sabrina said she hadn’t heard from you.” She paused. “Fuchsia Flowers? I don’t know what that is.”

Oh, no! My heart sank at the mention of Bloom’s rival. I looked at Isabella in horror. Her eyes grew wide; we were both thinking the same thing.

We had to do some damage control, and fast!

Kiki got off the phone a few seconds later. “Sorry about that. Christina says her mother made an appointment at some place called Fuchsia Flowers. Have you heard of that?”

I took a deep breath. I needed to steer these girls away from Blooms’s competition, even if this wedding was on shaky ground.

I chose my words carefully. “Yes, I have. They’re actually more of a gift shop. They do some floral design, but that’s not their main focus. I would love to meet with Christina and her mother. Would you mind giving me her number so I can get in touch with her? Maybe they can meet with both of us before making a final decision?”

Good job, Sabrina.

Thankfully, Kiki didn’t have a problem giving me both Christina’s and her mother’s information. I knew Jackie was Ethan’s sister-in-law, and me trying to take business away from her could complicate things, but Blooms on Valencia was Addi’s shop. I was here to take care of it for her, the same way she was taking care of The Flower Girl for me.

And that was exactly what I was going to do.

* * *

I had never been an overly competitive type of person. Sure, I liked to win—who didn’t?—but first Mrs. Watson and now this wedding, I was becoming obsessed with Fuchsia Flowers taking business away from Blooms.

I toyed with telling Addi about it, but from the sound of her texts and phone calls, she was fitting in very well in San Francisco. And aside from having to deal with my mother that one time, she seemed to be really enjoying herself.

I wanted to surprise Addi with some big new business as a way to thank her for all she’d done for me.

It wasn’t like Blooms didn’t have any customers. Things had been moving along smoothly, despite Mrs. Watson clearly hating me. And as far as I knew, Fuchsia Flowers hadn’t taken anything away from us—yet.

But, I knew it would only take one hugely successful event to put them on the map.

I tried calling both Christina and her mother, Rhonda. I knew they would see the arrangements we were doing for the shower and fall in love. I didn’t mean to be cocky, but I was pretty good at what I did.

Unfortunately, it could be too late by then. My father was very successful in copier and office equipment sales, and one thing I learned from him was to go after potential business as soon as you could. Time was of the essence with this, and I had to move now before they agreed to do business with Fuchsia Flowers.

I let out a sigh. At least I wasn’t daydreaming about Ethan and his blue eyes anymore.

Ethan. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought of him. Since he had asked me about my impending return to San Francisco on our coffee date, it had been on my mind.

I had to admit I’d been struggling with the decision. There was a big part of me that didn’t want to go back—ever. I knew it sounded crazy. I couldn’t live someone else’s life forever, and I knew avoiding my problems would never make them go away.

But it was so tempting.

The sound of my phone ringing made me jump. I looked at the screen. It was Christina’s mother, returning my call.

It was time to work my magic.

“Thank you for calling Blooms on Valencia. This is Sabrina Monroe,” I answered in my most professional voice.

“Hi, Sabrina, this is Rhonda Milton, I’m Christina’s mother. I just received your message.”

“Yes, hello, Rhonda. I wanted to reach out to you because I’ve been working with Kiki and Danielle on the flowers for Christina’s bridal shower. I was hoping we could meet up to discuss the wedding arrangements. Blooms on Valencia would love the opportunity to be a part of this special day. I have quite the portfolio from my shop in San Francisco as well as here in Orlando. I think you will be quite impressed.”

Wow, that sounded really good. I even impressed myself a little.

“Yes, well, we have an appointment with Fuchsia Flowers and Gifts on Thursday. I was referred to them by a friend.”

Hmm . . . it had to be a personal friend of Jackie or Aubrey, because they’ve only been in business for five seconds.

“I completely understand. But it’s always good to take a look at all options. And this is the most important day in your daughter’s life. Our prices are very competitive, and we have several references who would give us a glowing recommendation.”

I bit my lip. I hoped I wasn’t coming on too strong, but I knew I had to hustle. Landing a wedding would be huge for business. I owed this to Addi, especially after everything she had done for me.

“I suppose it would be okay to meet with you as well. We should keep our options open.”

Yes! I punched the air with excitement.

In a calmer voice, I responded, “Excellent. How about Wednesday? I know Christina’s friends are handling the shower, but I will be able to show you the amazing arrangements we’re creating.”

I wanted to meet with her before she met with Jackie. I was worried she wouldn’t give us a shot if she went to Fuchsia Flowers first. All that pink, free wine, and chocolate could persuade anyone.

“Wednesday is fine. We will see you then.”

Exhilarated, I grabbed a sketchpad as the ideas began to flow. It helped that I already knew Christina’s color scheme, and I needed to have some ideas ready to show Rhonda. I was going to do everything in my power to knock their socks off.

Plus, there was no better distraction from having to make a decision about what my future held.

I knew I had to do it soon enough, but for now I had work to do.