Addison

 

I’m still waiting to hear back on Christina’s wedding. I hope we get it!

My jaw dropped open as I looked at Naomi’s livid face. She was glaring at me, her nostrils flared, her hands placed firmly on her slim hips, like she was about to scold me.

Which she was.

I opened my mouth to respond, not sure how much she’d seen of what had happened between Todd and me in his car. Had she seen us talking? Kissing? Me pulling away from him?

I closed my mouth again like some sort of a fish and swallowed. Hard.

“Well?” she asked, her jaw locked.

“I . . . it’s not what you think. Really, it’s not.”

Ah, yes, that old cliché.

“Are you kidding me?” she scoffed, her eyes like saucers. “I just saw you and Todd . . .” Her lip curled, and I was seriously concerned she was about to throw up.

Panic slammed into me. What exactly had she seen?

I didn’t have to wait long to get my answer.

“I saw you . . . you kiss him!” She spat the words at me as though they were bullets.

To be precise, he kissed me, but I wasn’t going to get into semantics right now. She was right, our lips had touched—oh, my, had they touched—and Sabrina’s best friend had caught us.

The fact that I had pulled away from him to stop it seemed completely irrelevant right now.

I took a step closer to her, my hands palm up in an attempt to placate her. “Naomi, please. You have to believe me, it was an accident; it was never meant to happen.”

She stepped back, waggling her index finger in the air at me. “Oh, no you don’t. You can’t tell me you ‘accidentally’ kissed him. You didn’t just fall onto his lips! That doesn’t happen.”

She had a point.

“Look, all I can say is it was a heat of the moment thing, and it won’t happen again.”

Her glare was boring holes in face. “I’d hate to have to break this to Sabrina,” she said, the threat as clear as day. “Stay away from him or I will have no choice.”

I nodded solemnly. Promising not to kiss a guy felt a little like we were twelve, but I went with it all the same. I placed my hand over my heart. “I promise I will stay away.” I bit my lip, watching her as her features softened. “Will you tell Sabrina?”

She tapped her foot. “I haven’t decided yet.” She crossed her arms, not taking her eyes from me. “What were you doing in his car, anyway? Did he give you a ride home from somewhere?”

I thought of our wonderful trip to Tiburon and nodded. Telling her Todd and I had just spent several utterly romantic hours together would only add fuel to the already blazing fire. “Yes, that’s right. He was just dropping me off.”

She seemed satisfied with my answer, and I let out a puff of air.

“He’s hurting right now, and I’m sure he’s looking for anything to help him feel better.”

Mildly offended that Naomi referred to me as “anything,” it struck a chord. Was I just some sort of substitute for Sabrina? Someone to take his mind off her?

An uneasy feeling crept across my chest.

“It’ll be a total rebound thing,” she continued, shaking her head. “That’s all it could ever be.”

I nodded. Maybe she was right?

“I should go talk to him right now, make sure he’s okay,” she added quietly, more to herself than to me.

I narrowed my eyes at her. In 90210, Kelly and Dylan got together when Brenda left to go to Europe. How far had Todd and Naomi’s “friendship” gone, exactly?

“So, you and Todd . . . you’re close, right?”

She snapped her head to look at me. “Of course! I told you. Like Brenda and Kelly—”

“And Dylan,” I finished for her as I examined her face. “You mentioned that.”

It was Naomi’s turn to look uncomfortable.

She shook out her hair and squared her shoulders. “So, I have your word you’ll stay away from him?” she confirmed, deflecting attention from herself.

Even though the thought of not seeing Todd again made my heart sink into my belly, I nodded. I knew it was for the best. Whatever Naomi’s feelings were for Todd—and I had begun to think they were more than just friendship—he belonged to Sabrina.

Despite the fact that he’d just kissed the socks off me, leaving me breathless and wanting more.

Naomi gave me one final nod and then turned on her heel, stomping down the street to her car. I watched as she climbed into the driver’s seat and drove off, her wheels squealing as a plume of smoke rose behind her.

I let out a long breath, blinking back my tears. That was that. Naomi would tell Sabrina what I had done, and our life switch would be over.

Over before it had even properly begun.

 

* * *

 

I slept through my alarm the following morning and somehow managed to press the “snooze” button several times without fully waking up. Not even those foghorns had managed to stir me.

By the time I opened my eyes, the sun was streaming in through the windows and I could hear cars and people out on the street. I rolled over and glanced at the clock on the nightstand, doing a double take when I saw how late it was.

I had to get to work!

I leapt out of bed and bumbled in my dozy state down the hall to the bathroom, where I splashed cold water on my face to wake myself up fully.

After Naomi had left last night, I’d spent a long time pacing up and down Sabrina’s living room, trying to work out what to do next. The irony that Prickle Monroe had done the very same thing over Sabrina’s whereabouts only weeks ago was not lost on me.

I was almost certain Naomi would have gone straight to her phone and told Sabrina all about Todd and me kissing. And why wouldn’t she? They were best friends, whether or not Naomi had feelings for Todd.

And anyway, at no point during our conversation about switching lives at the airport in Dallas did Sabrina say to me, “You can have my fiancé, too!”

I scrunched my eyes shut and buried my head in my hands. I had betrayed Sabrina’s trust—and I hated myself for it.

I showered and dressed quickly, collecting my things and darting out the door. I sent a conciliatory text to Leonardo, hoping he wouldn’t unleash the famous Dicatrio on me when I finally got to The Flower Girl.

I wasn’t sure I could take that level of feline today.

I hopped on the F-line and studiously ignored my phone. There was no way I could deal with the fallout from last night on the day of the Thornhill wedding preparation. Today, I had to focus on the wedding and the wedding alone.

A short while later, I rushed across the busy street, putting my hand out to stop traffic in a life-endangering maneuver. I raced in through the doors of the Ferry Building, nearly bowling an elderly woman and her walker over and apologizing profusely. I finally reached The Flower Girl, my face hot as I caught my breath.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Leonardo commented, that irritating eyebrow of his arched as he shot me a supercilious look.

“Sorry, sorry!” I said. I bustled past him to the back of the store. “I slept in.”

Leonardo followed me, leaning up against the doorframe. “Up all night with a certain ‘friend,’ were we?”

My traitorous mind darted to my kiss with Todd. I looked Leonardo in the eye and forced a smile. “Nothing like that. I told you, Todd and I are just friends.”

And if he believed that, he was even more of a fool than me.

“Friends who keep one another up all night?” he fished, his eyes wide.

I turned away from him and took in the scene. “Good, the Thornhill wedding flowers arrived.”

“Yes, I was here for the delivery.”

I sighed. “I’ve already apologized, Leonardo.”

“A coffee would show you really meant it.”

I shook my head at him, smiling. Who knew Leonardo could be won over so easily? He was a pussy cat, after all. “Deal. You man the shop, I’ll get the coffee.”

“And one of those vegan donuts with the caramel glaze. I’ll go to the gym and work off all the evil carbs tonight. Poppa needs him some sugar.”

I laughed as I collected my purse, left him in the shop, and headed across the Ferry Building to one of the cafés. Leonardo was a breath of fresh air—just what I needed to take my mind off the disaster my life had become.

My order placed, I waited for our coffees to be made and decided to brave my phone. If there was anything from the 90210 gang—Sabrina, Todd, and Naomi—I would simply scroll past it. At least for now.

Get through today, then deal with it.

Immediately, I spotted a message from Tonya, asking how my new life was going. I sent her a quick message, telling her it was potentially imploding and that I’d fill her in on the details when I could.

The next series of messages were from Geoff. I clicked on the first one.

I miss you.

Short but sweet. Just like Geoff. Well, not short exactly, but he was no six-foot male model, either.

I clicked on the next one.

Is it just me or are you wondering why we ever broke up?

Well, Geoff clearly was.

There was an attachment to the message: another photo. I clicked on it and a happy image of Geoff and me together stared back at me. This time we were in shorts and T-shirts on a golden sand beach on the Coromandel in New Zealand, a trip we’d taken the summer before I left him. I couldn’t help smiling to myself. Geoff was a really nice guy, and we’d had a lot of fun together. I had loved him back then.

If it wasn’t for Jon bursting into my life two years ago, I would probably be married to him about now, living in Wellington, hanging out with Tonya, running my own florist shop.

Happy.

Not living another woman’s life in San Francisco—and totally screwing it up.

I scrolled down further. My heart leapt into my mouth when I saw Todd’s name. The first words of the message read, “Can we talk?” Quickly, without reading another word, I dropped my phone back into my purse.

Do. Not. Go. There.

The order was called and I collected it from the counter, taking the short walk back to The Flower Girl. We could drink our coffee, not talk about Todd or Naomi or Sabrina, and then Leonardo could deal with customers while I set about creating the floral designs I had agreed with Mrs. Thornhill for her daughter’s wedding tomorrow.

As I walked past a delicatessen, I was so busy looking at the assortment of salamis hanging in a row above the counter I nearly walked into someone. That was two today and counting.

You’re on fire, Addi.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, steadying the cups of coffee in my hands, thankful they had their lids securely in place.

“No worries,” replied a distinctly familiar voice.

I snapped my head in his direction. No! It couldn’t be!

I blinked at him. It was almost like I’d conjured him up, simply by thinking about him.

In shock, my hands began to shake and the bag with Leonardo’s donut slipped through my fingers and onto the floor. I crouched down to pick it up. From the ground, I looked up at the person next to me, still trying to work out what to say.

“Hey, Addi,” he said with a smile.

I stood back up. “Wha-what are you doing here?” I breathed.

He bit back a smile, his eyes flashing. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Well, he most certainly had.

“By flying all this way? Geoff, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking about you.” His features were soft, his face beaming. His eyes were filled with . . . for want of a better word, love.

I, on the other hand, was still trying to work out whether this was all some weird dream as my two worlds collided: my past with my present.

“Can we go somewhere to talk? Only, I’ve come a long way to see you, and those coffees look good.”

I glanced at the entrance to The Flower Girl. I knew I should be in there, working on the wedding flowers, but Geoff was right. He had flown twelve hours to see me. The least I could do was talk to him. “Sure. That would be”—I struggled to find the right word—“fine.”

Fine?

I scrunched my eyes shut for a moment. I had no idea what to think of Geoff turning up out of the blue like this. On the one hand, it was totally, off the scale insane. And on the other? Part of me was glad he was here: someone stable, familiar, safe.

Someone to give me shelter from the storm that had become my new life.

We walked together through the doors out of the Ferry Building to where the boats docked. It was a bright, sunny day, the fog sitting over the ocean far enough away to feel warm. We found a bench and sat down on it together.

I glanced at a ferry coming in to dock and did my best to push my trip to Tiburon with Todd yesterday out of my mind.

Wow. That was only yesterday?

“You look amazing. San Francisco obviously suits you,” Geoff said.

“Thanks. Do you like skinny mochas with a vanilla twist?” I asked, offering him Leonardo’s coffee.

I would go buy him another one before I stepped foot back in The Flower Girl or my life would not be worth living today.

Geoff let out a laugh. “Not really my coffee of choice, but I only landed, like, a couple of hours ago. I could do with the caffeine.” He took the cup from me.

“You just got here?”

Geoff took a sip of his-slash-Leonardo’s coffee. “That kind of slaps you in the face with sweetness, doesn’t it?”

I chuckled despite myself. One of the things I loved about Geoff was his easygoing nature and sense of humor. “It’s for Leonardo, the guy I work with here.”

“Ah, yes. Leonardo. We met. He told me where to find you.”

“Oh.” I took a sip of my own coffee—a sensible latte—looking out over the water. I had no clue what to say. My mind was darting around like it was in a Formula One race, only it kept hitting up against massive road blocks: like Todd, like Sabrina.

Like me.

“I had to come and see you,” Geoff said, taking my free hand in his.

I turned to face him. He looked the same, but different. Different in a way I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was probably just that I hadn’t seen him in two years.

“You probably think I’m crazy, just showing up like this.”

I chuckled. “A little.”

“It’s no crazier than you switching lives with someone you just met.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he put his hand up to stop me and continued. “Tonya told me all about it. I watched the YouTube clip.”

“You did?” I guffawed.

Even though I knew about it, I had no desire to see Sabrina running through the airport, looking upset. The fact that it had been so popular made my faith in humanity slip.

“Yeah. I was worried about you. It seemed like a . . . I don’t know, a pretty extreme thing for you to do.”

I shrugged. “I guess it was, really.”

He shifted closer in his seat so our thighs were touching lightly. I didn’t pull away. There was something so reassuring about him, at a time when my life was in a state of total flux.

“It made me think you weren’t happy.”

I looked directly at him. “I wasn’t.”

It was the truth. I was living in Orlando, dateless, going to endless weddings, feeling like I was treading water, waiting for . . . something.

Who knew that “something” would be a runaway bride?

Geoff smiled at me, his face full of hope. “And now?”

“Now?” I let out a heavy sigh. “Now, I’m not so sure.” I shook my head, gazing out at the bay.

“What do you mean?”

I looked back at Geoff. I decided to come clean with him, to tell him the whole story about why I’d agreed to the switch, about Todd, about Naomi. It felt good to talk, to let it all out. And Geoff was a good listener. He was sweet and kind, holding my hand the whole time, even when it must have been as clear as day to him that, when I spoke about Todd, I was crying over another man.

By the end of it all we’d both polished off our coffees and devoured the donut, not a single crumb left. Yes, it was that good—and I think we’d needed the sugar boost to help deal with the soap opera of my life.

I crumpled up the empty donut bag. I had some serious making up to do with Leonardo.

Geoff walked me back to The Flower Girl, pausing next to the potted topiary by the door. He took both my hands in his, and I turned to face him.

“Addi? Whatever brought you to being here, right now, doesn’t matter to me.” His smile was so full of love, it almost sucked the air out of me. “All that matters is what you do from here.”

I nodded at him, all the pent-up emotion from the last weeks brimming at the surface.

“I’ll let you get on with your work. Shall I come back later?”

“Sure. That would be nice,” I replied with a smile, tears threatening my eyes once more at his kindness.

With Geoff gone, I turned and walked back into the shop. Leonardo was finishing up serving a customer at the counter and shot me a worried look.

A moment later, with the shop to ourselves, I put my hands on my heart. “I’m so sorry about the coffee and donut. I’ll go and get you them, right now.”

He waved his hand in the air. “Forget about it, babe. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

I knitted my brows together. “What fish?”

“Come with me.”

I followed Leonardo out back where we both stood, looking at the flowers for the Thornhill wedding. Leonardo had unpacked them all so they were ready and waiting for me to weave my magic.

“Thank you so much for organizing these!”

His face was still concerned. “Look at the roses.”

I scanned the collection of flowers—there were a lot for this lavish wedding—until I spotted the roses.

In shock, I lifted my hand to my mouth. “Oh, my god!”

Leonardo nodded, his face grim. “They’re the wrong ones. Mrs. Thornhill is going to hang, draw, and quarter your sorry ass.”

He was right. As I looked at the peach-colored roses, I knew Mrs. Thornhill would kill me.

I’d thought I couldn’t screw up anything else.

How wrong could I have been?