by Heron, Farah
I headed for bed, not expecting to get any sleep. And sure enough, I spent most of the night staring at the pine ceiling three feet from my head while feeling sorry for myself.
I must have slept some, though, because Gia was in her bed when I woke at eight. I dressed quietly so I wouldn’t wake her, since she wasn’t working today. Being surrounded by city streets and stores always helped me clear my head, so I headed downtown for a few hours before work. There weren’t a lot of people around since it was a Monday morning, and of course, this was Bakewell, not Toronto. I didn’t really feel any better after wandering the sleepy town for a while. Eventually, I parked myself on a bench outside the city council building and colored in some sketches of clothes I’d made a few days ago until it was time for work. The art pencils Rowan gave me weren’t the same brand I used, but they were good quality. Focusing on my designing helped—I did actually feel a bit better.
Lilybuds was pretty dead all day, but that was fine because a large shipment had come in, and everything in the store needed to be rearranged to fit the new stuff.
“I never would have thought these would work at Lilybuds, but I love them,” Shar said, holding up a loose, leaf-print, unisex button-up I’d picked for the Lily collection. It was more “natural” than I normally went for, but at least it was just a leaf print and not flowers.
“Should we put them with the green high-waisted skirts?” Juniper asked. She had a good eye for merchandising. And thankfully, she hadn’t mentioned anything about my breakup last night, or mentioned Rowan picking me up from the pond. I loved her for that.
“Yeah,” I said. “Hey, Shar, can we move the white linen shorts there, too?”
“Absolutely! Move whatever you like. Anything to breathe some life into the stock.”
For the next few hours, June and I set up the new Lily section. Rowan was right—keeping busy was a great way to keep Matteo and all the other crap going on off my mind. After about half the new stock was out, I took a step back to inspect our handiwork. The corner definitely had a younger vibe, and even the few older pieces I’d moved there now seemed trendier. But the space was missing something. It didn’t look like a distinct line, like I’d imagined.
After my whole store rebrand had been rejected last week, I’d created a mock-up sketch of this new Lily section, keeping it simple, with no new fixtures and only the small circular logo on the wall that I planned to paint myself. But now I could see it wasn’t enough.
“What do you think is missing?” I asked Shar while Juniper was helping a customer.
Shar came around the counter and put her glasses on. “I think it looks wonderful. I love the pop of color with the white and black pieces. You’ll take pictures for the store’s new social media, right?”
I had planned to photograph each new piece for the Lilybuds Insta, but I wasn’t sure the whole section was ready for a close-up.
“It doesn’t look enough like a distinct line within the store.”
Shar tilted her head. “What about your idea of wallpaper or a mural? We could do part of the wall, just behind that section, instead of the whole back wall.”
I turned to face Shar. “You’d be okay with that?”
“Sure, as long as the cost is reasonable. Designer wallpaper is probably too much, but there is cheaper stuff out there. Or you can do a painted mural. I really liked that sketch with the one that looked like the mural at Wynter’s. Maybe we can find out who painted that?”
That wasn’t a bad idea. I squinted and imagined a smaller mural—maybe seven feet wide and floor to ceiling, right behind the Lily racks. Like the one at Wynter’s, with the interlocking triangles of purple, blue, and green. I could still paint the Lily logo in the middle of the mural.
“I know who painted that,” Juniper said, joining us after her customer left.
“Great! Can you ask if they’d do a smaller version of it here?”
Juniper laughed. “I could, but you could ask, too. That mural was Rowan’s grade-twelve art project.”
Jesus, Rowan again? Was there anything he couldn’t do? Why hadn’t he told me that the art was his?
Shar beamed. “Oh, how wonderful! A small piece surely won’t take him long. I’ll pay, of course.”
Juniper nodded. “Let’s ask him tonight, since our team is getting together anyway.”
Right. I’d forgotten that we had our second floral design lesson after dinner.
“Wait, Juniper, you said our team. I thought you were just helping Rowan teach Gia and me?”
Juniper snorted. “After that lesson, I don’t think I have a choice. You and Rowan need a full-time referee. I told Row I’m officially doing the Bloom with y’all.” She paused. “That is, if it’s okay with you.”
I grinned. “Of course it’s okay with me. Two of my friends on the team is better than one.”
Speaking of friends on the team, I needed to find a minute alone with Gia before that to talk to her, because otherwise? Awkward city. I didn’t know if Matteo had told her what happened last night. Of course when I couldn’t sleep last night, I’d carried out step one of getting over an awful breakup—I blocked him on all channels. I did snoop on his Insta first, and thankfully he didn’t mention me. Which was good. He’d be nuts to take any of this out on me, because I could, and would, ruin him. Still. I hated that this was how this relationship had ended.
When I got home, I found Gia sunning on one of the lounge chairs outside the tiny house. “Hey, G,” I said.
“Oh, hey, T. How’s it going?” Her voice was a bit tight. Forced. No doubt she’d talked to Matteo.
I shrugged. “Been better. I take it you’ve checked in with your cousin?”
She cringed. “Yeah, he texted me. I can’t believe you broke up. You okay?”
I had mostly kept Matteo off my mind all day, but every once in a while, I was hit with a wave of shame, anger, and hurt. “I’m not great, but hanging in there,” I said.
“You know what part I don’t get? He came all this way to get those pictures in your clothes. What a waste of time.” She shook her head.
Good. I sighed as I plopped on the chair next to her. Gia understood how terrible it was that he had wasted my entire day. “It wasn’t how I expected the night to go, that’s for sure,” I said.
Gia turned to look at me. “So that whole thing was just, like . . . spur of the moment?”
“I don’t know. He just—”
“Actually,” she interrupted. “Let’s just not talk about it. He’s family, and I think it’s best if I just, you know, don’t get involved here.” She paused for a moment. “Hey, now that you won’t have Matteo modeling your menswear, you want me to ask Cameron if he’ll do it? He’s got such a smoking-hot hockey body. You could put me and him in coordinating outfits like you and Matteo used to do.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I rubbed my palm. “I’m glad we’re not going to let this come between us, G. I don’t think I could handle losing my friend, too.”
“Of course, Tahira. You’re my girl, and I’m always sistas before mistas.” She waved her hand. “It’s totally fine. You probably won’t be able to come to my nona’s for dinner anymore, though, because they’ll never approve of anyone who dumps a Borroni, but—”
“Wait, G. They won’t approve of me dumping a cheater?”
Gia suddenly sat up straight. “Hold up. Cheater? Who’s a cheater?”
I raised a brow. “Um, your cousin’s a cheater? That’s why I dumped him?”
Gia stared at me, blinking, then picked up her phone. “That’s not what he said . . . ,” she muttered, furiously typing.
“He’s been seeing some chick,” I said. “Apparently, she takes him to project launches. He only told me because she’s going to be on his Insta for this launch on Wednesday. He didn’t tell you about Alyssa?”
Gia kept texting for a few seconds, then looked at me. “He’s not even denying it. Dipshit.” She focused back on her phone. “Don’t you worry—I’m blasting it o
n the family WhatsApp. I’ll be shocked if he’s still walking by morning.”
I squeezed my lips together, trying not to laugh.
“I’m so sorry, Tahira. I shouldn’t have automatically believed him.” She leaned over to hug me, then cringed at her phone. “Ooh, the aunts are pissed. This is going to be good. My folks are furious, too. They’re always Team Tahira. Borronis will not tolerate cheating. Oh, crap—Nona’s getting involved. I’m going to peace out for a while.” She put her phone down. “Don’t worry, my family’s got this.”
I laughed. “G, you’re awesome. So is your family.”
“You and me, we’re good, then, right?”
“Of course—we’re always good,” I said. We hugged again.
“Yay! Because, ugh, when I thought you’d dumped him for no reason? I wasn’t sure how I was going to stay friends with you.” Gia smiled widely. “That would have sucked! I mean, we’ve been friends so long. You’re the best! Plus, like, half my Instagram traffic is because of you!” She laughed. “Anyway, Cameron told me about this awesome spot we can go for pictures; there’s apparently a covered bridge just outside town.”
“Cameron and you are getting close.”
Gia beamed. “I like him so much. He’s so different from city guys, you know? He bakes muffins by himself, like, once a week. And he’s going to take me fishing—he promised I wouldn’t have to touch any fish or worms. I’ve figured out how to deal with Addison, too. I told her to stop when she started going on about Juniper again last night. I don’t want to hear it. Anyway, I have no interest in being alpha wolf here; I don’t mind letting her think she rules her squad.”
I laughed. Gia understood the teen pecking order better than anyone. And good for her for standing up for Juniper. “What about the Bloom? They’re not going to try to steal our secrets, are they?”
“They don’t really care enough, honestly. I think Addison’s only doing the competition because her mother wants her to, and Cam’s only there because Addison told him he was on the team.”
“Like how I told you?”
Gia grinned. “I want to do it, remember? We’re going to meet Christopher Chan after we win. This is going to be awesome for you! Plus, it’s going to be a big boost for my follower count. I’ll totally start getting sponsorships by the end of the summer. Why do we have another lesson so soon, though? We just had one on Friday.”
“The Bloom is, like, less than six weeks away. Everyone else here has been working with flowers forever—we need to catch up.”
Gia chuckled. “At least the meetings are entertaining. I love watching you and Rowan argue—you drip with chemistry, as my drama teacher would say.”
“He was nice to me last night. Even gave me advice about dealing with a breakup. But I’m sure he’ll be back to growling at me today.”
Gia put her hands out like claws and gave me a flirty growl.
I laughed.
Our floral design lesson tonight was with living plants—which was what we’d be working with for the Bloom. Basically, that meant all the flowers and greenery needed to be alive with roots attached.
We were working on a small scale to start, arranging tiny succulents in rectangular metal trays. I’d bought my own slim gloves, and I guess since these succulents weren’t really flowery, my allergies were behaving. My aunt had made me an appointment with Rowan and Juniper’s mom, who was a doctor in town, and I suspected Rowan was keeping me away from pollen until I saw her about my allergies.
“Don’t force the root ball,” Rowan scolded as I tried to fit this cute little spiky thing in between puffy leaf things. “They need space.”
I sighed. As expected, there was no sign of the camaraderie we’d had last night. He was full-on grumpy with me again. He barely spoke when he dropped the box of plants on the workbench, and he did his familiar scowl when Gia took pictures of me picking out the succulents I wanted to use. His shirt even had a different vibe—still plant-y, but more stylized tropical plants instead of cartoony flowers.
Leanne had joined us to help Rowan teach, though, and she made up for his sour mood by being especially perky. She’d even brought her rabbits, who she’d caged in the middle of the yard using these little fences she’d brought. They were currently gorging themselves on Rowan’s grass. Leanne giggled. “Guys are always sooo protective of their root balls.” She winked at me. “Don’t even mind him—succulents are pretty hardy.” She handed me some garden scissors. “You can trim a bit to make it fit. Don’t look, Row—this might be traumatizing.”
Gia gave Leanne a snorty laugh. “I like you.”
Rowan did that growl thing that wasn’t really a growl. More of a huff. “Why exactly did you insist on coming tonight, Leanne?” he asked.
“Because I had nothing else to do. Y’all are my best friends, remember?” She grinned at Juniper, who quickly looked away.
I trimmed the root ball a bit, but it still wasn’t fitting. “This isn’t working,” I said. Leanne came around to my side of the bench to show me that I didn’t need to be delicate with it. “I love succulent art,” she said. “Last year my aloe Vera Wang went viral.”
Rowan shook his head. “Viral in gardening circles isn’t much of an accomplishment.”
“Aloe Vera Wang?” Gia asked.
“There was this succulent art challenge on TikTok. Here, look.” Leanne showed us a picture on her phone. It was hilarious—the plants were arranged to look like a wedding dress.
“Remember, Row?” Leanne said. “I used that succulent hybrid we helped your dad make in the lab, back when we used to go to Wynter’s just to hang out with him. Before the . . . great Johnston rift.”
I looked at Rowan, curious. He shrugged. “My dad works at the laboratory at Wynter’s. He doesn’t approve of me studying landscape architecture, so we haven’t been as close lately.”
It was interesting how easily he mentioned this, but I got the impression he didn’t want to talk about it more. I pointed back to the aloe Vera Wang. “I kind of love that,” I said.
“And you’re, like, a real fashion person, so that’s a big compliment!” Leanne said. “Hey, since you know clothes people, maybe you can help Junebug find someone to make her prom dress? Ever since she was a kid, she’s wanted a yellow Beauty and the Beast dress because Belle’s all into books.”
“I’ve grown out of that,” June mumbled.
“Of course you have,” Leanne said. “Hey, I heard that author of that wolf series you love has a signing in Toronto soon. We should go! I read the first book and loved it!”
June didn’t look up from her arrangement. “I can’t go. It’s the weekend of the Bloom.”
“Oh.” Leanne frowned. “That sucks.”
“It’s fine,” June said. “Row, Shar wants a mural painted on one of the walls at the store. Can you do one like you did at the nursery?”
His brows shot up. “Me?”
Juniper nodded. “It was Tahira’s idea. She pretty much copied it for her plans for the new section.”
I winced. “I didn’t copy it. I just . . . drew something similar.”
Rowan turned to me, brows raised in surprise.
Leanne chuckled. “I could tell she liked it since she was willing to bathe in manure to get a picture of it.”
Rowan was still looking at me, all puzzled like. I was pretty sure this was the first time he’d made eye contact with me all evening. I honestly couldn’t figure this guy out. First, he’s all grumpy, then supportive, then he ignores me, then does a double take about me admiring his art. I shrugged. “I didn’t know it was yours at the time, but yeah, I wanted something like that piece for the store.”
“Hey! I have a fab idea!” Gia said, clapping her hands together. “Seriously, I’m, like, brilliant here. Rowan can paint the wall at the store; then we’ll go to the nursery to take pictures of the Lily pieces for the store’s social. Because then the promo pictures will have the backdrop of the big mural, which will tie into the little mural for
the store. It’s, like, cohesive, you know?”
I tilted my head. Actually, that was a brilliant idea. I wished I’d thought of it. I did see a problem, though. “Rowan hasn’t agreed to do the mural.” And with his attitude toward me tonight, I was thinking that he’d probably say no on principle.
“He’ll do it,” Leanne said. “He’d do anything for Shar.”
“You want to let me answer myself?” He was clearly annoyed. When none of us said anything, he sighed as he ran his hand over his head. “Fine. I’ll do it; tell Shar to give me the details.”
Gia beamed. “Excellent. I think all four of us girls should model the clothes. We’ve got two people of color, one whiter-than-white redhead, and me—sort of ambiguous Mediterranean-y. Rowan, how good are your photography skills?”
We discussed plans for the shoot while we finished our succulent arrangements. Mine turned out okay, I guess. This was nothing like what our Bloom entry would be like, but I was getting better at working with plants. And more than anything else, the night was a success because focusing on floral design kept my mind off Matteo.
I found myself alone in the greenhouse later with Rowan while we put away the garden tools.
“Yesterday I was a mess,” I said quietly, not looking at him. “You really did me a solid by bringing me home. And letting me vent.”
He shrugged as he slid a plastic bin off a shelf and dropped the tools in.
“You sure you’re okay with helping us out at Lilybuds?” I asked. “Both the mural and the photo shoot? It would be so great for Shar.”
“Yeah. Shar’s been good to me.” He slid the bin back on the shelf. “I’ll see you later, Tahira.” He left the greenhouse.
I was glad that he was willing to do this, for Shar’s sake, but even though I loved the idea, I felt weird about working with Rowan on it. Doing another project with Rowan Johnston was either brilliant or a disaster waiting to happen. Nothing in between.
14
THROWN OFF BY A GRAY SHIRT
For the first week after the implosion of what I considered my most serious romantic relationship ever, I didn’t mope, whine, pout, or moan about it. At least not to others. I did when I was alone, though—especially at night, when I was used to getting that last text or call from Matteo before bed. Or when I saw something amazing on Instagram and had an urge to message him about it. When my mind did wander into the memories of his lips on my neck, or the way he’d said good night in Italian, I’d remind myself that yeah, he was probably really into me, but he was into my Instagram follower count more. The strategy worked. Sort of.