The assistant scampered away.
Elly heard a popular hip hop song coming from Lizette’s pocket and felt grateful for the distraction.
Lizette sighed loudly and flipped her phone open. “Honey, what do you need? I am very busy and don’t have a lot of time for your questions.” There was silence. “Well, I don’t know about Tommy’s allergies – have you called the nanny? She would know. Mm-kay. Mm-kay. Well, just run a bath for him and wait until she comes over. Well, Philip, I DON’T KNOW, you are supposed to be cooking dinner while I am out making a livin’. I want a salad, and I want the sugared almonds and no, I don’t care if you have to take Tommy downtown covered in calamine lotion, I want those damn almonds!”
Elly bit her lip to keep from breathing. She slowly backed away from the boxwood trees, and tiptoed towards her cart. Unfortunately, her weak ankles didn’t provide a great support for her curvy figure and one turned in, sending Elly flying into a shelf of azalea bushes. There was a giant crash, and a terra cotta planter exploded near Elly’s feet. Oh no. She heard Lizette pause suspiciously.
“Honey, I’ll call you back. Don’t even think about moving.” Her phone snapped shut loudly. Elly hastily tried to put everything back on the shelf as she heard Lizette’s stilettos echo ominously toward her. The metallic clicking rounded the corner and stopped short. Elly turned around on her knees and raised her hand in a half-wave.
“Hello, Lizette.”
Lizette smirked, her wide lips opening in a saccharine smile. “Elleeee Jordan. Why is it that every time I see you, you are in some kind of mess?”
Elly brushed the soil off her pants and tried to look as dignified as possible. “Lizette. Always good to see you.”
Lizette gestured to the mess at Elly’s feet. “Were you buying that hideous planter?” She snorted. “Well, I guess you will be now!” She strode up to Elly, phone still in hand. “So I guess you know we’ll be seeing each other next week for the Kepke wedding!”
Elly stared at her blankly. “Of course I know, we’ve been emailing each other for weeks about the details – remember?”
Lizette waved her hand, “Oh, my assistant does all that for me now. You must have been emailing back and forth with her.”
That’s why the emails have been so competent, Elly silently mused.
Lizette put her hand on her hip. “You know, this Kepke wedding is the biggest wedding I booked this year. So imagine my surprise when Sunny told me that YOU would be taking care of all the details and that she only wanted me to do day-of coordinating.” She eyed Elly furiously, “I bet you are making a fortune.”
Elly shifted her eyes to the floor. “Sunny has used our shop in the past, and she trusted us to execute her vision.”
Lizette stomped her foot. “Do you really think that you are equipped to handle this amount of planning? Aren’t you just a florist?”
Elly felt a growl deep within her chest. Just a florist. You’re just an idiot, she thought.
“Our staff is equipped for anything. We may usually do just flowers, but we have helped many brides with the smaller details of a wedding.” She paused and threw caution to the wind. “Obviously Sunny preferred just a florist over your expansive planning services.”
Lizette narrowed her eyes. “You aren’t just a florist darling, or did you forget? You’re the ex-wife of the groom!”
Elly felt as if a cavern had been punched through her stomach. She knew. Lizette Kobel knew. Oh no. If Lizette knew, that meant that the entire St. Louis wedding industry knew. Instant panic clouded her eyes.
Lizette smiled. “Elleee Jordan, you naughty little thing. I would have never thought that you would lie to your client, just to secure the wedding of the year. I have to say, hun, I’m a little impressed. You sure you don’t want to come work for me?”
Elly shook her head and struggled to find her voice. “How did you –”
“Oh Lucia, told me. I tell you what, that is the sweetest girl. She and I have become GOOD friends. And she’s such a beauty. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone so…provocative.” She played with her short spiky hair. “I’ve even requested to my hairstylist that the next time I come in, we are going RED. Of course, a size 2 waist and perky boobs don’t hurt.” She looked Elly up and down. “Your ex-husband must not have a type.”
Elly felt her hands shake with anger. “Lizette, no offense, but you know nothing about this.”
Lizette frowned. “Oh, I know everything about this. I know how this is your little revenge on Lucia, about how this is your attempt to win him back. I know that you don’t want Sunny to know, and neither does Lucia. And I know, dear, that this knowledge is worth power.”
Elly balked.
“Don’t make that face. I’m just using my God-given skills. I’m not asking for much. Maybe just that after this wedding is over, that you come looking to me to partner up with my company. If you book a wedding, than you send me your brides and I’ll send you mine.” Her eyes glittered. “Exclusively.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Elly snapped. “We get twice as many brides as you do.”
Lizette gave a feline grin. “I know.” She wheeled around on her heel. “Maybe just think about it, Elly Jordan. I would hate after the wedding if word got out that you were dishonest.”
Elly stood perfectly still, shocked and furious. “How dare you…”
“No” said Lizette curtly, “How dare YOU not tell Sunny the truth? You made this bed, honey, now you have to lie in it. All’s fair in weddings, my darling.” She stalked towards the counter. “By the way, nice job on that first husband of yours! Aaron is the most gorgeous thing I’ve laid my eyes on in awhile.”
With that, Elly lost control. She grabbed a handful of soil and flung it at Lizette. It fell short by about two feet.
“That was pathetic,” said Lizette.
“Your accent is pathetic” retorted Elly, feeling like she was in third grade. “Everyone knows it’s fake.”
Lizette smiled. “I know” she said, molasses dripping from her mouth. “But ah luuuhv the way it sounds. And so do my brides.”
Elly took a step menacingly towards Lizette. She wasn’t afraid of her the way she was afraid of Lucia. “I’ll….”
Ashlee, the naïve assistant, ran breathlessly up the aisle and handed Lizette some god-awful pink ribbon. “I found it, I found it! Is this right?” She looked as if she was prepared to get beaten.
Lizette glanced down at it. “This looks fine, I guess. It’s not ideal, but when I work with you I guess we all have to lower our expectations.” The girl’s face fell. Elly felt compelled to take her into her arms. Lizette headed towards the exit. “Think about what I said Elly. We could be of use to each other. It’s just good business. Otherwise, you might find yourself needing MAH help to get brides.” She turned to her assistant. “AshLEE! Go get the car. Right now. Also, call my nanny and tell her that Tommy is sick. I swear to God….”
Elly clutched the handle of her shopping cart, closed her eyes and counted to ten. Taking deep breaths, she slowly calmed down, reminding herself that homicide was never legal, even when it was justified. When she opened her eyes Lizette was gone, and Kim stood in front of her face looking skeptical. “Why are you standing in the middle of the wholesaler with your eyes closed? Did something happen?”
Elly sighed. “I’ll tell you in the car.” She looked at Kim’s carts, piled high with shopping bags. “Wow, you did some major damage.”
Kim grinned. “I know, isn’t it great? I found these amazing black and white paisley cashmere throws, this Springray topiary, and just wait until you see all the other pink stuff I bought for the nursery.”
Elly mustered up a smile. “I can’t wait.”
Kim put her hand on her hip. “What’s wrong? Tell me now before I shake it out of you.”
“Well...” Elly replied, “the good news is that I found some adorable votives. The bad news is that I think I’m being blackmailed.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Anthony held up Elly’s bright pink polo.
“What the heck is this?”
Elly put her finger up and mouthed “Hold on,” as she pulled the leaves off a yellow ranunculus while cradling the phone with her shoulder.
“No. No. Sir, please, you are not listening to me. I need everyone ready to go at 7 am. Yes, seven. I know that means you have to get up at 5:30, but that is what time I need you and your workers to be here.” There was an uncomfortable pause. “I’ll buy everyone breakfast burritos.” A smile stretched across her tired face. “That sounds great. I will see you Saturday.”
Elly grimaced as she hung up the phone and turned to Anthony. “What is it? I’m not sure I can handle any more problems today.”
It was three days before the wedding. Elly had been up since the night before, getting the store ready for the massive flower shipment arriving tomorrow, and the next day…and the day after that. One hundred and fifty water-filled black buckets lined the walls of the store, the counters and various desks and tables. Elly had already knocked over two today, leaving her knees damp and sore.
“What’s wrong with that shirt?” she asked.
Anthony looked at it with disgust. “You are designing and delivering the wedding of the year. You cannot wear a pink polo.” He spit out the words as if they disgusted him.
Elly rolled her eyes in his direction. “What would you have me wear – a ballgown? Maybe a tiara?”
Anthony snickered. “No, just something with some…elegance.”
Snarky Teenager marched up to Elly from the back of the store, her perfect ponytail bouncing behind her. “I’ll buy you something. I have wicked style.”
Elly frowned. “I’m not wearing just a bra if that’s what you have in mind.”
Snarky Teenager accidentally kicked over a bucket of water as she reached for Elly. “What size are you – crap!”
Elly sighed. “Ignore it. I’m pretty sure our carpet is already ruined.” Elly spun around as Snarky Teenager grabbed for her collar. “No – no, I’ll just write it down for you.”
Snarky Teenager caught her and glanced at her tag. “Whoa. I thought sizes only went up to eight. Where do you buy...” she gestured to the tag. “THIS size?” She paused dramatically. “Do I have to go back to the mumu store?”
Elly gave her an exasperated look. “A fourteen-sixteen is not that hard to find. I’m not talking to you anymore. Go finish prepping the greenery.”
Snarky Teenager stomped her foot. “Seriously? I’ve been prepping now for, like, three hours!”
“Wait until the actual flowers get here, then you will have nothing to complain about. It’s a good thing we are doing the greenery early, because we are going to be processing and designing every hour of our life for the next three days.”
Snarky Teenager sulked to the back. She looked so ridiculous that Elly couldn’t help but snicker.
Anthony swept up some stems in a tiny space between buckets. “She’s crazy about you – you know that, right?”
Elly harrumphed him. “Thanks to you, she is probably texting all her friends my size right at this very moment.”
Anthony laughed. “Probably.” He looked around. “Are we all ready for this? I’m starting to have stress dreams and stomach cramps.”
Elly gathered a handful of pale lavender wax flower and weaved it with the yellow ranuculus, sticking it in her tiny vase. “Ahh,” she sighed. One square of inch of perfection in a store filled with chaos. “Tell me about it. I’ve been having horrible nightmares.”
She let the description fall into empty air. Anthony didn’t want to hear about her dreams: dreams in which Lucia chased her through her mother’s empty house, carrying a broken wine glass and screaming at the top of her lungs. Paint dripped down from the walls in a multitude of colors, and Elly was always hopelessly lost, looking for something that she could never find. Lucia pushed her closer and closer to the wall, making the paint drip over Elly’s face. Just as she couldn’t breathe anymore, paint filling her mouth, Lucia’s face would change to Aaron’s and Elly would wake up with a scream, bathed in sweat, her hands clutching the sheets. It took half an hour before her heart stopped hammering enough for her to fall back asleep. Cadbury, sensing the change in her, would lay his heavy head over her lap, his steady breathing finally lulling her into peace.
Elly snapped back to reality. “Mmm…Stress dreams, me too.”
“Can you believe it’s only three days away?” Anthony’s dark eyes lingered on hers. “Are you ready for this, sweetheart?”
No, no, I will never be ready for this, thought Elly, I’ve considered leaving the country every hour.
“I…” her words seemed to melt away.
Anthony put down the broom and flung his wide arm around Elly. “We’re going to be fine. There’s nothing that we can’t do together. Just a short while ago, when you hired me, I had no job, no friends, no money. This store - it’s my livelihood, my social life, it’s everything. So, I’m not gonna let this ship go down, not while I’m here.”
Elly felt like bursting into grateful tears and bit her lip to keep from weeping. “Thanks, Anthony. I think we’ll be okay, too. As long as I have you, I don’t know how I can feel anything but confident.” As she turned back to the buckets, Elly hoped that her voice didn’t betray the excruciating doubt she felt.
At 5 pm, after shutting off the lights to the studio, Elly arrived at her door, eagerly awaiting her leftover enchiladas in the fridge that would be accompanied unashamedly by some ice cream gorging in front of the television. Instead, she saw a familiar inked note taped to the door.
Elly, it read, Please join me tonight for dinner and wine. It seems like you could use a night off.
Elly sighed with contentment. Just when doubts about Isaac seemed to creep up, he always redeemed himself in a big way. It was also his luck that she never got tired of staring at his earthly beauty, running her fingers through his thick curls or kissing him. Oh – Elly felt a tingle run up her spine – kissing him was heavenly. She ran quickly inside, changed into jeans, a grey sweater and silver earrings, along with a splash of perfume on her neck. Cadbury got a quick walk, and rewarded her by dragging his mud-covered paws on the sofa.
Twenty minutes later, Elly stood at Isaac’s door, dizzy with hunger and longing to feel safe somewhere. She gave a soft knock. The door swung open, and Isaac pulled her swiftly against his chest. Elly gasped. In the soft lighting he was ridiculously beautiful. His black henley shirt clung to his chest, and his ripped khaki shorts showed off long and muscular legs.
Elly pulled back from him confused. “Um, are you wearing shorts? It’s November, remember?”
Issac made a serious face and yanked her inside his apartment. “I don’t conform myself to the seasons.”
Elly laughed, but noticed that Isaac didn’t. Oh. He was serious. She quickly sobered.
He nuzzled her neck. “You smell amazing...like the damp earth.”
Elly smiled. “That’s because I’ve been processing greenery all day. On top of that, I had six separate deliveries to schedule and Snarky Teenager seems incapable of getting drivers who can…”
“Wow, that sounds tough” interrupted Isaac. “Come inside, I have something to show you!”
Elly followed him into his bare bones living room, and noticed that it was more empty than usual. “Where is your couch?” she asked.
“I sold it. I felt like it was keeping me away from my true potential… my music was stronger when I sat on the floor or the balcony, so I didn’t want it to be a temptation. By removing the stigma that I have to sit ON something, it allows the whole apartment to be my dwelling place.”
Elly nodded, confused. “Yes…but now you have no couch.”
Isaac kissed her fingertips. “Yes. I have no couch, which is why we will sit on the blanket.” He gestured into the dining room, where a large red afghan was unfolded on the floor, covered in pillows. Two paper plates and wine glasses we
re set in the middle, surrounded by tiny little votives. He smiled down at her. “I know you had a long week and you have a tough couple of days coming up. I wanted to do something nice for you, Elly.”
Elly was overwhelmed by this small, sweet gesture. She cupped Isaac’s cheeks in her hands. “You are good for me. Every part of you has been a wondrous surprise.”
Isaac opened his mouth to say something suggestive and Elly put her finger over his lips. “Don’t ruin it.”
Elly settled herself down on the thin afghan and shoved a pillow under her legs. “I’m intrigued. What are we having?”
Isaac smiled. “Well, I think it’s something you will like, and I worked all afternoon on it.” He came out of the kitchen carrying two familiar sandwich bags. “I know you love Keith’s deli, so I bought you your favorite sandwich. I ALSO got us this amazing salad and chocolate ganache cake for dessert.”
Elly felt her heart sink. Keith? The last thing she needed tonight was to think of Keith. Keith tipping his hat at her. Keith tricking her into thinking they were good friends, when he had ulterior motives. Keith’s face, covered with tiny reflections of light, the way her body had simply radiated light when he touched her….Ugh! Elly slammed her hand down on the rug. Keith and his stupid, stupid sandwich face! Elly was suddenly furious at him. Who did he think he was, walking into her store at two in morning and telling her that Isaac wasn’t the right guy for her? How rude! Elly scoffed as she looked at Isaac, humming to himself as he folded his legs underneath him. Isaac...not the right guy? Look at him, she thought, how could he be the wrong guy?
“You okay?” Isaac asked, putting the sandwiches on the plates. “Do you want something else? I could order a pizza…”
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