Blossoms of Love

by J. M. Jeffries

  “I kind of... I kind of...kissed him last night.” Greer covered her face with her hands, reliving the kiss once more. She’d spent all night dreaming about Daniel and the way his smooth mouth had felt on hers. In the dream she’d let him get a lot further than just a kiss, and the memory brought heat to her cheeks.

  “He’s a good-looking man. No one would blame you.”

  Greer put her head down on her drafting table and resisted the desire to bang her forehead against it. “He freaked me out. One moment we’re talking and the next he’s kissing me, and what do I do? I’m thinking about how I measure up to all those women. He’s kissed some of the most beautiful women in the world and...and I’m just me.”

  “And you told him that, didn’t you?” Chelsea reached over and patted Greer’s head. “You know you can’t be honest with men. Not until you get some mileage on them.”

  Greer pushed her hair back. “I didn’t mean to ask him, but I kept feeling as though the kiss was a test run for something. Or maybe I was testing him.”

  “This is what happens when you date one guy for five years,” Chelsea replied with a little tsk in her tone. “You get no baseline.”

  “Do I have to remind you that you’re the one getting a divorce?” Greer had stayed with Roy because he’d been safe and comfortable and was willing to tolerate her desire to grow her family’s business. He’d asked nothing of her, and until the day he told her he had found someone else, she’d asked nothing of him. Daniel Torres was a totally different type of man. His type A personality overshadowed her own type A personality—and that was speaking volumes.

  Chelsea shrugged. “Christopher isn’t to blame for why our marriage went south. I got married too young. ”

  “And you’re a workaholic.”

  “Just like you,” Chelsea said cheerfully. She poured a mug of hot water and dangled a tea bag in it. When the tea was brewed to her satisfaction, she added a touch of sugar and cream to it and sat down on the sofa.

  “So you won’t take over for me tomorrow?” Greer asked her.

  “Not a chance.”

  “You’re a great sister,” she groaned. “What about Rachel? She could go on the show and talk about how much a good float can cost.”

  Chelsea shook her head. “People don’t want to know how much a float costs. They just want it to be beautiful. The audience wants to see you, the former Rose Queen who changes the fantasy into reality.”

  “It’s going to be awkward,” Greer said.

  “Life is already awkward. And what fun would it be if it wasn’t?”

  “Fun for you.”

  Chelsea laughed. “Always. What kind of sister would I be if I didn’t enjoy your discomfort? Besides, I have a meeting tomorrow with the rep from Trident Airlines.”

  “Your meeting is at two in the afternoon.”

  “I have to get ready. He’s hot and I’m looking for my transition man.”

  Greer groaned. How was she going to face Daniel? She’d questioned his masculinity. Why couldn’t she have just kept her mouth shut? As much as she had enjoyed the kiss, she’d felt uncomfortable and needed to protect herself.

  She didn’t want to, but she needed to apologize. In a way, she’d acted badly. She’d never done something like that before, but her own sense of honesty had got in the way.

  “Got to go, sis,” Chelsea said. She kissed Greer on the cheek and exited the office, leaving Greer to tackle the best way to apologize on her own.

  Chapter 3

  Daniel put his pen down, unable to concentrate. He’d arrived at the studio around four thirty for the 5:00 a.m. start to his show, as usual, and had downed several gallons of coffee. But it wasn’t the caffeine that had him jittery this morning. While the weather, traffic and international news were on, he’d taken the opportunity to step off the set and slip back into his office before the next segment—the weekly update on the float. He tried to push away the apprehension he felt at seeing Greer again. His long discussion with Nick had not helped at all.

  The door to his office crept open. He glanced up to find Greer standing in the doorway. In one hand she held a bouquet of roses in a dozen different colors, and in the other a box of Belgian chocolates. “These are for you.” She thrust the roses and the candy at him. “And I’m sorry for my crazy.”

  Daniel stood, totally and completely charmed by her gesture. He accepted the gifts. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I was presumptuous.”

  “And I was uncomfortable.” She looked relieved that he wasn’t holding anything against her.

  He opened a cabinet under the bar and found a vase for the flowers, which he set on the corner of his desk. Then he opened the box of candy and handed her one.

  She shook her head. “I just brushed my teeth and I’ve already been warned not to eat or drink anything before our segment.”

  He closed the box and set it next to the flowers. “Thank you for these.”

  “I didn’t want to come today. I was worried...”

  “I knew you’d be here.” He brushed aside her comment. “Let’s go knock ’em dead.”

  He led her out onto the set, and she took a seat on the sofa. Her smile was stiff, and her posture told him she needed to relax.

  “Don’t look at the camera,” he whispered. “Look at me.”

  She smiled gratefully.

  The director knelt under the camera, one hand raised. “Five, four, three, two...” He closed his hand into a fist.

  “Good morning, Los Angeles.” Daniel’s greeting was accompanied by applause from the live audience. He couldn’t understand why anyone would be here by four in the morning in order to sit in the audience. But they had arrived, and now he had to give these people a show. “With us again this morning is Miss Greer Courtland from Courtland Float Designs to give us an update on our Rose Parade entry. Miss Courtland.”

  She’d given the director drawings that flashed on the screen as she talked about the flowers that would be the final decoration on his float.

  “The floats can use only organic material.”

  “So no toilet paper like we used in the days when we were in high school,” Daniel put in.

  Greer laughed and visibly relaxed. “No toilet paper. The butterflies will contain a mixture of seeds for the bodies, red, yellow and green carnations for the inside area of the wings and dark red roses for the outer areas.” She went on to explain how the flowers would add so much weight that the floats could easily double or triple in weight, and each pound needed to be accounted for.

  “Do people cheat?”

  She looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “What happens if the flowers don’t come in the right colors?”

  “There’s a lot of last-minute improvising. Nothing ever goes smoothly.”

  “Like what?”

  “Floats break down. The weather is uncomfortable. Sometimes flowers get held up in customs.”

  “Where are these coming from?”

  “All over. My family has contracts with flower growers in Venezuela, Southeast Asia, Florida, Louisiana, even my parents’ next-door neighbor, Mrs. Allenworth. She was a Rose Queen in the sixties, and she has an amazing garden and greenhouse. My parents use her flowers every year as a way to honor her commitment to the parade ideals.”

  “Rose Queens have ideals?”

  “Yes, we do,” Greer said. “We represent the whole concept of the parade and the city of Pasadena. And flowers have their own meanings as well.”

  “What does a bouquet of different colors mean?” He couldn’t help asking the question. It had been on his mind ever since she’d walked in with the colorful bouquet.

  She glanced sharply at him. “Color coordination is a good thing.”

  Not the answer he expected. So...what co
uld he ask?

  “Give us the meanings of some of the flowers.”

  “Red roses symbolize love. Peonies symbolize compassion. If your viewers are interested, they can go to the Courtland website. We have links to direct them to that information.”

  “Thank you.”

  She talked a little more about the float and the staging area at the Rose Bowl parking lot, letting viewers know that volunteers were always appreciated. He suspected she’d garner her fair share of volunteers from the audience, who seemed to love her.

  All too soon her segment ended. When she left the stage, for a moment Daniel wanted to call her back. But he had a show to finish.

  When it finally ended, he wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and told them he would see them again Thanksgiving morning with tips on cooking the perfect turkey.

  He walked back to his office and opened the door to find his sister Nina sitting on the sofa, the box of chocolate open and one piece halfway to her mouth. She looked chic and fashionable in a dark gray suit and a peacock-blue blouse.

  “Nina!”

  “Good chocolate,” she said popping the piece in her mouth and licking her fingers. “These are terrific and made right here in Pasadena. To think I’ve been ordering my chocolate direct from Belgium.”

  “I thought you planned to stay in Reno with Scott’s family for Thanksgiving.”

  “I did, until I got this funky phone call from Nick.”

  “Why did Nick call you?”

  “Apparently, someone we both know is having a love crisis.”

  “Nick’s in love?” Daniel kept his tone teasing.

  “He thinks you are.”

  “I’m not in love.” Daniel sat down next to his sister and popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth. If he kept it full, he might not have to answer her questions.

  Nina took the box away from him and closed it firmly. “It’s that cute parade girl, isn’t it? I’ve seen the way you look at her when you’re together on camera. You can barely form a sentence. You’re pretty funny, and the whole nation is watching your courtship on TV. Oh, big brother, your game is shameful.”

  Daniel glared at her. “Maybe you need to head back to Reno.”

  “And miss the opportunity to talk madness about you? Never.” Nina burst out laughing. “I don’t often get the chance to tweak any of my brothers.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Especially my older brothers. And I hear the flowers—” she held her hand out to the vase of roses “—are from her, too.”

  “Claudia told you.”

  “She did,” Nina said with a chuckle.

  “I need to have a talk with my personal assistant about boundaries.”

  “We’re siblings. There are no personal boundaries between us. Everything is up for family fodder.”

  Daniel groaned. Why me? He was much happier when everyone’s attention was on someone else.

  “Do you know what a bouquet of different colored roses means?” she teased.

  “I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  “It means mixed feelings in the way that says, ‘I don’t know how I feel yet, but I like you enough to bring you roses.’”

  “How do you know that?” he asked.

  “I love reading Regency romances when I have the time, and the meaning of flowers is important in those stories.”

  “You’ve always been the busybody in our family.”

  “I get it from Mom,” she said.

  “Go start your own family, then.”

  “Already done, big bro.” She touched her tummy.

  “What?”

  “Scott and I came to make a formal announcement to the family. That’s why we changed our plans and headed here for Thanksgiving.”

  “Is it okay for you to fly?”

  “I’ve been pregnant for five minutes. The nugget and I are fine.” She patted his cheek.

  “Should you be eating chocolate?”

  “I didn’t prematurely announce my pregnancy to distract you from your love life.”

  “A man can hope.”

  She laughed again. “Oh, bro, we’re going to have so much fun. I want you to take me out to wherever she is and introduce me.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes. I have things to do.” She stood, grabbed her purse and tapped one foot as she waited for him. “Come on, bro. Clock’s ticking.”

  “I thought I was the one who was supposed to check out your potential dates.”

  Nina laughed. “You were nowhere around while I was making my move on Scott.”

  “Probably a good thing. Your ex-commando husband can probably twist me like a soggy pretzel.”

  Nina grabbed him by the arm and tugged him to the door. “Ha-ha. You’re funny. Now let’s go.”

  * * *

  Greer perched on a stool, her drawing pad in hand, beside Daniel’s float. It was still a skeleton of aluminum screen and plastic foam atop the motorized chassis, but not for long.

  “Okay,” Chelsea said. “1-A is red rose petals.”

  Greer marked 1-A on her drawing and added the information to the legend in the corner.

  “Chia seeds for 1-B,” Chelsea called out.

  The floats had been moved to the Rose Bowl parking lot and tucked into a corner. Here the final decorations would be added and, on the morning of the parade, the float staged.

  “Bark for 1-C,” Chelsea yelled.

  The tiniest dimensions were recorded on Greer’s drawing. When completed, the drawing would be copied and handed out to the volunteers so they would know what went where. Nothing was left to chance.

  Chelsea crawled around on the float, calling out directions, until a commotion sounded behind them. She paused, looking up. “Well, look who’s here,” she said, hopping down from the chassis.

  Greer followed her sister’s gaze...and felt her throat grow dry when she saw who approached them.

  “It’s Daniel Torres,” Chelsea said, “and it looks like he brought reinforcements.”

  Greer sighed. “This isn’t going to go well, is it?”

  The woman with Daniel was tall and slim and so beautiful Greer’s breath caught in her throat. She wore designer jeans and a loose-fitting peasant blouse that looked perfect on her.

  Daniel made his way toward Greer, the woman in tow. “Hi,” he said with a wave as he approached. “This is my sister Nina. Nina, this Greer, and the woman over there is Greer’s sister Chelsea. Nina is going to work some PR magic.”

  “I am,” Nina said. She looked pleased.

  Greer hopped down from her stool and held out a hand to Nina. “Pleased to meet you.”

  Nina looked her up and down, a delighted look on her face. “I’ve been enjoying your segments with my brother. If you ever consider a career change, I can get you a great hosting gig. About Town with Greer. How does that sound?”

  Greer was too bemused to answer right away. “I’m fine right where I am. I’m doing what I love.”

  “Of course you are.” She waved a hand at the float. “It’s creative, beautiful and looks like fun, and I know exactly what you mean. You have passion.” She took the drawing pad away from Greer and studied the drawing. “And talent.” Daniel’s phone rang and Nina glanced back at him. “Go ahead and answer that. We’ll keep ourselves busy.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Daniel muttered.

  She pushed him away as his phone chimed again. Daniel put his phone to his ear and walked away. She turned back to Greer. “You have him on the ropes. Congratulations.”

  Greer didn’t know what to say; she was speechless. She thought her sister was going to save her when Chelsea walked over. Then she saw the grin on her sister’s face as she leaned in to Nina.

  “Isn’t that the t
ruth,” Chelsea said. “Let’s dissect.”

  Greer glared at Chelsea. “You’re my sister. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  Chelsea shook her head. “I’m on the side that will provide me with the most amusement.”

  Greer wanted to stomp away. She didn’t want to hear her life being dissected, but Nina caught her by the arm. “Don’t you want to hear Daniel’s secrets? I know them all.”

  Pausing, Greer studied Daniel’s sister. A gleam in the woman’s eyes told Greer she was not going to get away. “I don’t want to hear his secrets.”

  “You’re sucking all the fun out of this for me. My brother hasn’t been confused by a woman since he was seven years old and in love with the girl next door. If I remember correctly, her name was Debra Sands, maybe Sandleman. Something like that.” She shook her head. “Debbie had the prettiest red hair and green eyes and she was fifteen years old and his first older woman.”

  Greer glanced at Daniel. He’d retreated to the open entrance, the phone to his ear, a frown on his face as he listened to the caller.

  “I’m feeling a little uncomfortable.”

  “Don’t,” Nina said with a huge grin. “We Torreses love to taunt each other. There are seven of us kids, so that’s a lot of fodder to be consumed.”

  “How do you keep track of everybody?” Greer asked curiously.

  “Name tags,” Nina replied. “And a good spreadsheet. I had enough blackmail material on my brothers by the time I was ten to keep them all in line until the year 2112.”

  Greer burst out laughing. “Didn’t they do the same to you?”

  “They tried.” She winked at Greer. “Daniel and I were the best ones at talking ourselves out of trouble. And when he couldn’t, he blamed Nick for everything. Poor Nick got blamed for dyeing our mom’s dog pink and purple. But that was me. He got blamed for the reproductive system mural that ended up in the den. That was Daniel. Fortunately for us, Nick was good-natured about it. He got me back when he glued my braids together. My mother had to cut them off. And I was so traumatized I never grew my hair out again.”

  “Harsh,” Chelsea said. “The worst thing my sisters ever did to me was hide my senior prom dress an hour before my date was to arrive.”