“Of course.” Mal struggled to keep her voice calm and even. She picked up a pair of flower snips and worked them open, closed, then open again. The action was calming and helped her remember the customer was always right. She couldn’t forget this woman was capable of destroying her future as a wedding planner. “Did you have a new color scheme in mind?”
The bell above the door tinkled again as a new customer stepped into the shop. She chanced a look away from Mrs. A.S. long enough to call toward the front of the store. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”
“Take your time. I’ll browse.”
The familiar bass voice floated back toward her and eased up her spine in a sexy swirl. It was him. Gunnar Sims. The regular Monday morning customer she’d developed a crush on. It didn’t matter that every other week he purchased a lavish bouquet for a different woman. He was just that attractive. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, sunny blond hair, and Nordic blue eyes. He looked like a sophisticated Viking raider. But his looks weren’t the only thing that attracted her. His intelligence and personality were bigger turn-ons than his body.
A sharp rap of knuckles on the granite countertop drew her attention back to Mrs. Aubrey-Smith.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
“Really Malin,” she intoned, pronouncing her name May-lin. Deliberately. Mal had explained no less than three time it was Mahl-in. It was one of Mrs. A.S.’s sneaky ways to keep underlings in their places. “It’s your job to know what would be best. You should know the most current trends. You are a wedding planner. Isn’t this what we pay you for?”
Mal did a fast count to five, tipping her head to the side as if deep in thought. “Yes, of course. The latest fad sweeping aristocratic European weddings is a monochromatic palette. Tones of white, cream, and ivory, with only a small bit of colored ribbon used for emphasis. I’ve seen pictures of Princess Caroline of Lichtenberg’s ceremony. Simply lovely.” She let a reverent sigh gust past her lips. “Perhaps we could consider that.”
“It’s a royal trend, you say?” Damn if the woman’s nose didn’t twitch like a pit bull smelling blood.
“Oh yes. You can do an Internet search for pictures. But…” She trailed off, and as expected, Mrs. A.S. leaned in, waiting for her next words. She lowered her voice and continued. “What if we built on the trend and started one of our own?”
“What do you have in mind? Something befitting the first family of Granite Pointe, I assume.”
Choking noises erupted from across the store. Darting her eyes Gunnar’s direction, she caught his exaggerated eye roll behind the woman’s back. She bit her lip to curb the grin that begged for release. Thankfully, Mrs. Aubrey-Smith didn’t notice. Malin shook her head at him, then turned her attention back to the self-appointed first lady in front of her.
Drawing a deep breath, she forged ahead with her idea. “I took a refresher course in November at floral design school. Part of my continuing education requirement.”
“There’s a design school for florists?”
“Oh yes. They even offer a bridal boot camp to help their students stay on top of trends. Anyway, we did some interesting work with mixed media, you know, not just flowers, but beads and berries.” She walked to the display case and selected a few items, then carried them to the worktable. After picking up her scissors, she started trimming. Sweet, earthy scents of snipped grass emanated from the trimmed stalks. “We could use one large statement flower, like this gardenia, then surround it with stephanotis, another white flower, toss in a couple of white roses, some blush-colored hypericum berries and bamboo shafts.” She added a variegated fern, twisted everything together and wrapped the entire grouping with a wide white silk band.
“I don’t know…”
Oh, Mrs. A.S. did too know. Her eyes gleamed. She’d never seen anything quite like this design before, which meant none of her society friends had either.
Gunnar sidled up next to Momzilla and leaned on the counter. He turned his smile on the aging diva. “You don’t mind if I watch, do you? I like to see creativity at work.”
“Of course not.” The woman lifted her nose into the air and gave a pretentious sniff.
“Thank you. I think Malin is a genius. How lucky are you to have her working on your daughter’s wedding? You were very clever to book her services.”
Malin eyed him, wondering what he was up to, but didn’t stop fashioning the bouquet. The fragrance of the gardenia, clean and fresh, invaded her senses. She loved working with the pretty, aromatic flower. The small arrangement was taking shape quite nicely. She plucked three pearl-headed pins from the pincushion on the work surface and carefully guided them into the stephanotis blooms. Holding it aloft, she turned it from side-to-side, allowing her customer to admire it. Bone deep satisfaction in creating something so lovely settled on her. She’d have sighed at the perfection suspended between her hands, but she was too busy holding her breath, waiting for Mrs. A.S.’s reaction.
The woman tilted her head to the side, a faint smile curling her lips. She turned to face Gunnar. “What do you think?”
Oh, Lord, did she really just ask a man what he thought of a bridal bouquet? In Malin’s experience, most guys rolled their eyes back in their sockets after the first three minutes in her shop. He winked at Mal, then considered the flowers in her hands. This could go horribly wrong. Mal bit her cheek and hunched her shoulders.
He reached for the spray. “May I?”
His fingers brushed the back of her hand as he took it from her. Heat shot straight up her arm and lodged in her throat. His eyes widened infinitesimally, his pupils expanding. Had he felt it too? She pulled her hand away, tucking it in the pocket of her work apron.
Gunnar stared at the sample bouquet for a time before handing it to Mrs. A.S., who clutched it against her chest. He cleared his throat. “What I think is... If I’m standing at the altar, waiting to join my life to the woman I love, I’m not going to notice flowers. Everything else, even her very lovely mother, pales in comparison to the bride’s beauty.”
Oh, no. The crevices surrounding Mrs. A.S.’s lips erupted again. She certainly understood when someone was blowing sunshine up her ass. “The flowers aren’t for the groom, young man. Other women in the assembly will notice. What I want them to see is how exquisite our taste is. How unique.”
Dammit! The woman had been hooked until Gunnar had turned on the charm. Now Gunnar’s over-the-top schmoozing meant she’d have to hard sell the old biddy. She mentally shooed him away and prayed he was telepathic.
She grabbed her iPad from the shelf. Swiping her finger across the screen, she fast-talked to divert attention. “What if we used these arrangements for the bridesmaids, but went completely avant-garde for Ashleigh?” She turned the tablet toward Mrs. A.S., sharing a bridal photo featuring a brooch bouquet. “We’ll find pieces that sparkle and glitter in various consignment stores and wire them together with tiny flowers, adding depth and dimension. Maybe there’s a special piece or two in your personal jewelry collection, a family heirloom, which we could use as a focal point. You have such exquisite taste in jewelry. I’ve seen some of your fabulous statement pieces and think they’d be perfect for an evening wedding.”
Mrs. A.S. looked between the screen and the flowers she’d tossed to the counter after Gunnar had opened his stupid mouth. Deciding to go all in, Malin rushed on, “We could even carry the design through to Ashleigh’s shoes. We’ll dress them up to resemble Cinderella shoes. Or the shoes Princess Diana wore on her wedding day.” Malin held her breath again, waiting for a final judgment.
Anxiety released its crushing grip on her shoulders when the wrinkles surrounding the other woman’s lips disappeared. Mrs. A.S. nodded her head curtly. “That will do nicely.” Sparing a tight smile for Gunnar, she donned her coat like a suit of armor, buttoned it up to her neck, then grabbed the flowers off the counter. “We’ll go with that idea. Now, I really must run. I’ve wasted too much time here telling you how to do your job to
day. Really, May-lin, you must do better.”
Mal locked her jaws to keep her mouth from dropping open. Mrs. ASS fluttered her fingers over her shoulder and then jerked the door open to depart. Because she knew how visible she was through the wall of glass windows at the front of the store, Mal pasted a smile on her face, trying not to wince as she ground her teeth together. The mother of the Bride from Hell reversed out of the handicapped slot she should never have parked in and drove away.
Mal dropped her chin to her chest and slowly exhaled her pent-up breath. When she looked up again, Gunnar wore a deep scowl.
His biceps were clearly defined in his jacket sleeves when he crossed his muscular arms over his chest. “Why the hell do you let her talk to you like that?”
Also by Gemma Brocato
Contemporary Romance
The Five Senses Series
Cooking Up Love
Hearts In Harmony
Exposed To Passion
Bed Of Roses
Five Senses Shorts
A Winter Wedding
A Spirited Love
Playing For Love (Coming Fall 2015)
Science Fiction Romance
Mission: Mistletoe
About The Author
Gemma's favorite desk accessories for many years were a circular wooden token, better known as a 'round tuit,' and a slip of paper from a fortune cookie proclaiming her a lover of words; some day she'd write a book. All it took was a transfer to the United Kingdom, the lovely English springtime, and a huge dose of homesickness to write her first novel. Once it was completed and sent off with a kiss, even the rejections addressed to 'Dear Author' were gratifying.
After returning to America, she spent a number of years as a copywriter, dedicating her skills to making insurance and the agents who sell them sound sexy. Eventually, her full-time job as a writer interfered with her desire to be a writer full-time and she left the world of financial products behind to pursue an avocation as a romance author.
Her gamble paid off when she was a 2012 Finalist in the prestigious Golden Pen contest for Romantic Suspense and she received contracts for her first and second book.
To learn more about Gemma and her works,
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Hearts In Harmony
Five Senses Book #2
Sometimes life’s most simple melodies become songs of love.
Pippa Sanders’ life is filled with songs of leaving, longing and loneliness. Since the death of her husband, her children have been her world. She’ll do anything to protect them, including encasing her heart in ice until they’re college age. She’s made a practice of shying away from any relationship that could break her heart when it ends. And it’s worked so far.
Clay Mathers has made a temporary move to Granite Pointe, Massachusetts to help with his mother’s Christmas tree farm while she recovers from a stroke. Although his long-range plans don’t include staying in the small town, a little female companionship during his short residency would be welcome. While on duty as sentry against protestors at a military funeral, he finds Pippa visiting her husband’s grave, and begins a campaign to make her into a friend–with benefits.
What starts as a simple affair evolves to something more, something that changes the soundtracks of both their lives…the beating of two hearts in harmony.
Amazon
Exposed To Passion
Five Senses Book #3
They walked through the shadows individually. Will they emerge into the light together?
Leading a vagabond life as a curator for a traveling photography exhibit translates to a lot of bad days for Rikki Salerno. But her trouble doubles when a careless high school student shoves her into a marsh. Being rescued by teacher Sam Kerrigan should have made things better, but Rikki’s inability to confess her true identity casts a shadow over their budding affair.
When Sam refuses an overly aggressive parent’s marriage proposal, she’s determined to ruin him. Not only does she doctor photos to make it look like Sam’s behaved inappropriately in front of students, she hacks the foundation website to reveal Rikki’s true identity. Faster than the blink of a shutter, Rikki’s focus changes from pursuing her full-color future to the black and white necessity of clearing Sam’s name.
Amazon
Bed Of Roses
Five Senses Book #4
With the right amount of nurturing, love will bloom.
This close to Valentine’s Day Malin Eckert’s flower shop is entering their busiest season. As if the added work isn’t enough, her father’s drinking has spiraled out of control and Mal discovers she’s been named guardian of a fifteen-year-old sibling she never knew about. To make matters worse, Mal’s crushing on a customer, a serial dater who drops by the shop with alarming regularity to send flowers to other women.
Gunnar Sims never had the best luck with women, a fact that doesn’t stop his growing attraction to his florist. His new business is losing money and he should be concentrating on that, but instead finds Mal an enticing distraction.
In spite of her best intentions to keep Gunnar firmly in the friend zone, Mal finds herself falling for the classically handsome gym owner. As her affection for Gunnar and her sister, Gabriella, grows, Mal’s heart hangs in the balance when it appears both could be taken away from her.
Content Warning: Hard bodies, spoiled princesses, and a levelheaded woman who knows how to smell the roses.
Amazon
A Winter Wedding
A Five Senses Short
With their hearts in harmony, tying the knot should be a piece of wedding cake for Pippa Sanders and Clay Mathers.
But Fate’s a nasty mistress. One week before their special day, Pippa narrowly escapes when fire erupts in the ballroom they’d reserved for the ceremony. They’ll have to use every resource at their fingertips to implement Plan B. In this case, B stands for the barn at the Sleepy T Christmas Tree Farm.
Hobbled by a sprained ankle, Pippa is unable to help with the preparations. In spite of the grime accumulated over twenty years, Clay is determined. He promises Pip he’ll transform the barn into an idyllic location for a winter wedding. Plus, he’ll make time to throw in a special surprise.
What Clay doesn’t factor into his plan is the snowstorm bearing down on them. With predictions of up to two feet of snow, will Mother Nature prove too much of an obstacle to overcome?
Amazon
Mission: Mistletoe
In her quest to find a cure for the disease that killed her father, Rhayne Drake accepts a position as a researcher on a remote space station. Once in orbit around Saturn, she uncovers the true intent of the study: the ruling political party plans to use her research to kill, instead of cure, anyone carrying the genetic marker for the disease. Including Rhayne herself.
Griffin Cooper, the station’s recreation manager, is charmed when he meets Rhayne. First he saved her from death by cargo-mover. Now he’ll fight to save her from a worse fate.
Set against a Saturnalia, a winter holiday festival, Rhayne and Griffin must find a way to defeat the political Coalition’s sinister plot before it’s too late.
Amazon
ding books on Archive.
A Spirited Love (A Five Senses Short Book 2) Page 13