In Love by Christmas

by Cari Lynn Webb

  “We never ventured much past first names.” Lilian Rose smoothed a hair behind her ear and twisted away from Adriana to face the flower table. “I would think severe allergies should be listed on each candidate’s application. Leaving out pertinent information could be a sign of future deceit. Something to keep in mind, Josie.”

  Theo had boundaries, had she breeched them? Had Theo left out pertinent information? Josie leaned back out of the camera’s recording area. “Maybe he wanted to share more of that kind of information with you in person.”

  “I joined a matchmaking service precisely to avoid such a thing. I want those details known to move the relationship along quickly.” Lilian Rose ignored Josie’s comment as if Josie’s words carried no more weight than the pollen from spring daisies. “Had it been listed on Samuel’s résumé, I’d not have wasted the past few hours getting ready.”

  Josie watched Lilian Rose speak to her phone, her voice casual, friendly and informative, like Josie’s favorite sewing vlogger. She glanced at Adriana. Her fingers tapped an irritated beat against her folded arms. The corners of her mouth pulled down, stopping shy of a full scowl. Lilian Rose’s indifference to her daughter’s presence no doubt frustrated Adriana. Yet Josie sensed from the way Adriana pulled herself inward from her shoulders to waist that her frustration with her mother ran deeper than video recordings.

  Suspicion sliced through Adriana’s tone. “Why did you pick my florist for a first date?”

  Tension descended like a thick curtain on a Broadway stage. Adriana straightened her shoulders. This was not the quaint family gathering Josie assumed the Taylors always experienced. Both women seemed to be circling around each other, withholding from each other. It wasn’t the mother-daughter relationship she’d expected.

  “I chose to meet Samuel here. It’s a perfectly suitable place. Public and open.” Lilian Rose never flinched beneath her expertly applied makeup. “Now that you’re here, we can discuss the flowers you’ve chosen for your wedding.” She turned and leaned toward the poinsettias and her phone. “This is called pivoting in the moment to make the most of your situation. It’s also important to know when to pivot to take advantage of an opportunity. More on that later.”

  Josie examined the cell phone, propped at the perfect angle for maximum coverage. She’d helped Mia enough on photo shoots to recognize the correct placement for optimal lightning and ideal selfies. Now Lilian Rose had imparted another life lesson in less than ten minutes. She was definitely speaking to an audience. Definitely recording for more than her own vanity.

  “The flower arrangements have already been chosen, Mother.” Adriana adjusted her purse on her shoulder and glanced down the sidewalk. “Josie and I were heading to Rustic Grill.”

  Josie blinked. Rustic Grill hadn’t been their destination. Josie would learn nothing about Adriana’s wedding venues at a bar and grill. Unless Adriana booked an after-hours private room to continue the celebration after the formal reception. That hardly seemed like Adriana’s style, let alone Theo’s.

  “But I haven’t seen your floral choices.” Lilian Rose pivoted, added one quick glance and smirk at her cell phone. “And the wait time at Rustic Grill can be unbearable at this hour on Saturday evening. What’s a few minutes’ delay?”

  A woman wearing a snowman-print apron and name tag that read Baylee stepped out of the floral shop and greeted Adriana. “I thought that was you. The Casablanca lilies that you called about last week came in earlier than I expected. I’d love to show them to you.”

  “That’s perfect timing.” Lilian Rose snatched her phone from the table and opened the floral-shop door. “Shall we?”

  The florist walked inside, answering Lilian Rose’s question about the lilies’ scent.

  Adriana moved beside Josie and whispered, “Remember that other bride I mentioned?”

  Josie nodded.

  “It’s my mother,” Adriana whispered, her tone brittle.

  That was complicated. Josie rubbed her forehead, as if that would sort the truth into something she could understand. What happened to the mother-daughter duo she’d seen in the photographs? Josie pointed at the entrance to the floral shop. “Wasn’t Lilian Rose just on a first date?”

  “She’s not exactly doing things in order.” Adriana’s cheeks had reddened. “Would you mind joining us? I could use a buffer.”

  The Taylor family wasn’t so perfect, after all. Josie was oddly fascinated, not that she should be. Yet for Josie, this brought the Taylors into the approachable, ordinary category. This brought the Taylors into a category Josie could relate to. Made Theo’s world not so different from her own. She held open the door for Adriana.

  Lilian Rose sniffed a bouquet of red roses and asked Baylee, “Would it be a problem to double the order of white roses?”

  Adriana lifted her hands and shook her head. “I don’t need that many roses.”

  Her mother seemed taken aback. “What am I supposed to put on my tables?”

  “You don’t have tables.” Adriana’s face hardened into impassiveness. A harshness scuffed her low-pitched voice. “Or a reception venue.”

  “I will soon,” her mother assured her. “And I’ll need flowers, too.”

  “You can’t choose the same flowers.” There was nothing flexible about Adriana, from her low voice to her rigid posture.

  “Why not?” Lilian Rose cradled an arrangement of winter blooms as if she’d just made the finals in a beauty pageant. “Copying is the highest form of flattery. Not to mention I’ve always adored white roses and Casablanca lilies.”

  “Pick something else to like,” Adriana challenged.

  “Perhaps you should change your choices.” Lilian Rose stuck the roses back into the bucket of water and spun around holding a miniature pine tree. “Pine branches and eucalyptus could be quite nice together.” Lilian Rose waved to Baylee and asked for sample.

  Josie wanted to ask for a cease-and-desist between mother and daughter.

  “I already chose my bouquet and centerpieces. There’s no need for changes.” Adriana returned the volley with another swift hit. “Besides, I’ve always disliked eucalyptus.”

  Josie disliked family discord. Ariana should be enjoying planning her wedding, not competing with her mother to be “first one down the aisle.” Josie typed a text to Theo: You need to come to Bouquets by Baylee now.

  His reply came swiftly:In a meeting.

  Josie glared at her phone and typed: Leave.

  No.

  “You need to open yourself to change and not be so uncompromising.” Lilian Rose handed Adriana a branch of eucalyptus. “Otherwise you’ll stop growing. And no one wants that.”

  Adriana paced away from her mother, then spun around. “You’re not getting married, Mother.”

  “I intend to.” Lilian Rose snapped a leaf off the branch.

  “Why?” Adriana asked.

  “It’s past time.” Lilian Rose frowned at the flower arrangement. “You and your brother don’t need me. You’re all grown up now.”

  “We never needed you.” Adriana fired a verbal shot with the skill of a pro. “You made sure of that.”

  Lilian Rose blanched.

  That couldn’t be good. It was also never good to order someone around. Still, Josie continued texting. Yes. Now. Otherwise your mother and sister might start a bridal war in the floral shop right now.

  What?

  Now she had his full attention. Josie typed: Your mother wants the same flowers as your sister.

  On my way. Keep them separated.

  Lilian Rose recovered and swiped clear lip gloss over her lips, sealing that first crack in her polished veneer. She looked at Josie, her voice imploring Josie to take her side. “It’s not as if Adriana chose unique flowers. Pinecones, holly berries and lilies are hardly rare and uncommon. They’re the staple vanilla choice of every winter
bride from here to the Midwest.”

  Josie retreated, dodging Lilian Rose’s unkind words.

  “My choices are not bland or ordinary.” Adriana’s voice eased, her expression brightened. “Ryan and I chose our flowers together as a couple. That’s what real couples do. Real couples make the big decisions together.”

  “Real couples are also strong enough individuals that trust their partner will make the best decision for them both.”

  Adriana curled her fingers around a glass globe filled with petite stemmed roses and baby’s breath. “You aren’t suggesting that Ryan and I aren’t a real couple, are you?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” Lilian Rose’s smile barely moved her cheeks. “Just as you wouldn’t dream of being so cruel as to tell your own mother that she was never needed.”

  Adriana lifted her arm with the glass vase. Josie intercepted, eased the vase from her grip and guided Adriana across the small space.

  This was not the Taylor family depicted online or in the Coast to Coast Living brand. Josie searched for a way to defuse the situation. Was there ever a dispute-resolution section in the Coast to Coast Living magazine? If she left the floral shop intact and undamaged, she was going to insist Coast to Coast Living’s advice columnist do a year-long series on dysfunctional family dynamics.

  In the meantime, Josie sought a distraction.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THEO GRABBED THE door to Bouquets by Baylee.

  A man shouted, “Wait!”

  Theo spun around and scowled. The film crew—Barry and his two sidekicks, Timmy and Nolan—rushed toward him. To collect rough footage for the TV series, the trio had followed Theo around the Coast to Coast Living offices the entire day, filming him and interviewing any staff who’d made the mistake of working on a Saturday. “What are you doing here?” he asked them.

  Timmy lifted the camera. “Same as we’ve been doing all day.”

  “This isn’t the offices.” Theo turned his back on the floral shop.

  “Your mic is still turned on.” Nolan pointed to Theo’s shirt collar.

  Theo winced. He’d forgotten about the wireless mic. He wasn’t even certain if there was a power button or where it even was. He’d let Fran know where he was going, then told her to go and enjoy what was left of her Saturday.

  “Foster and Caitlyn, aka Cat Woman, really want more footage of the entire Taylor family together doing family stuff. Less of the business side.” Barry rolled forward onto the balls of his feet and peered inside the floral-shop window. “This could be our only opportunity.”

  He surveyed the crew. They were quiet and inconspicuous, despite the camera, and good at their jobs. They’d finagle their way into another opportunity. “I need to make sure my mother and sister are agreeable right now.” And not arguing over bridal bouquets. “I’d also like to request permission from Baylee Russo, the owner of the floral shop, to film inside.”

  Nolan held up his phone. “I took care of that on the way over. Baylee gave both verbal and written consent to film on her premises.”

  “You’re quite thorough.” Theo’s frown reinforced his bland tone.

  “It’s my job.” Nolan opened the door and urged everyone inside. The kid’s good-natured charm and polite manners were impossible to ignore. Nolan grinned. “I also have consent from your mother and sister on file. Those agreements were signed early last month and remain valid through the filming of the entire first season.”

  Thorough, diligent and professional. Theo wanted to fault the young man. But he’d rather hire him. Those were admirable qualities in any employee.

  “Shall we go smell some roses?” Barry lifted his bushy eyebrows and followed Theo.

  Theo scanned the quaint flower shop. His gaze landed first on Josie. Strands of blond hair slipped from her bun, the curls resting against her neck as if exhausted. Her owlish eyes peeled wider, beseeching him to intervene. His gaze to his mother and sister—standoff positions firmly staked on either side of a square table. His mother sat ramrod-straight in a chair. Adriana stood, looming on the opposite side of the table. Everything about the scenario alarmed Theo. Josie resembled a rose surrounded by two very thorny branches.

  One more rose prick and Barry and his sidekicks would have the very footage Theo never wanted them to record. Verbal collisions and outbursts and incessant drama. Talk about a reality TV show.

  Josie escaped from her referee position between his family members and moved to stand beside Theo. “What are you going to do?”

  His mother was collecting greenery and different branches from the pile on the table as if she was a guide on a nature hike. Adriana never reacted, remained motionless and focused on their mother. Tension spiked through the fragrant air. Theo glanced over his shoulder.

  Nolan nudged his bony elbow into Timmy’s ribs. Barry snapped his fingers and inclined his head toward Adriana and his mother. His mother added two stalks of berries to her arrangement and presented the horizontal bouquet to Adriana. “Garden roses and jasmine vine will finish it off rather nicely.”

  Adriana never flinched. “What is that?”

  “It’s an olive branch.” His mother clasped the arrangement as if guarding it from Adriana’s censure. “And proof that I can be useful. In minutes I designed a less bland and more eye-catching bouquet for you. It’s intentionally asymmetrical for added visual interest.”

  “I don’t want you to create a new bouquet for me.” Dry leaves crinkled less than the crackle in Adriana’s voice.

  “I’m your mother. I should be involved.” His mother rose, cradled the bouquet and slid her cunning gaze to the production trio. “I should help my only daughter. You only get married once.”

  “Or twice,” Adriana challenged.

  “I’m fortunate.” His mother lifted her arm, giving an offhand flick of her wrist. “Would you like to practice carrying your bouquet? You’ll want to hold it differently down the aisle, after the ceremony and during pictures.”

  His mother curved one jeweled finger at Nolan. No way would Theo allow her to enlist the aid of the production crew for her practice session.

  Theo clutched Josie’s elbow and spun her around to face the trio, impeding Nolan’s access to his mother. “Gentleman, this is Josie Beck. The proprietor of Rose Petal Boutique.”

  The men glanced at each other and grinned, recognizing Josie’s name from their prior meetings with Theo. He’d put off an official meet-and-greet between Josie and the TV producers. He’d wanted to wait until he’d talked to Josie first. Unfortunately, preserving his family’s name now garnered priority.

  “Josie, I’d like you to meet some colleagues of mine—Barry, Timmy and Nolan.” Theo tossed Josie into the fray swiftly and decisively.

  “Seems like the entire Taylor family is into filming.” Josie tipped her chin toward Barry and his two assistants. Timmy switched his grip on the camera and brightened his smile.

  Josie continued, “Do you have a large internet following, Theo, or is this camera crew for something else?”

  “The company maintains a prominent social-media presence.” Theo altered his stance to block his sister and mother. “We’re in the very early stages of a Coast to Coast Living TV show. They’re gathering preliminary footage to make a teaser reel for the network.”

  “Are you its star?” Curiosity and caution merged in Josie’s tone.

  “No.” Theo raised his voice over his mother and sister’s bouquet quarrel. “It’s about the company, not the Taylors.”

  Barry drew his fingers through his goatee. His steely gaze tracked Theo’s movements. One of his bushy eyebrows notched as if he noted Theo’s reluctance to move too far from Josie. Speculation lifted one corner of his mouth. “Josie, would you mind answering a few questions for us about the Coast to Coast Living brand?”

  Josie shifted toward Theo.

 
Barry’s eyebrow and the corner of his mouth hitched higher.

  Josie almost tucked herself into Theo’s side. Almost made him reconsider his decision to use her to divert the attention away from his family.

  Theo tucked his hands in his pockets rather than around Josie’s waist. Barry’s gaze sharpened. Behind him, the argument escalated. His mother’s shrill demand for more specific flowers and sprigs of leaves clawed against Theo’s back. Baylee scurried into her back room.

  Josie crossed her arms over her chest. “Who will be viewing this film?”

  “This footage will be used for internal purposes.” Nolan’s grin released twin dimples.

  “It allows us to get a feel for what we’d like to highlight on the show and who.” Barry tilted his head as if watching Josie through a camera lens and searching for the best angle.

  “They’ve been filming me all day.” Theo used his most casual tone and avoided his guilt. He achieved two goals at once: protected his family and introduced Josie to the producers. “I’m sure they’d appreciate a different viewpoint. And a more pleasing subject.”

  Josie freed her hair around her shoulders, but then twisted it back on top of her head. “If you’re certain you want my opinion, I can give it.”

  The trio surrounded Josie. Theo moved to the table between his mother and sister. “Adriana. Mother. Perhaps we could take this conversation off-line.” Or end it completely.

  Theo glanced over his shoulder at the film crew. Josie spoke to the camera, her hands moving in time to her words. The sidekicks grinned and laughed. Barry, normally a reserved spectator, gave Theo two thumbs-up. They hadn’t been that animated all day. Theo credited Josie.

  He’d believed Josie would fit his TV show. Barry validated his theory. Theo focused on his family and blamed them for his lack of triumph. “We’re in public. It’s not the place for this kind of spotlight. Otherwise the production team is going to take more than Coast to Coast Living live.”

  “We aren’t putting on a show, Theo.” His mother extended the bouquet toward Adriana, held the greenery like a sacred, unreturnable offering and held herself still until Adriana accepted it. “We’re practicing for our weddings.”