She wouldn’t. She loved them both too much.
She hated that it always came down to this between them. She couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t deal with his jealousy issues. Faith was her sister, a part of her life, and she had no problems with him; in fact, she was the one who brought them together and convinced Grace to accept John’s proposal.
Grace had often wondered, throughout the years, whether John was still in love with Faith. After all, they had dated first and then grown apart. They both claimed that their past was over, and when Grace had first approached Faith about her dating John, Faith pretended to not even recognize his name.
Grace should have clued in at that point that things weren’t as they seemed, but John fascinated her, always had, and she didn’t want to pass up any chance, even if it meant confronting her sister on her lie.
Any talk of John and Faith’s past relationship was avoided through Grace’s first year of dating him, and it wasn’t until just before he asked her to marry him that they both confronted the issue. John claimed Faith had only been a casual girlfriend, someone who was fun to hang around with but who never touched his heart, not like Grace. Faith promised her that John had been only a fling, and Grace believed them both. After all, it had been almost three years since then.
She never thought the casual fling could cause such a deep chasm in their lives. But maybe having a baby—finally—would heal those wounds.
“I love you,” she whispered into the phone.
“I love you too, Grace. I always will. And, honey, I’m so happy for us. Really, really happy.”
“I’ll see you soon?”
“I’ll be there. Text me when you arrive, okay?” His voice was soft, and she knew he wasn’t upset anymore.
“Promise.”
She set the phone down on her bedside table and finished packing, pushing all negative thoughts from her mind. Katie would be at the school by now, going over Grace’s notes and the piles of projects she’d set aside to work on today. The kids would be playing outside, waiting for the moment the bell rang. She knew that the moment they all saw Katie standing at the door waiting for them, they would wonder where Grace was, but would accept Katie over anyone else. They knew her.
Her cell phone buzzed and on the screen was an image of her students, all lined up and waving at her.
We miss you.
She thought about what she could tell her kids and immediately knew the answer.
It’s a beautiful day with all your smiling faces. See you soon!
It was a phrase she said to them often as they walked into their classroom. Katie was such a sweetie to send her that photo. She’d have to show Faith.
At the thought of Faith, Grace rushed to finish packing for the weekend and made her way downstairs. She filled her coffee mug with fresh coffee, grabbed a banana, and headed out the door.
She couldn’t decide between Oxford Suites in Silverdale, the place where she and John had spent their honeymoon, or the Sheraton downtown. They loved both locations. In Silverdale, they could take the ferry back and forth from their hotel to Seattle, and the staff basically knew them by name now, but with John coming so late at night, it might be better to stay right in the city.
She sent John a text asking him his preference, but before he could respond, she asked him to instead surprise her and text her the location after he’d booked it. When he replied with a happy-face emoticon, she knew she’d made the right choice.
Once out on the open road, she turned the music on full blast. There was a happiness in her soul, one she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Today was going to be the perfect day. There was nothing she’d rather do than celebrate with her sister and then with her husband. It was a day she would always remember.
She couldn’t stop smiling at the thought.
5
CAMILLE BLOOMIN
Camille shrugged on her heavy hand-knitted sweater and rubbed her hands together for warmth. She’d been in the cold fridge for too long, where the flower deliveries sat, and had forgotten her gloves.
Steam from the kettle billowed into the air and she held her hands over it, hoping the heat would help thaw her fingers. Normally she kept a spare pair of mittens in the jacket she wore when the delivery truck arrived, but they weren’t in there today, and she didn’t have time to waste trying to find them.
The delivery this morning had been late due to construction on the highway from the city, which meant she had to rush to get everything into the cold room and sorted in its right place. Paige was at home, getting ready for a meeting with the manager up at the Stillwater Golf and County Clubhouse, and should be in soon, but the last thing Camille wanted to do was ask her sister for help.
She glanced through their order book and smiled to see how full the day was. The winter had been really hard on them and they needed all the orders they could get. She had a total of thirty arrangements to put together, and with Paige’s help after her morning meeting, they should be finished with everything by two or three o’clock this afternoon.
Camille poured hot water into the teapot and inhaled the aroma of the herbal blend the delivery driver had given her. Each Friday, Stan would bring her a new blend to try, and each week Camille would give him her order of teas that she liked—not only to drink, but to sell in the store on a commission basis for his wife, who owned the tea company.
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, and when she saw the mayor’s name on the screen, she answered right away.
“Camille, I’m not calling too early, am I?” Charlotte asked.
Camille glanced at her watch. “You’re good. The delivery truck just left and I’m enjoying a cup of tea before the store opens.”
“What kind did your driver bring today?”
“Cotton candy, and it smells delicious.”
“I wonder if it would make a nice iced tea? You could serve it in the summer along with some cookies from the bakery.”
Camille couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to their mayor to find ways to help increase sales for everyone in town. “That’s a great idea. Paige and I were actually talking about maybe opening up a stand along South Beach this summer and offering some small floral arrangements and a selection of cold teas.”
“Oh, I love that idea! Let me know if you need help getting a permit or renting one of the beachfront shops.”
“Will do. So, what kind of arrangement are you needing today?” It wasn’t every day that Charlotte called before the store opened, but when she did, it usually meant a rush arrangement was needed.
Charlotte laughed. “I do only call for that, don’t I?”
“It’s okay. You’re good for business.”
Charlotte also purchased weekly bouquets for the town hall: one to go in the main entrance, and then one for her own office. She’d also convinced her husband to have a fresh arrangement in the school office every week. She was probably one of their best clients.
“I was thinking of getting a small bouquet for Sandy Redding. I can pop by to pick it up later this afternoon, if you’re not too busy.”
“Sure, or . . .” She glanced down at their order book. “I have a delivery close to Sandy and Tyler’s home. I can always drop it off on my way.”
“Perfect, if you don’t mind.”
Whether she minded or not, she’d find time in her day to take care of this errand. She told Charlotte it was no problem, hung up, and attempted to drink some of her scalding tea. If she didn’t get started now on all these orders, she wasn’t going to get them done.
“You won't believe it!”
Camille’s head was stuck far down in a drawer, where she knew she had more gold ribbon stored, and she bonked it as Paige startled her.
“What?” She gently rubbed the top, where she was sure a goose egg was growing, and blinked away the black dots that swam in front of her.
“That . . . that idiot of a club manager hit on me. Hit on me. Can you believe it?” Paige fisted her hand
s and stuck them on her hips, a deep frown on her face.
Camille’s brows rose. It was about time. The poor guy had been mooning over her sister for more than a year now, but she wasn’t about to say that.
“Not only that, but he asked me out to dinner. To Fred’s. Fred’s, of all places,” Paige fumed.
Camille slowly rose to her feet, her hands gripping the edge of the counter. She’d gotten hit with a doozy of a headache earlier just as she started working on filling the orders, and hitting it sure didn’t help.
“What’s wrong with Fred’s?”
“Nothing is wrong with Fred’s. We go there all the time. But for a date? Are you kidding me? What planet does this guy live on? If I wanted everyone in Stillwater to know we were on a date, then fine, Fred’s it is.” Paige set her purse down on the counter and began to jab flowers into a vase Camille had just started to work on.
“So you said . . . yes?”
By the death glare her sister shot her way, she’d take that as a no.
“What’s wrong with Ethan? He seems pretty nice.” It had actually been comical to watch Ethan attempt to get Paige’s attention the past year. He would pop into the store at odd times and buy anything Paige would sell to him, he’d bump into her on the street and stammer like a teenager, and he blushed like a schoolboy about to get his first kiss whenever she smiled at him.
Little did he know Paige smiled that way at everyone, and she honestly had no idea he liked her.
It was why Camille had asked Paige to go to the clubhouse today in her place. She liked the kid and wanted to give him a helping hand.
“There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s . . . he’s . . . he’s fine.” Paige shrugged before adding some greenery to the already overflowing vase.
Camille handed her the gold ribbon and then picked a nice gift card from the stack on their counter and wrote out the message the buyer wanted.
“Yes, he’s fine. He’s actually quite nice. But did you get the contract?”
The goal for today’s meeting was to build their business to not only provide all the floral arrangements within the clubhouse, but also to take care of the garden beds that encircled the building. If they could manage that, then they were sure to keep the clubhouse as a client over the slow winter months.
“Fingers crossed. Ethan has a few other bids to go over and then he has to talk to management about it, but the fact that we’re local will weigh heavily in our favor.”
Camille breathed a sigh of relief. She had a lot riding on this contract. There were a few repairs needed in the store, and it would mean she could purchase better varieties of flowers and even hire some students to come and help, giving both her and Paige a bit of a breather.
“I told him I won’t go out for dinner with him until after the bid is decided, though. I don’t want it to look like he’s playing favorites or anything.” Paige smiled shyly at her sister before she ducked her head.
Camille turned away so her sister couldn't see her smile.
“Are you going to moon over the man all day, or help me with some orders? Our best customer called this morning with a delivery for this afternoon.”
“The mayor? Are the flowers for her mom? I noticed she hasn’t ordered any for a while.”
“No, for Sandy Redding. Her mom complained that the flowers cluttered up her home, so Charlotte asked us to hold off.”
Paige shook her head. “I was wondering how long this run would last. Longer than last year, right?”
About once a year, Charlotte’s mother would complain about all the flowers delivered to her apartment at the retirement home, and Charlotte would put a stop for about a month or two before her mother would complain about the lack of flowers. It was a cycle they were used to by now.
“Is Sandy okay?” Paige stopped what she was doing and turned to Camille.
Camille shrugged. “I thought she was. She’s a bit stressed, or maybe just exhausted. But you know Charlotte—even if she thought Sandy wasn’t doing okay, she’d be there trying to help. She even gave me a suggestion on how to use the tea Stan brings each week.” She rolled her eyes.
“Like what?”
“What we already discussed. But she did offer to help with any permits we would need to open a little stand on the beach.”
Paige smiled. “Good old Mayor Charlotte to the rescue. There’s a reason she keeps getting reelected year after year. I’m going to make coffee. Want some?”
Camille glanced down at her now cold cup of tea and nodded. She watched as her sister headed toward the back of their store and noticed the way Paige seemed to favor one leg over the other.
“You’re limping.”
“Wow. Newsflash of the year.”
“Sarcasm duly noted. What happened? You were fine this morning.” Camille hated to see her sister in obvious pain. It had been four years since she shattered her kneecap during a practice session for the Olympic volleyball team. Their world had been rocked and almost destroyed, along with their relationship. Without their parents around, Camille had taken onto her shoulders the role of mothering her sister, something Paige had not enjoyed.
It had been a tenuous rebuild for them, but they were slowly getting there. Needless to say, though, Paige still did not like Camille’s mothering tactics.
“I’m fine. It’s just a little stiff.”
“But what did you do?”
“Enough, Cam. I’m a big girl. It’s my knee. I can handle it.” Paige pinched her lips together and slammed down the canister of coffee grounds.
Camille didn’t say anything. Paige was right: She was a big girl, and if she wanted to keep screwing things up and not take care of her knee, then so be it.
Except she couldn’t let it lie. They’d used all of their family savings from the inheritance from their parents to pay for her sister’s surgeries, and now it left them barely keeping their heads above debtors’ hell. They needed a strong summer to pay their bills and get through the winter.
They needed Paige to take better care of herself.
“Sure, you can handle it. Except you don’t. And then you end up taking extra pills to help with the pain instead of going in for your doctors’ appointments.”
Paige threw the coffee spoon in her hand hard against the wall.
“Every doctor’s appointment means more money out of our account. Do you think I haven’t noticed the late nights when you attempt to balance our books and can’t? I see the ways you’ve tried to cut corners; I’m not blind. You try to hide it, but that makes things worse. How do you think I feel, knowing we’re in this situation because of me?”
Angry tears poured down Paige’s face and it kicked Camille in the gut. Her sister only ever cried when she was angry, and this was all Camille’s fault.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She went to Paige and hugged her, holding her sister’s stiff body tight, waiting for her to relax.
Paige finally brought her hands up and hugged her sister back. “Don’t baby me, okay?”
“I can’t promise that. It’s a habit.” Camille pulled away and gave a weak smile.
“I know.” Paige bent to pick up the spoon she dropped and grimaced. Knowing exactly what Camille was going to do, she held up her hand to stop her sister from picking it up for her.
“You’re so pigheaded.”
“You’re so bossy.”
“Then go to the doctor already.”
“No.”
Big smiles grew on both of their faces, and Camille knew that things were okay, for the time being. She was happy to see Paige pull up a chair to her workstation, though. They worked together in building arrangements, sharing tools and ideas for how to enhance a vase or basket.
Camille glanced out their front window and noticed the street was starting to get busy with vehicles and people walking by on their way to work or to the bakery to get something sweet for breakfast.
Her stomach growled.
“Hungry?” she asked Paige.
“I could go for a bagel. I think we still have some cream cheese in the small fridge. Why? Is the school crowd gone already?”
They normally preferred to wait until the morning rush had thinned before one or the other headed over to visit with Anne Marie at Sweet Bakes and then stopped in to talk with Julia next door. One sister would go for the morning walk and then the other in the afternoon, as long as they weren’t too busy. It gave them both time to get out of the store and talk with people.
Camille loved to stop in at Julia Berry’s store. If she were a tourist, that would be her favorite shop in town. Julia was a huge supporter of the local craft trade and sold items on commission—things people from their town and the surrounding areas made. Julia didn’t buy from wholesalers on principal. She knew how hard it was for an artist or craftsman to survive, to get through each day, and her goal in life was to be that support, even if it was for one person. No one else could sell handmade items the way Julia did. She enthused familiarly with everyone who walked into her store, made them feel welcome, and it was very rare for anyone to walk out empty-handed.
The Treasure Chest was just that . . . a treasure chest for many people in the Stillwater Bay community.
“I’m not sure I could wait another five minutes. I forgot to make my protein shake this morning.” Camille grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
She loved the downtown area of Stillwater Bay. The storefronts were all bright and cheery: Planters hung from the streetlights all the way from North Beach to South Beach, and there were plenty of places to sit and chat with a friend while drinking some coffee, or even stop at a small corner garden where kids could run and play for a few minutes.
As she headed down the street, she noticed the lights were still out in the Treasure Chest, which was unusual for Julia. Camille waved to Lacie Helman, who was helping Liam into his car seat, and then crossed the street, her mouth already watering at the amazing smells coming out of the Sweet Bakes front door.
“Well, good morning, beautiful. You’re here a bit early,” Anne Marie greeted her as she walked in. “You just missed Lacie and her flock.”
The Stillwater Bay Collection (Books 1-4): Stillwater Bay Series Boxed Set Page 6