by Noelle Adams
the remake
Second Chance Flower Shop, Book Four
NOELLE ADAMS
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Noelle Adams. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About The Remake
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Epilogue
Excerpt from The Mistake
About Noelle Adams
About The Remake
ALL HER LIFE, BELINDA Phillips has been hardworking. Reliable. Organized. Kind of bossy. She's always been good at getting things done—everything except relationships.
Maybe it's just the holiday season turning her thoughts to romance, but she's discovered that's what she wants. A relationship. With a man. In particular with a cute new guy in town. And despite an abundance of work and life skills, she has no idea how to go about getting him to ask her out.
So she turns to her sister and friends for help. Unfortunately their help brings her private mission to the attention of the most obnoxious man in the world.
Fitz might have had a family and career in his former life, but he gave all that up long ago to make deliveries for the flower shop and otherwise lounge around doing nothing. He's unkempt and bearded and grumpy and reclusive. He has no ambition for anything except snide comments and getting in her way.
Belinda doesn't like him. At all. In fact, she can barely tolerate him. Which is why it's so confusing that she can't stop thinking about him—and wondering what might be revealed if Fitz could ever shed all his protective layers.
One
IF ANYONE ASKED, BELINDA Phillips would have said that she was quite happy with her life, and she would have been telling them the truth.
She was thirty-two. Reasonably smart. Reasonably healthy and attractive and secure. She was the only CPA in her small town, so she had a thriving business. She enjoyed working with numbers, keeping accounts tidy, and helping people in her community save money to afford their dreams. Her parents died several years ago in a car accident, which was the hardest thing she’d ever lived through, but Belinda was close with her younger sister, and she had more than enough friends and acquaintances to keep her satisfied.
She wasn’t particularly drawn toward children, so her never-married status usually didn’t trouble her.
Usually.
Every once in a while, however, she indulged a fleeting thought. Everyone else in Azalea—the town in Virginia where she’d been born and still lived—was able to find someone to pair up with. Everyone else was capable of attracting at least a semidecent life partner.
But not her.
Men had never shown much interest in her at all.
It was confusing. Troubling. She knew—and repeatedly told herself—that she was a good-hearted person with plenty of positive attributes. Maybe she was a little bossy, but that was only because she liked to help other people and keep them in order. Bossy people found boyfriends and partners and spouses all the time. She’d seen it happen over and over again.
But not to her.
She didn’t need a husband. Or a boyfriend. Or any sort of admirer at all. She’d made herself a good life without one. But the truth was this—she occasionally wanted it. Or at least the opportunity to turn a man down.
She was thinking about this bewildering fact of her existence one morning in December as she sat at a booth in Anna’s Diner, finishing her coffee and working on her laptop. She had a small office in a storefront down the block where she met with clients, but she did most of her work at home. When she had a hard time getting started in the mornings, she came to work at Anna’s since the low-level buzz of voices and activity provided just enough distraction to keep the work from getting too tedious.
Today she hadn’t gotten much accomplished. It wasn’t because she wasn’t interested in making sense of the accounts from Jake Holston’s farm. They were a huge mess. Sorting through the chaos was like solving a difficult puzzle. Those were her favorite jobs, and this one was definitely a challenge.
Her primary source of distraction at the moment was the presence of the new man in town.
In a place as small as Azalea, the arrival of a new single and attractive man was a once-in-a-decade experience.
Charles Kensington had moved to town with his sister a few months ago. Charles was a writer, which was different enough of a career in their rural county to be exciting. His sister, Ariana, wasn’t currently employed, although she was looking to start a small business. Their family evidently had money, although Belinda hadn’t yet been able to figure out how much or where it was coming from. They were both perfectly polite but not forthcoming with background information.
And Charles was cute.
Very cute.
He looked to be about Belinda’s age with dark hair, dark eyes, and a slightly receding hairline that made him look thoughtful and intelligent. He had a quiet, sober manner she appreciated. He always spoke softly and was never rude or obnoxious. Everyone who met him liked him. Belinda liked him.
But he didn’t appear to be at all interested in her.
As far as she could tell, he was straight. He’d mentioned an ex-wife to old Mrs. Peterson, and his sister had implied he’d had a number of girlfriends in the past. Belinda thought the two of them probably had a lot in common, and she was as good a catch as anyone else in Azalea. But she’d been sitting there the whole time as Charles had come in, taken a stool at the counter, and eaten his breakfast. And he hadn’t glanced over at her once.
It wasn’t surprising. This kind of thing happened to Belinda all the time. Less now than it used to since the number of eligible men around had dwindled down to practically nothing. But she well remembered in school and college how it felt. To have her eye on an interesting guy only to watch how he completely ignored her in favor of someone else.
It made her stomach sink with an exhausted resignation.
She wasn’t sure why she’d expected anything to change, just because she was grown up now and more secure in who she was. It didn’t mean men would suddenly start falling for her when they never had before.
“Something wrong with you?”
The words startled her so much she jerked and made an embarrassing squeaking sound. Her hand had been around her coffee cup, and her sudden motion caused the liquid to slosh out of the mug and onto her fingers.
Glaring up at the source of this annoyance, she snapped, “Do you have to sneak up on people like that?”
“Did I sneak up?” Fitz asked blandly, his vivid blue eyes glinting with humor. “I walked in the door and came over here. It’s not my fault you were staring at someone else.”
Fitz had arrived in town several years ago and had provided no background at all about where he’d come from or why he’d chosen Azalea. He was probably around forty—although his age was hard to accurately pinpoint—and he lived in a run-down attic space in one of the downtown buildings. He supported himself by doing odd jobs, including for the flower shop that Belinda’s sister, Ria, owned with her friends. Fitz was obviously capable and intelligent, but he made no attempt to better himself or get a full-time job. His brown hair and thick beard were unkempt. His clothes were worn down to threads. And he always wore the same beat-up Army jacket, even on the hottest days of summer.
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to hide her embarrassment. Naturally, Fitz would be the one to notice her discreet and subtle observation of Charles. “I wasn’t staring at anyone. And nothing is wrong.”
“It sure looked like something was wrong. You were getting all droopy and forlorn, which isn’t like you at all.”
With an indignant gasp, she wiped the coffee off her hand with more force than was entirely necessary. “I was not droopy or forlorn. You’re imagining things.”
“I don’t think so.” Despite the typical dry amusement in his blue eyes, they were searching her face with an unmistakable scrutiny. Like he really did want to know what was wrong.
It rattled Belinda for no good reason. Despite her protestations, Fitz was right about her. She had been feeling sorry for herself and her profound lack of male attention. She didn’t like to be that way, and his sudden appearance and the resulting annoyance his presence always provoked in her immediately pulled her out of it. “I’m telling you that you are imagining things. You don’t know better about me than I know myself.”
“I don’t think I know better. I just think I’m more likely to tell me the truth than you are.”
It took a minute for her to process that roundabout remark. When she did, she gave him another scowl. “In what universe do you think I would owe you the truth about anything, much less myself?”
His mouth quirked up beneath his beard. “You don’t owe me anything, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to know anyway.”
With a frustrated sound, she closed her laptop, scooted to the edge of the booth, and nudged him out of the way so she could get out. She dropped a ten-dollar bill on the table to pay for her egg sandwich and coffee, as well as a generous tip for the waitress. Then she walked toward the exit of the restaurant, uncomfortably aware that Charles still hadn’t glanced over toward her.
Fitz came with her. “At least you don’t look droopy anymore.”
She’d been headed toward her sister’s flower shop, but at that she whirled around. “I was not droopy.”
“If you say so.” Fitz had stopped too. He was about four inches taller than her, and he tilted his head down to meet her gaze. “I’m just saying that a guy who’s too stupid to be into you isn’t worth getting droopy about.”
She blinked. Heard the words he’d just said. Felt her cheeks start to warm. Her heart had already been racing from the silly argument—she always got riled up around Fitz—but now it gave a couple of little jumps. “What?”
It had sounded almost like he’d just given her a compliment.
And he’d never done that before.
“Are you having trouble hearing me? Why do you look so flabbergasted? I just said that not every guy is going to be into every girl. Nothing to be droopy about.”
This time it didn’t sound like a compliment. At all. It didn’t sound personal. It sounded more like a smug, obnoxious, generalized observation. The kind that was of no help whatsoever and that Fitz was the last person on earth to be making. She glared at him coldly as she gritted out, “I was not droopy.”
It wasn’t the most clever of comebacks, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. What the hell was wrong with her? Not just getting disappointed because Charles hadn’t noticed her but also getting disappointed that Fitz hadn’t said something sweet about her.
She must be out of her mind.
Without another word, she walked away from Fitz, and fortunately this time he didn’t follow.
WHEN SHE REACHED SECOND Chance Flower Shop, she pushed in through the front door. The store had just opened, and there wasn’t anyone sitting behind the counter. But a few seconds after Belinda entered, Skye Devereaux (soon to be Jenkins) popped her head out from the back room.
“Oh hey, Belinda. We’re all back here.”
Belinda followed Skye back.
When Belinda and Ria’s parents had died, they’d left their family flower shop to Ria since she was the only one of their two daughters interested in keeping it up. Ria had tried for a year or two to sustain the local business like her parents had, but there was simply no way to make a profit anymore. She’d been on the verge of selling out when she and her friends had gotten some attention on social media for a flower arrangement and a poem, and they’d somehow managed to rebrand a successful business from there called Second Chance Flower Shop.
Belinda still wasn’t sure how it had happened. People worked all their lives for the kind of success that Ria, Madeline, and Skye had found for the past few years. It wasn’t that they didn’t deserve it. They were all talented and hardworking and good at what they did. But any fool knew that it took more than that to find success in this world. For whatever reason, it had worked out for them, and Belinda was happy for them. She still didn’t want to be involved with the business—although she always helped with their taxes—but she had never been a jealous person, and she was so proud of her sister.
Today the three of them were sitting around in the back room. Instead of working, it looked like they were chatting and drinking coffee.
“Hey,” Ria said, smiling as Belinda entered. The sisters looked a lot alike with long dark hair, dark brown eyes, and slim, shapely figures. But Belinda had always understood that Ria was prettier. She always fixed herself up and dressed in stylish clothes. Belinda herself never had patience for that. She pulled her hair back in a low ponytail and never wore makeup. It had always seemed like more trouble than it was worth. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Belinda replied. “Just Fitz hanging around, being annoying.”
“He’s not that bad,” Ria said.
“We’ll have to disagree on that topic.”
“It’s just because he likes you,” Skye chimed in. Her blue eyes got very big when Ria gave her a little kick. “What? He does, doesn’t he?”
Belinda rolled her eyes at the silly optimism of that remark. “No, he doesn’t. He just finds it entertaining to get on my nerves.” On this subject, she had absolutely no doubts.
“Well, you should try not to give him any ammunition. If you didn’t respond, maybe he’d give up.” Ria’s eyes were serious. She liked Fitz a lot, and she was always trying to make peace between him and her sister.
“I know that. But I can’t help it. He drives me crazy.” Belinda let out a long breath. “But you’re right. I should just try to ignore him. I’ve tried it a hundred million times already, but maybe this next time will be the winner.”
Ria laughed. “Maybe. I thought you were working at Anna’s this morning.”
“I was. But I wasn’t getting anything done, so I gave up. I’ll just go home and try from there.”
“Skye said she thought Charles was over there,” Ria said.
“He was. Or is. Or whatever. He was there when I left.”
“Were you able to talk to him?”
Belinda shook her head. “He didn’t even notice I exist. I think whatever hopes we might have in that direction are futile.”
“Well, why should they be? He hasn’t gotten to know you at all.” As always, Ria leaped immediately to her sister’s defense. “As soon as he gets to know you, he’ll be interested.”
The faith, however unfounded, made Belinda feel better. “That’s nice, but there’s no reason to assume that. If he doesn’t think I’m attractive, then he’s not going to have any reason to get to know me.” She sighed. “Guys just don’t like me that way.”
“Some of them do!” Ria insisted.
“Not any that I’ve ever been aware of.” Belinda fought against feeling droopy again, mostly because she didn’t want Fitz to be proven right. “It’s fine. It’s not a big deal. Maybe if I knew how to flirt and fix myself up, I’d have more success, but I don’t.”
“If you want, we could help you,” Madeline said. She was the quietest of Ria’s friends. An intelligent, serious
blonde. “Not that you need to change in any way, but if you want to try it, we’ll be glad to help you.”
Belinda blinked a couple of times, genuinely surprised by the idea. “Really?”
“Are you interested?” Ria asked. “Of course we’ll help you. But only if you want. You’re beautiful and smart and generous and perfect exactly as you are. You don’t need to change to get a guy. You don’t.”
With a little laugh, Belinda shook her head. “That’s nice of you to say, but obviously I could use a few changes since whatever I’ve got going right now isn’t doing it for anyone.”
“So you want us to help you?” Ria confirmed.
“Maybe. It’s an idea.” Belinda had never even considered such a thing before, but she’d sometimes dreamed of being beautiful and stylish. Being able to flirt with men. Being like all the other women she’d watched all her life, who somehow knew how to attract men instinctively, who didn’t need to be taught.
Skye clapped her hands in excitement. “We can give you a makeover!”
“Only if she wants it.” It was obvious that Ria didn’t want Belinda to believe she needed to change in any way.
And Belinda appreciated it. But the truth was she wanted to change. Not entirely. Not inside. Just a little sprucing up. So she could feel better about herself. “I kind of do, if you don’t think it’s too silly. I mean, I don’t want it to be a big deal, but I could use some advice on clothes and makeup. I have no idea what I’m doing with any of that. And maybe some help with getting noticed by men.”
“We can definitely help you.” Ria was smiling broadly. “Not that we’re experts.”
“Well, you’re all better at it than I am.” All three girls were five years younger than she was, and all three were in very happy relationships. Ria and Madeline were married to good, handsome men. Ria was pregnant. Skye was engaged to another good man. Belinda didn’t envy her sister or friends, but she certainly wouldn’t mind having the chance of a relationship herself. “So if we can do it without a big production or everyone in town knowing what’s going on, then I’d appreciate any help you guys can give me.”