“If you want.”
“Yeah!”
“Let’s go.”
Mikayla was smiling as we walked out the door. Bribery wasn’t my favorite thing, but desperate times and all that.
I wasn’t sure what made me suggest flowers, but seeing her light up about them made my heart warm.
I parked in front of Blossom & Grow and followed Mikayla to the front door of the shop. She went straight to the refrigerated case on the right.
“Welcome to Blossom & Grow. I’ll be right up to help you,” Landon called out from somewhere out of sight.
“Thank you!” Mikayla replied.
I chuckled and followed her to the case, seeing Landon’s skills in every bunch of flowers. He didn’t just cut them and stuff them in there, he made them all beautiful. He mixed colors and textures, creating pieces of art with each bundle.
“How can I help you ladies today?” Landon asked from behind us. “Casey? Hi. Um…” He trailed off and focused on Mikayla.
“This is my daughter, Mikayla. You didn’t really meet yesterday. Mikayla, this is my friend, Landon.”
“That you’re going to the wedding with?” Mikayla asked.
I nodded. “He is.”
I didn’t miss the smile that crossed Landon’s face knowing I’d told Mikayla about him, but he wiped it away before she saw it. “It’s nice to meet you, Mikayla.”
“You, too. My mom said we could get some flowers. Do you have any lilies? They’re my favorite.”
“I do. They are over here. Do you have a certain kind of lily you prefer?”
Mikayla followed Landon to the other side of the store, leaving me to trail behind them as they discussed all things lily. I didn’t know Mikayla liked lilies, let alone knew anything about them, but she was having an entire conversation with Landon about lilies.
“Mom, can we get this one?” Mikayla asked.
Landon met my gaze, an appraising look in his eyes. “I’d love you to have this. My treat.”
“I can’t let you do that. This is your business, your livelihood.”
“And I’d love to know you have something beautiful in your home. You’ve been saying you wanted flowers for weeks and haven’t taken anything home.”
“I keep forgetting when I come in here,” I admitted, my cheeks warming.
“Then please take these. They are my treat.” He grabbed the bouquet and carried it to the front as if I’d agreed.
“I didn’t agree to it.”
“No, but you will.”
“How do you know that?”
He nodded behind me, and I remembered my daughter was there, watching us.
“Is that your favorite?” I asked Mikayla.
She nodded, her eyes flickering from me to Landon.
“Okay. Thank you,” I told Landon.
