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“No. But I wanted to.” The cork popped far into the air, and the bottle foamed. Brynn poured them each a glass. “Plastic celebration for you. And one for me.”

Aster leaned in for a sip.

“Not yet. First, a toast.”

“Oh, my. Sorry. I almost ruined it.”

Brynn extended her glass in the air. “To what I hear from anyone and everyone in lands near and far, the opening of Marilyn’s was a smashing success. You, Aster Lavender, are the talk of the town. And this time? Everyone knows your name.”

They touched glasses, as Aster beamed from the inside out. She was just going to head home and chill with her dog on the quiet of her couch. This was quite a welcome surprise. Her excitement about the opening commingled with her swirling feelings for Brynn to create the perfect ambitious storm. “Come here,” she said, arm around Brynn’s waist. She pulled her in, and before she knew it they were face-to-face, staring into each other’s eyes before Aster did the damn thing and kissed her long and good, and the miraculous thing was that Brynn kissed her back. The world went still and waited for them.

“Maybe we shouldn’t.”

Aster worked to catch her breath. “Okay.” A pause as they stared at each other, lips swollen, stars at attention. “Should I not have…?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know a lot of things.”

“Then I definitely shouldn’t have.” She downed the rest of her champagne. “Brynn, I’m really sorry. I think the day had me on a high. I wanted to celebrate. With you. I went too far.”

“I wanted to celebrate with you, too,” Brynn said, looking lost and scrambling to put things right. Aster wanted to help her, only she was feeling embarrassed and like she was constantly chasing after a woman who clearly preferred that she stay in her own corner, which of course she should. Hadn’t she crashed and burned enough for one lifetime? When would she learn?

“And you were sweet to do so. I’m looking forward to tomorrow night. Be sure to order dessert.”

“I will. But can we talk about what just happened?”

Aster returned the flute. Hands went to her pockets and she worked on an effective no-big-deal voice. “Let’s not. It was a mistake. I won’t make it again.” Her body was still buzzing from the kiss. Her brain did its best to wrestle control right back. What a battle. Regardless, her buzz had officially been killed, and anger at herself had replaced it.

“Aster.”

“Brynn. We can’t keep doing this. I can’t. If you check the history books, I’ve never not wanted you. Not for a second. Even when I was furious at you, hurt and reeling, every part of me still wanted you. But I think it’s something I need to shelve, and I work tirelessly to do that.”

Brynn pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is not how I wanted things to go tonight.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. You shouldn’t be the one to apologize. You should be celebrating your big night.”

“I am. I will. But probably on my own.” She took Brynn’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You were so sweet to bring me celebratory bubbly. I will see you tomorrow night for a fantastic meal. I really look forward to that, and I care a lot about you, but I can’t do this anymore. My heart can’t.”

She didn’t wait for Brynn to respond, and she felt a little bad about that. In a matter of seconds, she was on her way home, frustrated, sad, and done with her attachment to Brynn Garrett. She had to be. It was well past time.

* * *

“I think it was the brown sugar pork chop that kept me awake last night,” Marigold said as she unpacked a new box of dish towel inventory and made room on the shelf along the wall. The Lavender House was about to be brimming with new products fresh off the lavender truck, so to speak. There was a lot to unpack, catalog, and shelve.

Aster’s mouth dropped open. “What? Why?”

“Because it was the best dish I’ve had in years, and I just kept reliving the experience. My kid sister made that pork chop, designed it, and presented it to me in a fancy restaurant she opened with our mother’s name over the top. I was on a high, and there was no sleep to be had.”

Aster played back the paragraph in her head, remembering a time when no one really noticed the kid sister playing in the background. And here, she’d kept Marigold up with pride.

“Wait. Are you all misty?” Violet asked, coming closer from where she stood along the shelves near the wall. “MG, are you seeing this?”

“I am.”

Aster laughed. “It’s been a hard time, and what you said was really nice.”

“Group hug!” Violet said.