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Cass watched Rebecca breathe in the floral scents of Blaise’s shop and smiled. “Well, this entire strip is owned by our friends, so I’m going to say yes.”

“You better say yes!”

Rebecca watched with interest as another beauty came straight at them. Cass did say supermodels, she thought as she studied her. The woman’s whiskey-colored eyes exhibited kindness, yet Rebecca could sense the mischief.

“You must be Blaise.”

“The one and only.” Blaise curtsied, a silly grin on her lips. “Also known as the token straight friend.”

Cass snorted. “You’re not a token anything, woman. We’d be lost without you.”

“Don’t I know it,” Blaise winked. She noticed Rebecca discreetly rub her temple. “I know you can’t stay long, but I have something for you.” She gestured for them to follow her to the back. Aunt Wills was hiding back there, sipping her mimosa. But she insisted on seeing how her niece was doing, so Blaise was obliging.

Rebecca was in awe of her surroundings. She’d been in flower shops before, but this was… different. “These flowers are perfect.”

Blaise glanced back at Rebecca. “Thank you. Those are for the customers. These?” Blaise pointed out a tabletop greenhouse. “The ones with the ‘flaws’ are my favorites. They pollinate the bees and feed the caterpillars, who turn into beautiful butterflies. What could be more delightful than that?”

“What an interesting way of looking at it! “Rebecca said, looking more closely at one of the roses near her. What she saw as imperfections before were now tiny bite marks from small creatures who needed the flowers to live. Weirdly enough, it did make the flowers more beautiful. “This is different.”

Blaise peered over Rebecca’s shoulder. “Ah, that’s a cross-pollination I’m working on.”

“You made this?”

Blaise nodded. “My background is in botany and floriculture. I don’t just make flower arrangements,” she grinned.

Rebecca shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “I’ll be glad to get my memory back, but I have to say it’s been quite a trip meeting people and learning things. I feel like this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Blaise draped an arm around Rebecca’s slim shoulders. “Girl, I cannot imagine how weird this all is for you. But I am a firm believer that this memory thing is only temporary. Very soon, all our shit will be flooding back to you relentlessly.”

Rebecca laughed. “You make it sound so enticing.”

“We give that writer chick some competition. What’s that saying? Truth is stranger than fiction.” Blaise leaned close to Rebecca’s ear. “It’s probably why Joslyn Cohan is here and magically found her way to Ellie’s. Our little group is ripe with ideas for stories!”

She nudged Rebecca back to Cass. “Here, these are for you,” she said, grabbing a small bouquet of pink roses and handing them to Rebecca. “On behalf of Cass, of course. You are taking Rebecca next door, right?”

Rebecca sniffed the roses. They were beautiful. “Thank you for these.” She didn’t know if it was true that these flowers came from Cass, so she kept her eyes on the roses, which were a perfect shade of pink. The color made her feel… something. But what? “We were just at the diner. It was so delicious,” she said distractedly.

“Oh, um, Blaise was talking about the gallery on the other side,” Cass offered. She watched with interest as Rebecca studied the roses. A faint blush formed on Rebecca’s cheeks, and Cass wondered what was going through her mind. “Are you okay, Becca?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah… yes.” Rebecca let out a small laugh. “I’m sorry, there’s something about this color that makes me feel like it means something to me.” She looked up at Cass. “Does that make sense?”

Cass’s heart constricted painfully. “Y-yeah. Pink is, uh…”

Blaise stepped in when Cass faltered. “Your favorite color. Did you remember something?”

“No, not… really. I just got a weird feeling when I saw this color.” Rebecca waved it away. Whatever it was. “But you said it’s my favorite color, so I guess I’m just picking up on that.”

“Has it always been your color?” Cass asked carefully. She never thought to ask a question like that before. It had always been evident since Rebecca wore it and had decorated a sex room in that color. Now, she wondered if pink came before or after Samantha.

Rebecca frowned. “No. But…” Her hand fluttered to her chest, resting over her heart. “I feel like it is now.”

Blaise looked at Cass and gave her a thumbs up behind Rebecca’s back. “Well, listen, I don’t want to keep you. I don’t need Aunt Wills all up in my crack for tiring you out.” She said that last bit a little louder for Willamena’s benefit.

It took precisely two seconds for Blaise’s words to register in Rebecca’s brain. Then she snorted out a laugh. “All up in your crack? Is that a… cultural saying?”

“Nah, it’s a Blaise-ism,” Blaise grinned. “Feel free to use it.”

“I might have to. Aunt Wills gets all up in my crack when I’m not resting as much as she thinks I should be,” Rebecca said, rolling her eyes.