Page 13

Chapter thirteen

Janae

I walk into work pissed at finding out that Shane lied to me last night. Millie and Ed who are helping customers in the store, eye me as I walk to the back room. Throwing my bag under the table where we cut flowers, I slam myself down on the stool. I can’t believe I let him fool me like that. What could be his motive not to tell me? Why would I care if he played football?

The door opens and I know it’s Ed coming to check on me, but I ignore his presence. I’m not in the mood to deal with other people. Especially after fielding phone calls from everyone all morning. I looked like a complete fool too because I had no idea that Shane was a football player. And not just any football player either, the most sought-after tight end coming out of college this year.

Grabbing a pile of flowers that needed the stems trimmed, I start cutting them, trying to get my mind off of the whole ordeal. After a few trims, I hear Eddie say, “What did those flowers ever do to you?”

His words grab my attention and I look up at him, not understanding what he’s trying to say. Ed must see the confusion on my face because he nods his head toward the flowers in my hand. “You’re cutting them a little harshly. Did they yell at you or something?”

Oh, I get it, he’s trying to make a joke. “Ha ha, Ed. Very funny. But I’m not in a laughing mood,” I tell him.

“I can tell, but I’m serious, you’re cutting the ends too jagged,” he explains.

My eyes go to the ends of the flowers and I see what he’s saying, they’re all cut in different places, some aren’t even cut all the way through. I take a deep breath trying to release all my anger, because it’s not fair to these flowers for me to take it out on them.

“Sorry,” I mutter, feeling perfectly scolded even though Ed didn’t even raise his voice. Going back to the flowers that I’d almost mutilated, I begin calmy cutting each one making sure that each stem has a perfect cut. Ed sits down on the stool across from me, silently joining me.

After we’ve worked on a few of the flowers, I hear a throat being cleared behind me. When I look over my shoulder, I see that Millie has come into the room, standing in the doorway with a scowl on her face. I’m sure she’s come back here to yell at me about my behavior, but I don’t care, I just return to my work, needing to calm my mind.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her make her way to her husband and it seems they’re having one of their silent conversations. Then, I hear Ed ask, “Are you going to tell us what has you so upset?”

I stop cutting and look up but neither of them are looking at me. They’re both working on organizing the flowers and cutting the stems. Since they’re not focused on me, it gives me the courage to tell them, well, at least part of the story. “Sam set me up on a blind date last night.” Or maybe not.

“It was bad?” Millie asks while raising her eyebrows.

Shaking my head, I reply, “No. It was actually amazing.” But I don’t explain any further because honestly, I don’t know if I can stand any more humiliation today.

“Well then, what has you all in a tizzy?” Millie asks, placing her hand on her hip. That’s her sign that she means business. I take a deep breath, ready to uncover my embarrassment. “He’s a famous football player, but he didn’t tell me. Actually, he lied to me about it and I had to find out through an article that was written about us.”

“Oh,” they both say in unison.

“Yep. Oh.” Instead of continuing with any more thoughts, I go back to my work because I just don’t want to deal with my feelings right now.

“Men do stupid stuff, but what if he had a good reason?” Ed asks cautiously.

“There is no good reason to lie,” I snap.

Millie places her hand on top of mine, stopping me from using my scissors. “You’re right. There is no good reason to lie, but all I ask is that you keep your heart open for forgiveness. Love is forgiveness.”

I just nod, because all of snippy comments and words are stuck in my throat. It’s always been hard to keep my walls up around Mille and Ed. Just like with Shane. Nope, not thinking about him.

The next few hours go by and I barely think about Shane because I’m deep in making flower arrangements. Some are just bouquets for people to come and grab for any occasion, others are for weddings and funerals. The beautiful thing about flowers is that they make you feel good, or worthy, no matter the situation.

When the sun has gone down, Millie walks into the back room. “Okay, Janae, time to go home. You can’t hide forever.”

“I’m not hiding, just working,” I scoff. Putting my tools down, I grab my purse from under the shelf, placing it on my shoulder. “But fine. I’ll be done.”

I pull out my phone to check my messages before heading to my car and the only one I see is Shane’s. I’m not ready to talk to him, and I will not be going on that date , I think as I move his message into the trash. Next, I go and block his number.

I just met him. There is no reason to explain my feelings to him. He had a chance and bombed it. I don’t need anyone anyways.