Beautiful Mess

The 'two months at most' that Lacey had promised ended up being more than three. When they finally got back, she was engaged to Johnny. They'd bought a new house that was almost an hour away from the shop, meaning she wasn't going to come back to work with me.

The Monday after they got back, I got a call from Matt asking for his usual order of red roses. Lisa asked to get them ready, but I ignored her and started working on them myself.

About an hour later, Matt pushed through the glass doors and gave me a bright smile. "Hey, Lindsey. Nice to see you again." It was like our encounter at the bar never happened. He was his usual self again.

I grinned at him. "Nice to see you to. How was the tour?"

"Fucking fantastic!" he said as he pulled out his wallet and handed me the money for his flowers. "Too short though. I wish it could have been longer."

"I thought it was too long," I said, giving him his roses. "I couldn't wait for Lacey to get back, but I guess that doesn't even matter now that she had to go off and get engaged."

He laughed at me and started for the door. "I'm sorry. See you next Monday."

I frowned as I watched him exit. For three months I'd imagined what it would be like when I saw him again. I'd expected a lot more than just a five minute conversation.

Lisa came out from the back room with a big grin on her face. "So that's the cutie you do the roses for? Nice catch."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Well, unfortunately I'm not the one who caught him."

"Oh." She stuck her bottom lip out. "That really sucks."

Fortunately for me, the doors swung open again, ending my chat with Lisa. I nearly screamed when I saw Lacey walking towards the counter. I ran to the other side of the counter and threw my arms around her. "I hate you for leaving me," I said, smiling at her.

"I'm sorry!" she laughed. "Look on the bright side, you've got maid of honor responsibilities now."

I sniffed and pretended to cry. "Johnny's taking you away from me!"

She laughed again and looked around me at the girl who took her place. "So that's the new girl, huh? They obviously downgraded."

Lisa looked up, as if on cue, and gave us one of her big smiles. "Hi! You must be Lacey. I've heard so much about you!"

Lacey looked at me with wide eyes. "I think Val has a long lost sister."