Chance to Bloom Read online

  “See?” Luca was grinning from ear to ear. “It might just work out perfectly.”

  There was no way a bank would give Ethan a loan. He knew that. Well, he mostly knew it. But he couldn’t buy the flower shop… could he?

  He needed some time to think. And he needed to get back to work. Sure, it was a nice idea, but it was probably just a wild fantasy, at best. Right?

  Ethan bit back a smile. He couldn’t let himself get excited about something so unlikely.

  “I need to get back to work,” Ethan said. “And it looks like you do, too.” He nodded toward Luca’s beleaguered assistant, who appeared to be drowning in the sea of people who were waiting for their lunch-time caffeine fix.

  “Fine. But promise me you’ll think about what I said. Promise, Ethan.”

  “Okay, okay,” Ethan held his hands up in a mock surrender. “I promise. I’ll think about it.” He put some money on the table to cover his bill and gave a little wave. “I’ve gotta go.”

  “Call me when you get back from the bank.”

  Ethan laughed as he walked the short distance back to Beverly’s Blooms. Luca was crazy if he thought there was really any chance Ethan could actually buy that place. It was a crazy idea, right?

  But then again, Luca had said at least one thing that had made sense. One thing that Ethan couldn’t quite get out of his head.

  What do you have to lose?

  And the answer was… nothing.

  Ethan had nothing to lose.

  Ethan adjusted his position on the uncomfortable lobby chair and glanced at his phone. He’d told Frankie to text if anything came up at the shop—or if Jack finally showed up—but he’d spent the better part of an hour at the bank filling out paperwork to see if he even qualified for a loan, and despite checking his phone every few minutes, there were still no calls and no new texts.

  He nibbled at his lip and resisted the urge to immediately check his phone again, even though the rational part of his brain knew that he hadn’t suddenly missed a call in the two seconds that had passed.

  Friday afternoon wasn’t usually one of their busiest times—unlike the bank, where a seemingly endless stream of people advanced through the teller lines—but still, shouldn’t there have been something? Anything, really, that might get him out of the too-bright, too-busy lobby and back to his familiar shop.

  He glanced up and across the lobby to the little glass office where the loan officer—Brad Whitley—was going over his paperwork. Was he frowning? Scowling? Ethan squinted his eyes and tried to make out the man’s exact expression from across the room, but he really had no way of knowing. And maybe Brad made that face—the one with the crinkled brows and pursed lips—every time he went over someone’s paperwork. It didn’t have to mean he thought Ethan’s application was a waste of his time.

  Brad looked up and Ethan quickly looked away, feeling the heat flush his cheeks as he’d no doubt been caught staring.

  Great. Probably thinks I’m checking him out. He’ll for sure deny the loan now.

  And sure, objectively speaking, the guy wasn’t bad looking. But that was really the furthest thing from Ethan’s mind at the moment. If Ethan had really wanted eye candy, he could have just waited for Jack to show up again.

  His interest in Brad was strictly business. Ethan needed information. Answers.

  Besides, the man couldn’t really sit in a glass office and not expect people to occasionally watch him while he did… whatever it was he did.

  Oh, God.

  Brad was standing up. He was looking at Ethan.

  Oh, God.

  He was walking toward the lobby where Ethan was sitting. Was he smiling? Maybe?

  Oh, God. OhGodohGodohGod.

  “Ethan, why don’t you come back to my office and we’ll go over your paperwork.”

  Ethan nodded and scrambled to follow. Brad had seemed pleasant enough, but… did that mean anything? Not necessarily. Ethan wasn’t usually in a position to tell people no at work, but the few times he’d needed to, it had been with a sympathetic smile.

  Had Brad looked sympathetic?

  Shit.

  He just. Didn’t. Know.

  “I didn’t even realize Beverly’s Blooms was for sale,” Brad said, once they were settled in the slightly more comfortable office chairs. “But now that I think of it, it makes sense. I can’t really see Jack running that place. Not like Gary did, anyway.”

  “You… know Jack?” Ethan was completely thrown off by that little revelation. Sure, it was a small town, but damn. Jack had barely even been there a week.

  “Well, I don’t really know him. Not anymore, anyway. We graduated high school together, but I haven’t talked to him much since then. But if he’s anything like he was all those years ago, he can’t stand to be tied down. Owning a neighborhood flower shop just wouldn’t be his thing. Maybe he’s changed, but…” Brad shrugged. “Anyway, back to the business at hand. I think it’s admirable that you want to buy the shop. According to your loan application, you’ve worked there almost since it opened, is that right?”

  “Yes, almost since then.”

  Brad nodded without saying anything else and looked back down at the paperwork, his maybe-a-frown expression reappearing. Ethan clasped his hands together in his lap to avoid fidgeting, but it really felt like he was on trial. Like his entire past was under consideration, and his entire future might hinge on this one brief meeting.

  Luca had been right, though. He couldn’t afford to let the opportunity slip through his grasp. He had to at least try.

  “It really would be a dream come true to buy the shop,” Ethan said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. If there was ever a time to sound confident and sure of himself, it was now. “I’m familiar with all of the day-to-day operations, and all of our regular customers know me by name. I think we’d get a lot of support from the community, if you’ll give me a chance.”

  Brad met Ethan’s gaze and nodded thoughtfully, then gave him what could only be described as the kind of sympathetic smile Ethan had been dreading earlier.

  “Well, I certainly don’t like to tell people not to follow their dreams, and knowing how much Gary loved that shop makes this an even more difficult decision. I’d love to see it stay in local hands if it does have to be sold.” He sighed and pushed back from his desk a little. “Unfortunately, there’s just no way I can justify giving you a loan at this time. Maybe once you get some of the things that are negatively affecting your credit cleared up, you can try again. Maybe try working with a credit counselor? I’m sorry, but there’s really nothing more I can do.”

  Ethan nodded numbly, even though he wanted to argue. He wanted to tell Brad that he was trying to get those things resolved, that he really was doing better, that he didn’t have time for credit counseling or whatever. That it would be too late if he had to wait to apply again until some undetermined future date.

  But the look on Brad’s face told him it wouldn’t matter. The decision had been made, and no amount of arguing, or begging, or pleading would get Ethan what he wanted.

  It just wasn’t in the cards for him, no matter how good Luca may have felt about Ethan’s odds.

  “Thank you for your time,” Ethan said, standing and shaking Brad’s hand before turning and leaving the too-bright, too-open glass office.

  He needed to get out of there before he embarrassed himself by crying or falling to his knees and actually begging for the money.

  Neither of which would be a good look.

  Neither of which would solve any of his problems.

  So, just like Luca had said, the worst Brad could say was no. He’d said it, and Ethan had somehow managed to make it through the moment without having an outburst.

  Luca had been wrong about one thing, though. He’d said Ethan would be no worse off than he was before, but it wasn’t true.

  Sure, nothing had really changed—no plans had been made or altered—but that little bit of hope that had started to bloom inside Et
han had officially died, and Ethan hadn’t been prepared for just how desperate and alone that would make him feel.

  Chapter 10

  Jack

  Jack hadn’t spent much time at the flower shop over the weekend—as little as possible, really—and the distance had helped to clear his head a little.

  At first, he’d wanted nothing more than to clear the air with Ethan, to somehow prove that he wasn’t the bad guy. But as the days passed, so had the urgency he’d felt to defend himself. He’d barely even seen Ethan at work after their disastrous dinner, and the few times they had been in the same room, the shop had been busy enough that it would have been weird to bring up the drama from that night.

  And now, well… almost a week had passed, and the timing just wasn’t right anymore. Besides, when they had opened the shop together that morning, Ethan had brought coffee and bagels for the two of them. If he wanted to make a peace offering and move on, Jack was definitely okay with that—preferred it, really, rather than diving into feelings and emotions and drawn-out apologies.

  Still, it felt like there was something that remained unsaid between the two of them, and it had been weighing on Jack’s mind more and more with each passing day.

  He turned to face Ethan, who was just a couple of feet away in the cramped office and mid-bite into his bagel. And then it hit him. The thing that had been left unsaid was an apology. Jack might not want to rehash all of his feelings—he might not have much else to say at all on the subject, really—but Ethan had clearly been beyond just upset, and Jack knew it was because of him. Ethan had made that fact perfectly clear at dinner the week before. And for that, even though it hadn’t been intentional, Jack owed Ethan an apology. He’d never intended to upset Ethan, and he never wanted it to happen again.

  He just wasn’t sure how to say all of that.

  “I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” Jack blurted out, earning a surprised look from Ethan as he struggled to swallow a large bite of bagel.

  Damn, that’ll be my luck. I’ve shocked him by being nice, and now he’s gonna choke to death.

  Ethan didn’t choke, though, thank God. He did make a pained expression, but Jack wasn’t sure if it was the quantity of bagel that he’d just swallowed or the subject matter at hand that had caused the look to cross Ethan’s face. Jack just hoped he’d understand, that he’d accept the apology and that they could both move on.

  “You’re… sorry?” Ethan asked, furrowing his brow once he was able to speak again. “For what? We haven’t even opened for the day yet… what could you have done?”

  Jack did his best to stifle a grin, because even though this wasn’t the moment for it, he couldn’t help but notice how cute Ethan was when he was confused and concerned. Then again, Ethan looked cute every time Jack saw him, so he shouldn’t have been surprised that the man could even make confusion look sexy.

  “For the other day…” Jack continued, trying to focus on just getting the apology out there without stopping to daydream about Ethan. “Last week, I mean… at dinner?”

  Ethan snorted, then rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’m the one who should be apologizing for that. And I am sorry. I just…”

  “No,” Jack said, shaking his head. Fuck. He’d made Ethan feel guilty or… something. That wasn’t what Jack had intended at all. “Please don’t. You don’t need to apologize for anything. I understand why you were upset. Or… I mean, maybe I don’t completely understand, but… I think I do? Anyway,” he paused and took a deep breath. Where was he going with this again? Right. Apologize. Now. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to upset you, and I hope we can move forward with a clean slate.”

  Ethan blinked, then smiled, then blushed a deep shade of pink. “I don’t know what to say…”

  Jack grinned, his heart doing a slow roll in his chest from the way Ethan was looking at him. “Do you forgive me?”

  “I do. Of course I do.” Ethan cleared his throat and looked away quickly, shuffling the papers in front of him as he brushed away some bagel crumbs and moved his coffee from one side of the desk to the other, then back again.

  Jack had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Ethan probably had no idea how cute he looked when he was flustered, but… damn, it was doing things to Jack—things that were making him feel flustered, too.

  He was grateful when, after a long, silent minute had passed, Ethan changed the subject.

  “You’ve barely needed my help with anything this morning,” Ethan observed, sipping his coffee and giving Jack a pointed look over the rim of his cup. “It’s too bad you’re not interested in managing the place. I think you’d be good at it.”

  Jack could feel the corners of his mouth twitch as he looked up from the computer screen. It had been a pretty heavy-handed compliment, but Jack decided he could be gracious without rising to the bait. And it was nice to think that Ethan might be finally warming back up to him.

  “Thanks, I appreciate that. I’d never be as good at running this place as you are, though.” For a moment, Jack was tempted to leave it at that, hesitant to ruin the new, peaceful vibe between them. But he was going to broach the subject again at some point, so… no time like the present. “There is one thing I’m gonna need your help with today, though.”

  “Sure,” Ethan said. “What’s up?”

  “Well,” Jack tried to avoid wincing a little as he contemplated the best way to bring up what he knew was going to be a delicate subject. He was pretty sure that part of the reason why Ethan had been so upset before was because of the way Jack had presented the idea of selling the shop. Too… blunt. Maybe he could at least avoid doing that again. “I’m going to need some detailed income and expense reports, along with deposit slips and a few other things that I have written down somewhere here. Do you know anything about that sort of stuff?”

  Ethan’s eyes narrowed for a split-second, and Jack had no doubt he’d guessed exactly why Jack might need that kind of information. He’d been in touch with some people from the New York corporation who were interested in buying the shop, and they’d been eager—maybe a little too eager, if he was being honest—and they’d asked for things that Jack hadn’t had a clue about. He would have liked nothing better than to collect the reports they’d asked for on his own, but there was really no way around asking for help.

  And unfortunately, Ethan was the only person who could help him.

  “I maybe know about some of it.” Ethan shrugged, then paused.

  Even though Jack didn’t know him very well, it was easy to see that he was torn between speaking his mind and just answering the question. He’d had the exact same look the week before at dinner. Jack wondered if Ethan would take the same course this time and let him in on what he was really thinking.

  In a weird way, it was almost funny. Not because of the subject matter, or the obvious discomfort that Ethan was having containing his emotions, but because of how intriguing it was to Jack. He’d never met anyone like Ethan before—so apparently carefree and enthusiastic and genuinely happy at first glance, but with a core of pure steel just below that bright, sunny exterior.

  It made Jack want to know more about him, want to be around him. It made Jack care when Ethan wasn’t happy, especially when Jack seemed to be the direct cause of nearly all the unhappiness.

  Back when he’d been in the Marines, Jack had been acutely aware of his place in the order of things. There had been no question of his rank in the chain of command at any time. And even though he was technically the boss at Beverly’s Blooms, it never really felt that way.

  At all.

  Jack didn’t lack self-confidence, but when it came to running a business, there was just so much that he didn’t know—didn’t even really want to know. It felt like he was always out of his element, always fumbling, always looking to Ethan for help with the day-to-day problems that would arise.

  And that wouldn’t necessarily bother Jack too much—he didn’t know what he didn’t know, after all—but for some reason,
being around Ethan made Jack feel uncertain about… everything. Like he had something to prove, even though Ethan was probably one of the most agreeable people Jack had ever met.

  “You’ll probably have to go to the bank to get some of that information,” Ethan continued, finally. “I’ll take a look and get everything I can together, but I’m certain Gary didn’t keep copies of some of that stuff here in the shop. When do you need it by?”

  “Well, there’s no rush, really. But the sooner, the better.” Jack looked back at the computer screen, the numbers from the previous week’s order making him remember another question he’d had. “Oh, there was one other thing I was wondering about.”

  “Okay, sure,” Ethan sounded a little more guarded than he had before, no doubt feeling cautious because of the subject at hand. It was exactly why Jack had hesitated asking for help, but it really was unavoidable.

  “Just some of these numbers on last week’s order—the supplies, in particular. Like, we haven’t received any huge shipment of flowers that I can see, but we’re getting tons of extra boxes and ribbons, vases, all sorts of things. Is that normal?”

  Ethan looked puzzled for just a moment, and then his eyes widened as they lit up. “Oh. Oh! Right! Oh my God, I can’t believe I didn’t even think about it before. Valentine’s Day.” He bent down and looked over Jack’s shoulder at the computer screen. “Yeah, those are all for Valentine’s Day. We put in for the supplies early, so there won’t be any surprises when the big day gets closer. Your dad was always adamant about that, and there’s a lot more coming. Those things from last week are just the beginning. If there’s one day you don’t want to mess up as a flower shop, it’s February fourteenth.”