Heartsville 05 - Bloom Box (Cate Ashwood) by Heartsville Read Free Book Online

the other people in the neighborhood. There were a few people he recognized from around, but most he didn’t know by name. That changed quickly.
    Will was having a fantastic time, socializing and chit-chatting with everyone who’d stopped in. He made his way through the shop to talk to the man and his little girl looking at the terrariums they had on display near the back of the store. She seemed to think they were the perfect place for fairies to live.
    His heart stilled in his chest when he heard the familiar cadence of Spencer’s voice carrying over the low din of the other customers. He turned slowly to see his ex-boyfriend approaching Milo. Like a loser, Will said good-bye to the little girl and her father and hid in one of the alcoves of shelves to listen.
    “Do you work here?” Spencer asked Milo.
    For a moment, Will thought Milo would recognize Spencer from the photo on his laptop, but if he did, the recognition never showed in his face.
    “Can I help you with something?”
    “Oh, uh, no.” He picked one of the cards off the counter and flipped it over, inspecting the front and back. “I was just stopping in to say hello. I’m a friend of Will’s.”
    “Oh. He’s around here somewhere. Would you like me to track him down for you?” Milo asked.
    “No, that’s all right. I’m sure we’ll catch up another time. He’s doing well, though?”
    “He is.”
    “The place looks great. I didn’t know he had such an eye for design.”
    “Yeah, he’s pretty amazing. He pulled this off almost all on his own. He’s kind of incredible.”
    “He really is.”
    Will stayed hidden and waited until Spencer left before venturing back out into the crowd. He felt like a coward, hiding from his ex, but he wasn’t ready to face Spencer yet. It had been months, but the humiliation still stung a little. Will was surprised he didn’t feel more of a loss seeing Spencer there. Part of him wondered why he’d bothered to show up. This was supposed to be their grand opening together, and the more Will thought about it, the angrier he became at Spencer’s impudence. He had no right to show up. None. He threw their relationship away, and he should stay gone.
    Will took a calming breath and stepped back out into the fray. It would do no good to think about Spencer now. He had more important things to concentrate on. The shop was full of potential customers and there was a lineup at the till. He walked over and offered help to Milo, who looked grateful for the extra set of hands during the sudden rush.
    Everyone was incredibly friendly, and they even made a good number of sales, considering most people weren’t there for the floral services. A great number of business cards were exchanged, and there was talk of orders, large and small, shortly down the road.
    By the time Will locked the doors—two hours past closing—his exhaustion was eclipsed by elation.
    “How do you feel?” Milo asked, his hands on his hips and a smile so wide Will couldn’t help smiling right back.
    “Really good. That went better than I thought it would, to be honest. I’ve been having nightmares all week that no one would show up and the business would fail and I’d have to live out back in a cardboard box in the alley.”
    “But that didn’t happen, did it? And I think you said something about celebrating with champagne.”
    Will nodded. “I did. And if champagne was ever deserved, I think today is the day.”
    He walked to one of the refrigerators and reached in behind the last few bouquets they hadn’t sold to pull out the bottle he’d stashed there for after the doors were closed.
    “Glasses… glasses….” Will said, searching around for something suitable they could use. In the end, all he found were a couple of paper coffee cups from the coffee station they’d put together for customers.
    “Those’ll work,” Milo said.
    “And less chance of you dropping and breaking them,” Will teased.
    “Smartass,” Milo muttered as he