Andrew listened to the conversation.
While he went to the other room, Rachel gathered up the cards they were playing with his daughter. âMaybe we should play Candy Land next time,â he heard her say to Maura. âIâm pretty good at that game.â
âYou really like Candy Land?â the girl asked.
âIt was one of my favorite games when I was a kid.â
âI didnât know it was that old,â Maura said so solemnly that Rachel had to laugh.
âEven my mother played it when she was a little girl,â she told the child.
âMy mommyâs dead,â Maura told her.
âI know. Iâm sorry.â
âMaybe someday I could get a new mommy. But sheâll have to be someone my daddy likes.â
âThat would probably help,â Rachel agreed.
âDaddy likes you,â Maura said.
And that was Andrewâs cue. He stepped back into the room before his daughter proposed right there and then.
* * *
Those Engaging Garretts!
The Carolina Cousins
Chapter One
Rachel Ellis hated Valentineâs Day.
Not that sheâd ever admit as much to any of the customers who had formed an almost-steady stream of traffic through the door of Buds & Blooms since about 11:00 a.m., but she had expressed the sentimentâmore than a few times already todayâto her best friend and business partner, Holly Kendrick.
âCan you tell me,â Rachel asked, when she went to the back during a rare quiet moment in the shop, âwhy so many men seem surprised to realize itâs Valentineâs Day when it falls on February 14 every single year?â
âBecause theyâre men,â Holly said simply.
âAnd is that why they also wait until the absolute last minute to buy flowers for their wives or girlfriends?â
âYep.â
âNext year we should offer discounts for advance orders.â They had taken some, but those represented a small percentage of the sales already processed that day.
âIt wonât matter,â Holly told her.
Rachel knew her friend was probably right. She sank down into a chair by the worktable. âIâm just going to take ten minutes to rest my feet before the next rush.â
She only managed about half of that before the bell rang, indicating another customer had entered the shop.
Trish, a local college student who helped out part-time, showed up at two oâclock so that Holly could go home to get ready for her date with Shaneâher on-again, off-again boyfriend of the past two years. Rachel, who had no plans, would stay until closing time at six oâclock.
It was quarter to the hour now, and there were only a couple of customers left in the shop. Her cheeks hurt from the smile sheâd kept firmly plastered on her face as she boxed or wrapped order after order throughout the afternoon, and she was looking forward to the day being over.
But when Andrew Garrett walked through the door, just a few minutes before closing time, she didnât have to force the smile. He was a regular if not frequent customer, coming into Buds & Blooms three times a year without failâValentineâs Day, August 10 and November 22. She didnât really know him. In fact, she only knew his name because it was on the credit card that he used to pay for his purchases. But for some inexplicable reason, her heart always beat just a little bit faster when he was around.
Or maybe it wasnât so inexplicable. After all, the man was a certified hunk. He stood about six-three with broad shoulders, narrow hips and long legs. His dark hair was neatly trimmed, and moss-green eyes looked out beneath straight brows. His jaw was cleanly shaven, his mouth was deliciously shaped, and when heâd smiled at her the first day he came into the shop, her knees had actually gone weak.
Then sheâd dropped her gaze and noticed the well-worn gold band that circled the third finger of his left hand. She should have expected as muchâthe only time gorgeous single men ever walked through the door of Buds & Blooms was Motherâs Day.
February 14 had fallen on a Sunday that year, and heâd been one of the first customers through the door. Heâd wanted a dozen white roses, and sheâd laid the creamy white flowers out on top of a fan of ferns, added some babyâs breath, then wrapped the arrangement in silver paper and clear cellophane and tied it together with white raffia. Even after three years, she remembered those details, and she wondered if that was evidence of the customer service she prided herself on or proof that she was pathetically infatuated with a handsomeâand marriedâstranger.