The Dreamer's Flower Shoppe (Friends & Neighbors Book 2) by Ava Miles

Author:Ava Miles [Miles, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ava Miles Inc.
Published: 2021-04-11T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Warren was drawn to Aunt Gladys like a bee to a flower.

Especially after hearing Amy was going to work for the woman. His wife had come home from a “get to know you” outing with their new town brimming with ideas for her new part-time consulting job. She’d even put on some Katy Perry and danced with him and the girls in the kitchen. He planned to keep encouraging this path, and this woman in the hot pink caftan was the key to his wife’s transformation as much as a fount of knowledge about the town he was serving.

“You’ve lived here for decades, Aunt Gladys. Alice said you would give me the straight truth about any obstacles I might run into with the trust.”

She picked up a pair of opera glasses from the counter and raised them to her eyes briefly. “You can see the bullshit pretty easy. Take Lucia Tesoro—”

“Antiques Anonymous.” The woman reminded him of a pit bull.

“She’s been bitching about paying for videos to highlight her store. She thinks I’m a crazy old bat for paying. Worse, she’s bashing Vinnie and Rose by suggesting they’re taking advantage of small business owners in dire straits. Not living up to the Friends & Neighbors motto we all agreed to. It’s horseshit.”

He couldn’t agree more. “You perform a service, you get paid. This country was founded on capitalism. I don’t expect she’d give a couch away for free if she found out the customer couldn’t afford it.”

“I’m going to use that,” Aunt Gladys said, cackling. “People will bend anything to serve their purpose, and that’s what Lucia’s doing. She’s got some others on her side, but in my opinion, they’re being cheap and unkind.”

Nodding, he said, “Can I be straight with you?”

“Of course! Good Lord, people tell me shit all the time running this shop. I’ve had men shop for their secret gay lovers, for heaven’s sake. It’s like a confessional in here even though I’m Jewish. Shoot!”

He had to smile at that. “They’re jealous of your success. You’ve managed to make more money than they have in these times, and you’ve done it by being smarter than them. I’ll bet you were one of the first to do a promotional video.”

“Besides Alice and company, yes!” She peered at him through the opera glasses again. “But I’m screwy that way. Oh, here’s Clifton. Hello, darling! On a break?”

The older man gave what could only be described as an elegant nod as he shrugged out of his tailored outerwear and hung it on the coatrack. “Yes, my love. Hello, Warren. I hope you and the family are doing well.”

Warren wished he could look that cool. “We’re great. Looking forward to Christmas. Amy is loving it here, and I have your fiancée to thank for it.”

Her passion was back, and he was so there for it. They were rediscovering each other all over again over eggnog or spiced wine in front of the fireplace after the kids went to bed. Coming to Orion was like having a second honeymoon.

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