Becket Drive - h.s.

Chapter 14

Vera

I pull open the door to the flower shop, taking in today's display outside, and stepping in. I pass by the displays and head towards the back of the shop. I'm opening for the first time. Once I walk past the counter, I open the door in the corner which leads to the employee room. Stepping inside I see Jane, my co-worker.

She's sitting on the couch in the room and looks up when I say, "Good morning."

"Morning," she says with a smile, "We'll start in about 20 minutes."

I nod and move further into the room, setting my bag down and taking a seat on one of the armchairs across from the couch.

Today's my first day working at Rosie's Flower Shop, the place Harry gave me the information for.

Harry's apology after our argument comes to my mind as I'm sitting in the very shop he got me the apology flowers from. When he came home from the bowling alley, all the frustration he'd caused me the entire night finally came out. It felt good to confront him about his behavior towards Ethan. Just like it feels good knowing he got the message.

I hadn't expected to cry though. The tears came from a place of exhaustion. I was already tired from the night's events but I was also tired of having the same conversation with Harry. Defending my boyfriend isn't something I should have to do on a daily basis and Harry had gotten me to that point. I knew it couldn't go on for longer so I finally said something.

After I left him in the living room, I went to my room and got ready for bed. I forced myself to relax, knowing I had class the next morning and had to sleep. I had planned to go to class and not think about anything from the night before, but there was no way of that happening with the flowers and drink sitting on the kitchen counter.

I was going to make a chai before class so the kitchen was my first stop after leaving my room. I didn't have to make one though because Harry had gotten me one, along with tulips, sometime that morning. After getting over my initial surprise, I had the urge to put the tulips in a vase, which I did. I smiled at the sight of them in a vase on the dining table once I set them there before getting back to the counter.

I realized Harry had left a note for me and after reading it I understood this was his first step to an apology.

I'm going to the gym, we'll talk later.

That 'later' would be after class, which I was on the edge of running late for. Not needing to make a drink, I grabbed the Chai Harry had gotten me and went to school, where each of my professors piled on the work.

When I got home, Harry was waiting for me on the couch. I waited until he said something, wanting to hear an actual apology. I got the apology I was waiting for, but it wouldn't fix anything immediately. We ended up ordering dinner and making quiet conversation as we ate and watched a boxing match.

I can see that becoming a routine for me because watching the matches is more entertaining than I expected.

The moment that stands out the most in my memory is when he called me V.

V.

The nickname had shocked me and caused me to blush.

When am I not blushing though?

No one but Ethan had ever called me a shortened version of my name so it caught me off guard. The only nicknames I was used to were the customary, 'sweetie' or 'darling' my parents would throw out when I was young.

During that conversation, I also found out where Harry bought the flowers from in the morning. I had mentioned that I was looking for a job and he remembered that the flower shop was hiring. My job search wasn't going well up to that point so when the opportunity came up I took it.