ARKER WAS AT BLOSSOM on a Tuesday morning, lugging buckets of fresh flowers into the cooler, when an unexpected visitor walked through the door. “Mom!” she said, setting down the gerbera daisies with a slosh.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Althea said.

“What are you doing here! Again without calling! What a nice surprise!” She hugged her mom, who looked strange…wait, it was that she looked normal, actually. The Botox had worn off, and Althea’s face had lost that tight, shiny look.

“I know, I know, I should’ve called. I wanted to surprise you again.” Her mother looked around the shop. “This is very pretty, Parker. Oh, you have a dog. I forgot.”

“This is Beauty. Beauty, come say hi.” The dog declined to leave her little bed, but she granted Althea a small tail wag. “So, Mom. What are you—”

“I left Maury.”

Parker blinked. “Oh. Wow.”

Althea sighed. “Do you have any coffee? A nonfat vanilla soy latte would really soothe my soul about now.”

“I have plain old coffee. How would that be?”

The story was, Althea said, that she got tired of walking on eggshells, trying to please a curmudgeonly old man who was, she suspected, going to dump her anyway. “One day, darling, I said, ‘Althea, what are you thinking? You deserve better. You’re more than someone’s wife.’”

Parker nodded, a little stunned. Her mother had never gone more than eight months without a husband, had been first married at age twenty-one to Harry. Being a wife was her entire career. “That’s huge, Mom.”

“I know. But the truth is, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. So I figured the first thing would be to visit my grandchild.” She paused. “I didn’t call because I was afraid you’d say no.”

“Mom! I wouldn’t say no! I’m really proud of you. Of course you can stay with us. The new place is small, but we have a guest room. It’ll be great!”

Althea smiled. She had lovely crow’s feet, Parker noticed. “I was sort of counting on that.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I couldn’t keep it up, Parker. It’s exhausting, trying to be the person someone wants you to be and completely losing the person you once were.” She blew her nose. “I promise I won’t stay forever. It’s just been so long for me, I don’t even know where to start.”

“Here. Here’s where you start.” She leaned over and kissed her mom’s cheek. “Nicky will be so happy when he sees you.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. We’ll surprise him when he gets off the bus. He comes here after school.”

Parker spent the rest of the day showing her mother around the shop, letting her watch as she filled orders, talking about Nicky and the adjustments to their new lifestyle. They got lunch from the deli down the street and ate it in the little sitting area in the shop.

“So you’re happy?” Althea asked a trifle suspiciously.

Parker took a bite of her sandwich and thought about the question as she chewed. “I am. I love doing flowers, and even though I thought I’d hate it, I like that Nicky’s in school. Though I did cry a lot the first couple of weeks.”

Her mom smiled. “What about—what was his name?”

“Collier?”

“Oh, did you date him?” Althea asked excitedly.

“No. He’s a nice guy, but kind of a dope.”

“Yes. Well, actually, I meant the other one. The one who was living with you.”

“James.”

“Yes. Did that ever…?” Her mother raised her eyebrows. So odd to see her with normal facial movement.

“We parted ways,” Parker said. She was quiet for a moment. She’d spent the past week berating herself for sending the manuscript. It had seemed cute; in the face of his nonresponse, it now seemed really stupid. She should’ve been more direct. Just written him a note, or called him and said, “Look, I’m sorry, I miss you, please give me another chance.”

“Don’t be sad, sweetheart,” Althea said, patting her hand. “We’re two single women. We can do facials and have movie nights, and I can make your favorite dinner.”

“Do you even know what that is, Mom?” Parker asked, smiling.

“No. But you can tell me, and I’ll give it a whirl.”

* * *

NICKY WAS INDEED EXCITED to have Faraway Mimi up close. He wanted to show off the new house, especially the fort he’d made in his room, so Parker switched his booster seat to Althea’s rental car and let him go home with her. Her mom beeped the horn and turned at the corner.

Parker watched them go, a little bemused. Aside from a few summers here and there, she hadn’t lived with her mom since she was thirteen years old. The cynical side of her wanted to take a bet on how long it would take Althea to find another husband. The better part of her was proud. Althea had never left a husband willingly. Well. Except for Harry.

Althea had put up with a lot from her husbands over the years, proving the old saying that if you married for money, you earned every cent. But she’d married Harry Welles before he’d become a big deal; she’d loved him once, and when he cheated on her and traumatized their only child, Althea walked away. Her mother had protected her, as best as she’d known how, and that…that was worth a lot.

Parker sat down at her desk, smiling at Nicky’s kindergarten photo. He’d worn a bow tie, at his own insistence, “so Colette will see me as husband material,” he’d announced the night before when they’d all been eating at Mirabelli’s, and Ethan had laughed so hard he’d cried. Her son looked cheesy and adorable in the photo, all his baby teeth still present and accounted for.

This was what her life was now—a business to run, bills to pay, a son to raise. A new home, her friends, sweet little Beauty curled at her feet and now her mom staying with her for a while, trying on some independence for size.

A nice life. A full life.

She did some bookkeeping for the next hour, the quiet of the fragrant little shop as soothing as a cup of cocoa. She had to order more roses; the wholesaler was short on them this week. She’d work late on Friday for a Saturday wedding, but the thought gave her a tingle of excitement. Maggie Beaumont—well, Maggie Malone now—had emailed her pictures of the arrangements so Parker could put them on Blossom’s website, and the bride had loved the look.

Maybe, if she could swing it, she and Nicky could go up to Gideon’s Cove for a week this summer. See Vin and the rest of the people she’d met. Eat at Joe’s, see how the babies had grown.

The phone rang, and Parker glanced at the clock. Five minutes till closing. She could let the machine get it; if it was an order, she wouldn’t have time to fill it until tomorrow. Then again, she’d be a fool to turn away business.

“Blossom, can I help you?”

“Hi,” said the female voice on the other end. “I need to place an order for my boss? It’s his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.”

“I’m just about to close. Are these for today?”

“Afraid so.”

Parker paused. “Well, for twenty-five years, I guess I can stay open a little longer. What’s he looking for?”

“He said something gorgeous. And expensive.”

Oh, goody. Hopefully, he’d remember that she stayed open for him on his special day and use her again. She took out her pen “And the card?”

“Yeah, let me read that—he wrote it out for me. Ready?”

“Yep.”

“‘I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you, and I haven’t stopped since. Thank you for our beautiful children, thank you for our life together, and thank you for being my wife. Hope we can fool around later.’”

Parker laughed. “Okay, got it. It’ll be ready in about half an hour. Do you have a credit-card number?”

“Can he pay cash when he comes by?”

“Sure. Thanks for choosing Blossom.”

Twenty-five years, and the guy was still cheeky, Parker thought, reading the card once more. Poetic, too.

Well. He’d get a beautiful bouquet to bring home to his wife, that was for sure. Not because he was spending a lot, but because he sounded like a good husband. “And let’s face it,” she said to Beauty, “I’m a sucker for love.”

She pulled a dozen yellow roses, some brilliant purple lisianthus, a few deep orange lilies. Four branches of pink phalaenopsis orchid. Some heather and fern. This couple was fun. No mere roses and baby’s breath for them. Something extravagant and vivid and memorable.

She pictured the husband as she worked—somewhere in his fifties, probably, an insurance executive or doctor, maybe. The wife would’ve gotten home a little early, knowing her hubby was not the type to forget their anniversary. The kids were off at college, so the place would be all theirs. He’d come through the door, the beautiful arrangement in one hand, a bottle of bubbly in the other, and she’d be wearing nothing but a smile.

And because he loved her, it wouldn’t matter that she wasn’t twenty-two or thirty or forty anymore. In his eyes, she was truly the most beautiful woman in the world. The thought brought tears to Parker’s eyes. A sucker for love indeed.

“What do you think?” she asked Beauty when she was finished. The dog wagged her tail appreciatively. The bouquet was wildly beautiful, filled with intense colors and odd combinations. She wrapped it in purple tissue paper and tied it with lots of red ribbon.

Then the door to her shop opened, and she looked up, expecting to see her customer.

Instead, it was James.

Her mouth fell open. The rest of her froze.

Beauty, however, had no compunction. She ran over to James, whimpering happily, putting her front paws on his knee. “Hey, girl,” he said, bending to pet her, and oh, that smile, it was even better than she remembered. Beauty began crooning in joy, her tail swishing wildly.

Then he straightened up and looked at her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she breathed.

“So. Mickey the Fire Engine. I’m starting to wonder if it’s about more than trucks.”

Her heart was jackhammering so hard she’d bet he could see it, fluttering under her shirt. “It’s an, um, a metaphor.”

“For what?”

Damn if her mind wasn’t completely blank. “Second chances?”

“I see.”

“How are you?” she managed to ask.

“Good. And you?”

“Good.” Crikey. “How’s New York?”

“I don’t know. I live in Providence.”

“You do?”

He nodded.

He lived in Providence. Not New York. “I thought you—”

“I didn’t take the job.”

“Oh.” She sounded like an idiot. Clearing her throat, she said, “Um, James, I’m very happy to see you. And maybe we can have a drink or something, and talk…but I have to wait for a customer. It’s his anniversary—”

James smiled, and her heart seemed to leap toward him. “Oh, right, the flowers. Actually, those are for you.” He nodded at the arrangement she’d just finished. “I’m a couple decades early, but I’m optimistic, too.”

Oh. Oh. She glanced at the card. “Are you… Is…is that a proposal?”

He tilted his head as if thinking. “Yep.”

“A marriage proposal?”

“Yes.”

“I reject it,” she said.

He closed his eyes briefly. “Great.”

“It’s just that I wanted to do the asking.” Holy halos. Where was this coming from?

Go for it, the Holy Rollers said. For a nanosecond, she pictured them, the six angels all in a line, smiling and nodding, Spike in his leather jacket, giving her the thumbs-up.

“I’m waiting,” James said. He was smiling.

“Okay.” Parker’s eyes suddenly filled with tears. “James,” she said, her voice wobbling, “I’d really like you to overlook the fact that I was a snob and ignored you and thought you were scum, and then, when we finally did hook up for real, basically jumped at the first chance to ditch you.”

“Do you have any qualities to recommend you?” he asked, laughing, and she smiled, though a couple of tears slid down her cheeks.

“Yes. I do. Um, I’m smart, and a great swimmer, as you know, and once I love someone, I tend to keep them really close, and I think I have a good sense of humor. I put out, as you also know, and I can do all the voices in Harry Potter.” She paused. “Also, I love you. A lot. What do you say?”

“I accept,” he said. “Now could you come out from behind that counter and kiss me?”

She did just that, flew across the small space and wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him for a second, those beautiful eyes, the smile that took up his whole face.

“Thank God you finally wised up,” he said, and with that, he kissed her, and Parker had to wonder how she ever got so lucky.