Love Walked In Read online

  Love Walked In

  Jennifer Halsbury

  Halsbury Press

  Copyright © 2020 Jennifer Halsbury

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  PART ONE

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  PART TWO

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Afterword

  Books By This Author

  PART ONE

  Chapter One

  Michael looked at his watch impatiently. Five minutes to six. He was on the wrong side of town and with rush hour traffic, it would be a nightmare getting through. Where would he find a bouquet of flowers in this part of town? He cursed himself for not ordering something yesterday. Christine usually took care of those details and he didn’t know where to start. He browsed through the selection of bouquets at the Grocery Mart, but the offering was grim and as he exited through the doors, rain started to fall.

  “Great,” he exclaimed. “Just what I need.”

  He hoisted his umbrella up over his head and drew his collar close as the wind howled in his direction. The streets were busy and as he surveyed the stores nearby, he sighed a breath of relief as he came upon ‘Bouquets by Florentyna.’ Waiting impatiently for a break in the traffic, Michael made his way across the street and opening the door, he turned and shook his umbrella out onto the pavement.

  “It’s pretty nasty out there,” asserted a voice from inside the store. “I guess that’s April showers for you.”

  Michael fastened the clasp on the umbrella and set it in the umbrella stand beside the door before turning to see where the voice had come from. A young woman was carefully arranging pink roses on a piece of floral foam. She looked towards Michael and smiled.

  “What can I get for you?” She wiped her hands and stepped out from behind the counter. Michael was surprised at the sight of her. She was pretty, with olive skin and dark mid length hair. She wore a yellow dress with matching shoes that suited her petite frame perfectly and with the assortment of colourful flowers sitting in buckets against the wall behind her, the vision was quite the contrast to the doom and gloom outside.

  “I’m looking for flowers,” he replied, only half hearing her.

  She laughed in response. “Really?”

  “A bouquet,” he added, feeling a little foolish.

  “Well, you’re certainly in the right place. We have a large selection in right now. Lots of roses, lilies are in season. What were you thinking?”

  With his coat slightly open, revealing a dark suit and tie, her customer seemed totally out of place and stared at her with a look of bewilderment on his handsome face.

  “Okay,” she continued, taking a deep breath and walking towards him slowly. “Who is the bouquet for?”

  “A woman.”

  “A friend, colleague, wife?”

  “A friend, an older woman whose husband just died.”

  “Okay, sympathy. Let’s see what we have.” She turned to peruse the flowers along the wall.

  “I would suggest classic white lilies and hydrangea.” She looked toward him, waiting for a response and taking in his shined-up shoes and impeccable clothes, she continued, “So, I guess you probably have an assistant who does this for you?”

  “That obvious?” he replied with a sheepish grin. “Do I look like that much of a novice?”

  “You have no idea,” she replied, laughing. Michael liked her laugh. It seemed warm and genuine.

  “Actually, I almost ended up picking up a bunch from the Grocery Mart across the street.”

  “Oh dear, that is not something you want to admit to,” she replied, feigning a look of horror.

  “No, you’re probably right. The selection was quite hideous. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “A man of taste. Well, lets hope I can satisfy you,” she replied cheekily as she turned to pick out an assortment of flowers. “Feel free to take a seat,” she added, pointing to a couple of chairs in the corner of the room. Jemma selected a frosted vase from the shelf. She didn’t bother asking him to choose what he liked as she felt that the questions would be redundant.

  “Is this your store?”

  “Yes, it is. I opened two years ago. My uncle ran a flower farm and I spent my Summers working there. I absolutely loved it and even spent a season in Japan learning Ikebana.”

  “Ikebana?” Michael inquired.

  “The art of flower arranging. This business was the obvious choice for me as I love doing this.”

  “It certainly seems that way,” Michael replied as he watched her expertly place the flowers in the vase.

  “So, were you close to the lady whose husband died?”

  “I don’t know if you can call us close. She’s the patron of one of the charities I support. He was frail. Died of a heart attack, but I can’t say it was a surprise to any of us.” Michael watched her intently as she picked more flowers from the buckets and cut the stems with unforgiving precision. It was quite the process watching the bouquet come to life. Michael was mesmerized, but it would be a lie to say it was the flowers that caught his attention, not the beauty who was working with them.

  “You have an assistant, so I imagine you must do something important.”

  “Important? I don’t know if what I do is important. Important might be a doctor or a teacher or even somebody who makes a bouquet of flowers for a desperate passerby.”

  “Desperate? Well now, that is telling. I guess with your only other option being that pallid offering at the Grocery Mart, I could likely charge a pretty penny for this.”

  “I guess you’ve got me in a bind.”

  “And you really want this?” she teased.

  “More than you can imagine,” he responded coolly. “Do you live in the neighbourhood?”

  “Yes, not too far from here. I imagine you live on the other side of town?”

  “I do. It’s very different over here. Quite eclectic.”

  “I guess that’s one way to describe it. I like it. It’s down to earth, some nice people and families.”

  “And business is good? Although with the Grocery Mart across the street, I imagine you have some stiff competition.”

  She laughed. “Thankfully, it doesn’t pose too much of a threat.”

  “All done,” she said, making some finishing touches to the bouquet.

  “It’s absolutely perfect. How much do I owe you?” Michael asked, pulling out his wallet from a breast pocket.

  “One hundred and twenty-nine dollars.”

  Michael pulled out a couple of hundred-dollar bills and handed them to her.

  “Don’t worry about the change,” he added as he balanced the bouquet carefully in the crook of his left arm.

  “It was very nice to meet you.” He reached for her hand. “I’m Michael,”

  “Jemma,” she responded warmly, reaching out her hand in response. “Well, hav
e a good night.”

  “You too,” he added, reaching for his umbrella and heading out into the rainy night.

  Jemma smiled. It wasn’t often she met such handsome and charming customers. Goddamn florists on the West Side, she thought. They had all the luck.

  Chapter Two

  “Christine, where do we order our flowers from?”

  “Our flowers?” Christine asked with a puzzled look on her face.

  “Yeah. When I ask you to order flowers? Sometimes you order flowers for the table over there. Where do we get them from?”

  “The store on the corner of 5th and Main, Les Fleurs Joli.”

  “Why don’t we have more flowers in the office? By reception, in my office and maybe the boardroom?”

  “I didn’t know you liked flowers but that can certainly be arranged.” Christine turned to the rolodex on her desk. “I’ll call them and see what they can do.”

  “No, I’ll take care of it. There’s a new place I’d like to try.”

  A few days had passed since the encounter at the florist and Michael had a hard time getting Jemma out of his mind. She was gorgeous and from what he could tell, she had a personality to match, and he wanted to see her again.

  The weather had improved considerably since the last time he was in the neighbourhood. As he walked by the Grocery Mart, the flowers sat outside in buckets and the selection hadn’t improved. He crossed over to the other side of the street, looking towards the window as he approached. He felt excitement as he set eyes upon Jemma although he hadn’t quite figured out a plan for asking her out. An older couple walked out carrying a small bouquet as he reached the door.

  “Hello Jemma,” he said approaching the counter.

  “Well, hello,” she responded with a welcome smile. “You’ve found yourself on the other side of town again.”

  “I certainly have. The lady I bought the bouquet for the other night, she absolutely loved the flowers.”

  “I’m glad. How is she doing after her husbands passing?”

  “It’s difficult to tell. She’s pretty stoic.”

  “So, what can I do for you today?”

  “I need a bouquet for a friend who just announced her engagement.”

  “Engagement.” Jemma repeated quietly, as she looked towards the floral refrigerator. “Actually, I have the perfect option. Take a seat.”

  Michael took a seat as instructed and watched her get to work. She wore a silky off-white blouse, neatly tucked into a knee length black pencil skirt, with black flats on her feet. As petite as she was, this young woman clearly had no issues with her height and was confident in who she was. She laid quite the contrast to the women at the office with their four-inch heels. There was something incredibly sexy about a woman in heels, or so he thought, until he met Jemma.

  “So, when’s the big day?”

  “I’m sorry,” he inquired with a puzzled look on his face.

  “Your friend, the one who’s getting married.”

  “Summer. It’s an August wedding I believe. I imagine you must get pretty busy over the Summer.”

  “Yes, we do. Wedding season starts in May and goes through to September so it’s pretty much non-stop for four months.”

  “And do you do a lot of corporate accounts? You know, supply floral arrangements to offices?”

  “No, not really. We’re on the wrong side of town for that. Those accounts usually go to the upmarket florists like Les Fleur Jolie or Petunia’s on 4th.”

  “Really? Well, as it happens, we’re looking for a supplier at my office at Blythe and 4th. Would you be interested? It would be ongoing; a weekly supply of flowers for a large corporate office.”

  Jemma stopped and turned, taken back by the offer. “That would be amazing. I would love to do it.”

  “Perfect.”

  Jemma turned back to the worktable to finish putting together the bouquet. She was excited at the prospect of landing her first corporate account. As she tied the final ribbon around the wrapping, she turned to hand it to Michael. He passed her a couple of hundred-dollar bills.

  “Keep the change,” he said before she had the chance to say anything. “I’ll have my assistant get in touch with you. Maybe come by the office and familiarize yourself with the space.”

  Michael turned to leave and looking at the flowers added, “Those uptown florists on the West Side charge an arm and a leg for floral so make sure your pricing is in line with theirs.” He smiled and strode out through the door. Jemma could almost hear her heart beating out of her chest. This was a door she never imagined being opened for her, but the opportunity had finally arrived.

  Chapter Three

  Jemma didn’t really care to attend her boyfriend’s work parties, but he had insisted that he needed her at this event. He had started working for the Locke Corporation a little over a year ago and was contracted to work until the completion of the second phase of the Waterford Residences by early Summer. Apparently, Locke was scoping out new locations by the bay, so another contract would be lucrative. Jemma slipped into the sleek cocktail dress she had bought especially for the occasion, as well as a pair of black heels Nathan suggested might be appropriate for the occasion. As they rode up the elevator of the Locke building, Jemma was amazed at the view as they flew past floor after floor. Nathan grasped her hand and they headed out toward the rooftop patio.

  “Don’t leave me alone,” she whispered to Nathan as they found themselves immersed in a sea of people. They walked through while Nathan greeted a few people he knew.

  “I think I see Sherie,” said Jemma with relief.

  “Sherie. It’s great to see you,” said Nathan reaching out to hug her. “Where is that husband of yours? I wasn’t sure if you were coming.”

  “Neither were we,” she replied hugging Jemma. “Marcus’ plane got in at four this afternoon. With the storm this morning, I didn’t know if he would make it.”

  “Well, I’m glad you did. I’ll be back shortly,” said Nathan. “I’m going to check in on Marcus and see how the trip went.” He grabbed a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter and passed it to Jemma.

  “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

  Michael hated parties. He hated mingling and he wasn’t fond of the small talk. However, the Locke Corporation was like huge and its’ interests were far reaching, so events like this were part of the course. Michael walked around greeting his guests, his innate charm causing laughter as he moved from one group to the next. After doing the obligatory rounds, he headed up towards a corner of the mezzanine that wasn’t yet overrun. As he sat back surveying the sea of guests, he almost choked on his champagne as he came across a familiar face. It was Jemma. What was she doing here, he wondered? He recognised the woman she was with as the wife of one of the contractors, Marcus with Cross Construction and quickly put down his glass and strode through the crowd to greet her.

  “It’s so nice to see you Sherie. I saw Marcus earlier.”

  “Yes. Thankfully he made it back from his business trip to Denver. The flights were cancelled due to bad weather, so it was pretty touch and go.” She continued talking but Michael’s attention was firmly fixed on Jemma. She looked absolutely ravishing in her black dress.

  “Jemma, great to see you again,” he said, reaching out his hand to her.

  “Yes, what a surprise.”

  “Do you two know each other?” asked Sherie, looking a little confused by their acquaintance.

  “Yes, Jemma helped me out with a beautiful bouquet for a friend a little while ago.”

  “Oh. Is that right?” asked Sherie. Feeling a little awkward, as Michael clearly wanted to speak with Jemma, Sherie excused herself.

  “So, I take it you heard from my assistant, Christine?”

  “Actually, yes. She left a voicemail earlier, but I didn’t get a chance to call her back yet. I had no idea I was coming to your office when Nathan brought me here.”

  “Nathan?” Michael inquired.

  “Yes, Na
than my boyfriend.”

  Boyfriend. The word resonated loudly in his head. Michael hadn’t entertained the fact that Jemma may be with someone and he couldn’t even recall a Nathan he was involved with. Feeling a little agitated, he sought to change the subject.

  “Well, seeing as you’re here, may I take the opportunity to show you around the office?”