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I holdif it’s Jillian or Alanna who has a new adular boyfriends- at least I don’t think they do- they’ve never got flowers here either

“These are for Leandra Cro red hair off the back of her neck and brushes at her forehead She’s flushed fro to work outside in the worst of the heat, and in NOLA, it gets really, really hot

“Oh That’s est nerd, but the lady just holds out a clipboard with a page and a pen and tells n beside my name, which I do Woodenly

Because who in the ever-loving love of Pete sent me flowers? Flowers Seriously I’m just lucky that none of my brothers or my cousins are here, because I’d never hear the end of it

As it is, Luna raises a brow after the flower lady is gone ‘Uh, I thought you said you were taking a break fro Not that you have to You certainly don’t have to I just- you’ve had a hard year The curse is being a real bastard for you Or all the guys you’ve dated have been, at any rate I know that the guys all think that you’ll fall in love and that will be that, the curse will have got you all, but you actively went looking for it and all you got was heartache and that sucks I know you said you were done, but are you- you’re really done, or you were just saying you were done to throw us off?”

“No,” I huff, feeling utterly ridiculous even though Luna is sweet and concerned andany of that to be hurtful, but it is true After the year of hell, I was supposed to be on a o out looking for the curse It got them when they least expected it How lucky for theood Forever Farging men”

“Farging h she’s happily ly in love Both reat women who I couldn’t be happier to call family

I’lad for them Really I am

“Will you open it?” Luna holds up the se that came with the flowers It’s wrapped in brown paper “Or maybe the flowers have a card? If you have a secret ad to shit bricks”

“Right here? Right now? I don’t know if it would be good for the store, but is it wrong that I’d actually like to see that happen? If actual bricks come out?”

“Very,” she says dryly and shoves the package at me “Open it”

She tackles the flowers, searching inside the wrap for a card, while I open the package with the letter opener I usually use for the store’sall over the place and I feel like a hot, butteryin here I’ lover of love sent me this bouquet?

The wrap coe and it turns out it’s a small, hardcover book

“The Victorian Language of Flowers Dictionary and History?” Luna exclaims, more like a question, as she reads the cover before I do “What the heck does that mean?”

“I don’t know” It’s weird It’s very weird I crack the book open and on the inside, between the first page and the thick cover, there’s a folded up piece of paper I have to open it now that Luna’s seen it She’ll never be able to contain her curiosity otherwise I don’t know if I feel curious What I feel is closer to dread

I read the note quickly toa little more buttery with relief, and then with a ware, as I skiooey I don’t want to think about him My mysterious man from the ball It turns out he has a name Daniel His name is Daniel Somehow it seems like a nice, safe, sweet name for a man who is all black suits, black eyes, hard layers of hts of steamy pleasure, and with a whole bottle of mystery layered one over another

“What’s this?” Luna produces a small envelope from the bouquet of flowers I already knohat it is before she opens the flap and tipsout onto the counter

All this time he had it

I’ve looked everywhere I had no idea where I had lost it I eating, thinking that out there,was in the hands of soht potentially be my soulmate Maybe there was a part of me that hoped that I’d lost it at Daniel’s house Maybe Maybe there was the smallest part that hoped that he’d find it and find ain Fuck a cluck with a side of muck fuck Because now he doesn’t have it It’s here He returned it Not in person either