Snowdrop Kisses Part Twelve
A Christmas love story featuring a plucky florist and a tall dark and handsome entrepreneur
Previously… in part 11 Minna and Harry meet at the National Gallery with Wendy and James and have tea with Minna’s gossipy friend, Dorothea.
Chapter 23
Harry and Minna walked back toward the gallery room, talking in hushed tones.
Crofton was silent for a moment, before speaking, “Do you really think I’m such a low-life, Wendy?”
The earnestness of his words caught her off guard. She was expecting to be blasted by his temper, not surprised by his vulnerability.
“No, no of course not,” she stammered.
“Why did you say those things about me then?”
Wendy chewed her lip. It was a good question, and probably went right back to her relationship with Martin. “I get upset when I think about men treating women like objects, with no regard for their feelings.”
He stopped walking and stared down at her. “I’m not using these women, though. They know the score going in. I’m never going to commit long-term to one single woman, and I make that clear to everyone I date.” His voice had an edge of bitterness.
“Never is a long time and I bet some of those women think they’re the ones who will change your mind.”
“Then they’re deluding themselves.”
The coolness of his reply hit Wendy like a blow, but she didn’t allow her reaction to show. He was being honest, which is more than could have been said for Martin.
Minna and Harry were already at the exhibition’s entrance. The older couple talked in low whispers.
Wendy responded to Crofton: “I think you and I will always disagree on this subject.” Now it was her turn to sound bitter, and he gave her a sharp look. Before he could say anything, however, Minna and Harry turned toward them.
“Okay, let’s go see what all the fuss is about,” Harry said.
The rest of the visit was uneventful. They toured the exhibition, impressed with how well the artists had captured the violence they witnessed. One could almost hear the cries of the wounded and smell the smoke from No Man’s Land.
Their earlier tension seemingly forgotten, Crofton turned to Wendy while the older couple examined battle scenes, “I think our plan might have worked.”
Minna and Harry had spent the whole tour glued to one another’s side, often chatting in low murmurs.
“I’m not so sure,” Wendy said. “They seem to be getting along better, but I don’t think it’s a romance.” She hesitated, worried her next words might annoy Crofton and could even effect that deal they had struck. “I’m done with matchmaking. You can’t force two people to fall in love and I don’t want Harry to get hurt.”
Instead of being irritated at her change of mind, he nodded thoughtfully. “I think you’re right. We can’t keep sticking them together. For one thing, Minna would kill me.” He laughed ruefully.
Wendy was relieved that James was so agreeable. “Good then, is our deal completed? We’ve done the best we could with those two?” She held her breath, if Crofton cancelled her work on the LCC gala, Love’s Bouquet would be in serious trouble.
He nodded. “Our work here is done, but you’re still on the hook for our flowers. Catriona would definitely murder me if I switched out our suppliers at this late date.” He stuck out his hand, and Wendy shook it, smiling with relief. His clasp was warm and firm.
At the end of their visit Minna said goodbye to Wendy and turned to Crofton. “I think we’ve both got enough to do in the next few days, why don’t we postpone our daily meetings and catch up early next week?”
He eagerly nodded his agreement.
Finally, Minna addressed Harry. “I’d be interested in following up on what we discussed.”
“Sure thing, Minna,” was Harry’s affable response.
Wendy glanced at Crofton, who raised an eyebrow in surprise. Maybe they had ignited a spark, although given the older couple’s muted response, it was a small one.
With a final nod to them all, Minna turned on her heel and walked through the falling snow towards her waiting Mercedes.
Whatever had happened, Minna seemed less interested in LCC. Crofton grinned broadly and Wendy smiled in return.
Chapter 24
Wendy’s next sighting of James Crofton came two days later and was entirely unpleasant. She was opening the store when Vivienne came in, stamping the snow from her boots. The wintery weather had continued and it looked like they were on their way to a white Christmas.
Vivienne held up her phone “Have you seen the story from the Citizen?”
“No. What’s up?”
“There’s a blurb on the LCC party in the Society section, and we’re mentioned.”
This was great news. Wendy scanned the story. It detailed the date of the party, listing the Ottawa business bigwigs and social elite who were expected to attend. It finished by stating that Chez Henri, a fabulous nouveau cuisine restaurant, was catering it, and Love's Bouquet was doing the flowers.
She should have been thrilled at the free publicity, but she was focused on the picture accompanying the article. Crofton and Catriona sat at a table in a restaurant smiling at the camera. He was grinning in his lopsided way. What really caught Wendy’s attention, however, was Catriona. She was clinging to him like a barnacle to the side of an Armani-clad ship. She couldn’t have been any closer to him without being naked. The caption underneath read “James Crofton and Catriona Hunt sampling the menu at Chez Henri last evening.”
Wendy excused herself and went into the backroom, ostensibly to go over the books, but really to gaze unseeingly at the wall. There was no denying that she was eaten up by jealousy. She had been so foolish! Despite her hard-won relationship lessons she had actually contemplated James Crofton in a romantic light! When would she learn?
Why had she become so wrapped up in Crofton? Because you’re closing in on thirty and you haven’t gotten lucky in four years. Not that you could call having sex with Martin “getting lucky.” It turned out he bestowed that prize on anyone who would have him.
Of course she was going to fall for James Crofton. The man exuded sex appeal the way the sun gave off heat. When he walked into the store it was like being offered a magnum of champagne after wandering the desert for years. He was exciting and tempting, but undoubtedly very, very bad for her. He wasn’t the kind of guy she could actually form a relationship with. If she was going to start dating again, it would be with someone calm and sensible. Without giving herself time to think, she dialled a number.
“Isaiah? It’s Wendy, how are you?”
“What’s up? Everything cool with the LCC gig?” his voice was warm over the line.
“That’s not why I called.” Suddenly Wendy was nervous. She had never asked a man on a date before. “I wondered if you were interested in getting together sometime… Maybe a movie?” That’s what people did, wasn’t it? They went and saw movies on dates? She was so out of the loop!
There was a pause and in that moment Wendy wanted to die a thousand deaths. Of course Isaiah didn’t want to go to the movies with her. Why would he?
“Whoah. That would be cool. I was going to check out a band tomorrow night at this great new club in the Market.”
Relief flooded through her. She wasn’t a complete loser! She accepted his suggestion gratefully. “Absolutely. What’s the place called?”
Isaiah’s voice rose with enthusiasm. “Chronic Pain. It’s this fantastic metal-punk fusion place. It’s very hip. The cops raided it a couple of weeks ago for capacity violations. It’s jam packed. Wild scene. Very heavy.”
For a moment Wendy contemplated backing out of the whole thing. It wasn’t too late. No. She was doing this. “Okay great. That sounds interesting.”
If he found her acceptance a little weak, his enthusiasm more than made up for it. “They’ve got an awesome band tomorrow night, Goat’s Head. They can really wail.”
“Great.” What was she doing? This was deeply out of her comfort zone. She tried to impose a few boundaries. “I’d prefer if we caught the early set, because I’ll have to open the store on Sunday morning.”
“No problemo. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty, and we can grab dinner before. That way we’ll be sure to get a good spot for the ten o’clock show.
“Terrific, Isaiah. Can you pick me up at Love's Bouquet? I’ll get Vivienne to close up”
She hung up. Had she done the right thing? After all, she’d sworn off men for a reason. When she found out Martin had been cheating on her for years, it was devastating, shattering her confidence in herself. Yet her recent infatuation with Crofton clearly indicated that she wasn’t ready to give up on dating forever.
Isaiah would be the perfect James Crofton antidote. He was undemanding and sweet and he wouldn’t pressure her. He had actually sounded more eager to see the band than hang out with her.
The spectre of the date had one positive effect. Instead of spending the day mooning over James Crofton, she spent it worrying about the right dress code for a club called “Chronic Pain”.
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