“Oh,” Ivy said, smirking. “I do. But today that is your problem.”

  “Glad to know I can keep you guessing. Now I’ve got work to do and so do you.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Ivy said. “I’ll be home tonight. Just letting you know in case you want to talk to Hugh. I’ll go in my room.”

  “I doubt we’ll be talking,” she said. “I’m not you.”

  Her sister waltzed out of her office whistling. The emotional dramatic one. She could be up or down her whole life, but Dahlia had to admit that since she’d lived here, Ivy was more up than down.

  Maybe Brooks had something to do with it.

  She finished her cookie and decided she better go talk to Jasmine before Ivy spilled the news.

  The one bad part of living so close by. She did miss being able to go about her life without having to explain to anyone.

  All those years of being watched in the poverty-stricken areas made her crave privacy. She got it and it didn’t make her all that happy either, she was starting to realize.

  “Thanks for the cookies,” Jasmine said when Dahlia walked into the back of the flower shop.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I’ll let you two talk,” Violet said. “I almost inhaled my cookie. It was great. Don’t know the occasion, but I think I’ll leave. I’ve got to touch base with Sage on something.”

  Violet left, laughing. She was a newlywed, having married Trace Mancini in April. Trace was one of those big men who served in the Army with Lily’s husband Zane and Heather’s fiancé, Luke.

  Trace’s sister, Sage, was just hired last month too. She’d moved here on the first of April, a few weeks before Violet’s wedding.

  Another family member was hired and Dahlia had to remind herself that Lily, Poppy, and Rose didn’t do it for the sake of family but for what was best for the business.

  They weighed all the options and decided that way.

  Just like she was going to weigh the options on how much to tell the sibling she was the closest to.

  “Ivy told you,” she said.

  “Told me what?” Jasmine said. “That you were talking to a guy out front in a suit.”

  “Yep,” she said. “I should have figured. She was just in my office trying to get more out of me.”

  “Which you wouldn’t have given her. Did she leave pouting?” Jasmine asked.

  “No. She left whistling. I’m not sure what is worse. She’ll be home tonight and I’m sure she’ll bug me there. I almost wish she was going to Brooks’s.”

  Jasmine laughed. “She is happy with him. He’s so good for her now that he got his shit together. I was annoyed there for a bit, but I get it. It’s not for me to judge what was going through his head. He was clear in the beginning what he was looking for.”

  “And we warned Ivy, but she always does what she wants.”

  Brooks had said he wasn’t interested in a relationship. That he had no time for them and didn’t want to bother. Dahlia was shocked her sister had entered into a friends-with-benefits situation and told her not to come crying to her when things went bad.

  But she’d seen how well her sister handled everything, and when her heart was broken, of course Dahlia and Jasmine were there for their baby sister. They were in Ivy’s corner and hating on Brooks like family should do.

  Now that Ivy and Brooks had worked it out, they were fine with Brooks again. Maybe.

  Dahlia wasn’t one to forget much.

  Even more so with what was going on with Shawn now.

  “She does,” Jasmine said. “And it’s working for her. Got to let her fly on those wings.”

  Jasmine had been the peacemaker. “Yep,” she said.

  “Anything you want to add about this mystery man?” Jasmine asked. “I’m sure you didn’t tell Ivy much. It won’t go any further if you want to say something, but I understand you aren’t used to saying much either.”

  Dahlia sighed. “Not much to say,” she said. “We met last week by chance.”

  “And you aren’t going to say how that happened?” Jasmine asked.

  “Does it matter whether it was in the grocery store, the bank, walking on the street, the park or knocking on my door?”

  Jasmine laughed at her. “Nope.”

  She was happy Jasmine let that last comment slide as a joke.

  “He reached out today,” she said. “I met him outside to talk. We walked down to get cookies and coffee. Ivy put him on the spot to ask me out.”

  “Ahh,” Jasmine said. “So now you’re annoyed and think he only did it because of that and you’re going to doubt his intentions.”

  If her sister only knew about the doubt and intentions.

  “Something like that.”

  “Or maybe Ivy gave you both the push you needed. We know you’d never ask him out.”

  “No,” she said.

  She’d never been one to make the first move and even less with Hugh.

  It didn’t matter she found him attractive. His reasons for being in her life right now didn’t add up to a relationship.

  She was positive this “date” was going to be more about questioning her about Shawn than anything.

  She could cancel on him and she was positive he wouldn’t have a problem with it.

  Or she could turn the tables and find out more about him. It seemed lopsided to her.

  Maybe she’d do a little research on him and see what she could find.

  “One date never hurt anyone,” Jasmine said. “If it’s a flop, then you move on. You’ve never had a problem moving on before.”

  She knew that wasn’t meant as an insult and would try not to take it as such. “No,” she said. “Do you think I’m difficult to be around?”

  “Awww, sweetie, don’t let Ivy get in your head.”

  “I’m not,” she said. “She didn’t say anything to me today.”

  “But she has in the past,” Jasmine said. “You’re not her, she isn’t you. How many times do we have to tell you that? When the time is right for you to find someone, you will.”

  “I’m the oldest,” she complained. “You’re married and have a kid.”

  “I got knocked up first,” Jasmine said. “We all thought it’d be Ivy if anyone got pregnant before marriage. So you’re already one step ahead of me.”

  She laughed. “Wesley is great,” she said of her brother-in-law. “Perfect for you.”

  “That’s right,” Jasmine said. “If anyone asked me years ago to describe my future husband it wouldn’t have been a widow who was ten years older than me. Not someone from another state who was worth millions. When you least expect it, things just land in front of you. I’ve learned to go with it.”

  Dahlia nodded. “You’re right,” she said. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

  “I’m here if you need to talk,” Jasmine said. “I won’t bug you about the date on Friday, but if you want to share some of it I’ll be around.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “I’m sure there won’t be much to share.”

  “I want to tell you to be positive, but I’m sure Ivy did. I’m just going to tell you to be you...but be you in something better than a pantsuit.”

  She burst out laughing. “I promise I won’t wear any work clothes.”

  6

  AVOIDING QUESTIONS

  “Iexpected you to cancel,” Hugh said a few days later.

  He’d been shocked that Dahlia had reached out with the name of a restaurant where they could meet. He didn’t figure she’d ask him to pick her up. Too much of a risk of running into her sister.

  “I thought of it,” she said.

  They’d met in the parking lot. He held his hand out in front of her to walk in, his eyes dropping to her tiny waist and the tan jeans she was wearing. She had a pretty mint green top on and he noticed her hazel eyes popped.

  Though it wasn’t that bold of an outfit, she might consider it one, compared to her work suits that he’d seen so far.

  “But decided against it?” he asked. He held the door for her. “Or just didn’t want to have to explain it to your sister why it didn’t happen?”

  She turned and squinted one eye at him. “A little bit of both. And as you know, I’ve got two sisters.”

  He’d go with that answer for now.

  The hostess showed them to the back and they were seated in a booth across from each other. Kind of out of the way and he was thrilled for that.

  Though he spent a lot of his job talking and questioning people, he hadn’t done it for entertainment in years.

  It was pretty sad to think that, but life got away from him and maybe he was just too...burned out in more ways than one.

  Why Dahlia was the first person he’d asked out since he met his ex-wife five years ago was a mystery he wasn’t sure he could solve.

  “They both know about this date?” he asked.

  “Ivy likes to talk,” she said. They paused for their drink orders, were told the specials and then she said, “I’m sure you like to talk too. I bet it goes with the job.”

  “I’ve been known to get close to losing my voice at times,” he said, smirking.

  “Like the day you came to my apartment?” she asked. “You cleared your throat a few times.”

  “Is that why you got me water after I said I was fine?”

  He’d been trying not to have his voice be as loud or deep as it could be. He wasn’t sure why. Normally he didn’t care all that much when he was working.

  He’d liked Dahlia’s spunk, but at the same time didn’t want to frighten her. By now he was positive everything she was finding out about her ex had come as a complete shock.

  He could relate on some level.

  “It is annoying when someone is always clearing their throat or coughing,” she said.

  He laughed. “Sorry about that. I guess you could say that I get sick of hearing my own voice and try to lower it.”

  “It’s fine,” she said.

  “Back to this date—why did you decide to come?”

  “Why did you ask?” she asked him.

  He had to answer this right. There was part of him that didn’t know the reason that well either.

  “Just like I said,” he said. “You live here. You can tell me the good spots for food and coffee. I work a lot, get food out a lot too. I haven’t lived here long. Just a few months.”

  “Then we can start with that,” she said. “Where are you from?”

  “I transferred from Phoenix,” he said.

  “That didn’t tell me where you were from,” she said. “As you know, I’m from all over the world. I don’t know that I’ve got a place I could ever call home.”

  There was some sadness in her voice. “You don’t think it’s here with two of your sisters?”

  She snorted. “You know something? You’re right. I never thought of it that way. It’s not just my sisters but my coworkers and employers too. Everyone feels like family at Blossoms. I could see myself here for years and years. I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of that about another place.”

  “That’s good to hear,” he said.

  “You didn’t tell me where you were from though. I bet you’re used to avoiding questions.”

  “It’s been known to happen,” he said. “I’m from Kansas City. I went to college in Houston and joined the FBI right after graduation. I’ve moved around some but spent most of my career in Phoenix.”

  “Doing white-collar crimes?” she asked.

  “No,” he said.

  Their drinks arrived at that moment and he was happy for the reprieve.

  They placed their dinner orders and he picked his beer up to take a sip.

  “If not that, can I ask what or is it like top secret? Maybe the Secret Service? Men in Black?”

  He laughed. “No suit on now,” he said.

  He’d put on jeans and a short-sleeved polo, sneakers on his feet. It was nice to ditch the tie at times, but he was as comfortable in it as he was what he was currently wearing.

  “No,” she said. “Most men don’t like wearing suits, but it seems to just belong on you.”

  He wasn’t sure what to say to that. “I can’t say the same about you. You look different now. Better.”

  “As opposed to boring and dull?” she asked.

  “I wouldn’t say you were boring or dull,” he said.

  “My sisters think it. More so with where I work. I do try to add some color, but I’m used to dressing a certain way for my last job and it’s just wasteful to buy a whole new wardrobe when the one I had still fits and is in good shape.”

  Yeah, not someone that has money sitting around hiding or flaunting it anywhere.

  “You make a good point. One of the guys I work with…he’s younger…he wears black or navy pants every day and has two jackets. He leaves one in the office and one at home and has about four ties.”

  “Let me guess, leaves two ties in the office and two at home and then puts them on when he has to be out of the office?” she asked.

  “Yes. He knows the requirements of the job and meets them. We don’t always have to wear suits and ties, but the bulk of the time I do.”

  “Did you in your last position?”

  She went right back to that. Almost sneaking it in.

  “Yes. All my positions I’ve worn suits daily for the most part.”

  “You don’t want to tell me your last position,” she said. “That’s fine.”

  He waited a second while he took another sip of his beer. “Special Victims Unit.”

  “Oh,” she said. Her eyes filled with sympathy. “That had to be rough. I can’t even imagine anyone doing that short term let alone long term.”

  “It’s not for everyone,” he said.

  And not for him anymore either.

  “I’ve only ever seen pieces of it in the news or on TV for shows. It’d feel like you might lose something of yourself at times.” She waved her hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Normally Ivy is the one who blurts things without thought. I’m the snarky to the point one.”

  “That was to the point and the truth,” he said. Why not be honest? He liked Dahlia.

  Or maybe he liked the fact that she immediately understood when many didn’t.

  “But uncalled for,” she said.

  “No,” he said. “It wasn’t. I transferred here because I spent too long doing that.”

  He wasn’t getting into details on what the final straw was. It wasn’t date conversation.

  Not even for conversations a few dates in.

  “At least the weather is nicer here,” she said. “Or maybe you won’t think that coming from warmer weather. I’ve got to say, I grew up in areas that were so hot it was unbearable. We didn’t always have air conditioning in the homes we stayed in because we were in remote villages.”

  “Talk about being hard,” he said.

  “You don’t know the half of it,” she said. “Some people think it’s cool, but it’s only cool if you don’t live it. Not one of us kids would ever want to do that again. We all left at eighteen and moved to America for college.”

  He knew that much from what he’d researched. “And you decided to go somewhere they had snow and it was cold?”

  She smiled. “No one ever put that together. Yes. I don’t like the heat all that much. But not only that. I hate to fly. I mean hate. I do it, but when I was a kid I got sick all the time.”

  “No one likes doing anything that causes them to be ill,” he said.

  “No. My father always told me to muscle through it. We’d try different home remedy things, but that was it. He’d never get me a prescription. Now, I’ve got a handy script for nausea and it works like a charm. Still doesn’t mean I want to fly but will do it if I can’t find a way out of it.”

  He couldn’t understand why her father, who was a doctor, wouldn’t just simply help his daughter through a flight.

  Who was he to judge? He’d seen a lot worse in his career. A little motion sickness never killed anyone and maybe that was how Tim Greene looked at it.

  “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to jump on a plane with short notice,” he said.

  She smirked. “I bet you’ve got a bag packed in your car at all times.”

  “You’d win that bet. Now though, I don’t think I’ll be jumping on too many planes last minute.”

  Not like before when they were looking for missing children or serial killers that crossed state lines.

  Dahlia shuddered a bit. “Better you than me. I’ve done enough traveling in the past two years to last me for a long time.”

  He nodded his head and took another sip. The waitress came over and said their food would be out shortly.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked her. She kept rubbing her fingers together and then putting them under the table.

  “No,” she said. “Sort of.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date. As you can tell, that relationship turned out just fine. At least I don’t have to admit to my date my ex is being investigated by the FBI. You know more about him than I do.”

  He laughed at the dry sarcastic tone of her voice. “You’ve got a good point.”

  “You said you’ve got a younger sister?” she asked.

  “Hannah. She’s three years younger than me.”

  “And that is how old?”

  “Thirty-two. I’m thirty-five.”

  “No need to tell you my age. You know it.”

  “And it bothers you I know more about you than you do me?” he asked.

  “It does.”

  “I like that you’re honest. What do you want to know?”

  “Is this really a date where you want to get to know me or are you trying to gather more information for your case?”

  “You cut right to the chase,” he said.

  “Why beat around the bush? These shoes aren’t that comfortable for more than walking to the car.”

  He had noticed she had some summer wedges on her feet that were much more fashionable than the flats she’d had on before.

  “As you said, I know more about Shawn than you. If I need something else, I’ll ask, but it won’t be tonight. This is about us and just talking. If all you end up doing is telling me some good places to get food, then so be it.”