Falling for You Read Free Page A

keeps the back door locked, so I walked around to the front, past Cutting Edge, and through the door of Full Bloom. The sweet-smelling shop has walls the color of sunshine and shelves filled with potted plants and flowers. It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling when I walked in, like always.
    I could see Nina in the back workroom through the large picture window behind the long front counter. She sat with a pile of paperwork in front of her and her laptop.
    “Hey, Nina. How’s it going?” I asked as I walked through the workroom door.
    “It’s been quiet all day,” she said, glancing up at me. “So I’m paying bills. Man, do I hate paying bills. But Uranus is finally leaving my second house, which rules earned income. Uranus is volatile, so it’s a good thing it’s leaving. More money should start coming in now, right?”
    I curled my lips in, trying not to giggle. “Nina, I’m sorry,but I’m still back at ‘Uranus is volatile.’ ” She could talk astrology to me all she wanted, but as soon as she mentioned Uranus, it was over.
    “All right, all right. I’ll keep my thoughts about Uranus to myself.”
    “Much appreciated. So, what’s my horoscope say? Do I have anything to look forward to? If not, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
    Nina regularly checked a bunch of online sites to get her daily, weekly, and monthly horoscopes. I thought she took it a bit too seriously sometimes, but I’d never tell her that. Mostly I joked with her about it, hoping to remind her it should be for fun, not something to plan her life around.
    “Romance,” she said as she typed numbers into her spreadsheet. “Something big is supposed to happen soon.”
    I took my sweater off and hung it on the coatrack. “Since I’m sixteen, wait, I mean, newly seventeen, and have never been kissed, that’s even funnier than saying Uranus is volatile.”
    The bell above the front door jingled.
    “Where’s Spencer?” I asked. He usually sat at the counter, greeting people and answering the phone.
    “I gave him the afternoon off. It’s Kevin’s birthday today, so they’re going up to Portland to celebrate.”
    “Okay, I’m on it.”
    I walked out and greeted the young, pretty woman. “Can I help you?”
    “My name is on your board out there. You know, the name of the day?”
    Nina has a sign outside:
    IF YOUR NAME IS ____________, COME IN FOR A FREE FLOWER.
    Every day she changes the name on the board. It’s a fun way to get new people into the shop. And I’m amazed how often we get new business because of it.
    “Sorry,” I said. “I forgot to look at the sign as I walked in. You are—?”
    “Grace.” She reached for her purse. “Do you want to see my driver’s license?”
    “Nah. It’s okay. I trust you.”
    I walked to the cooler, where I picked out a red rose and some baby’s breath. “Let me wrap this for you.”
    As I finished with the flower, the bell rang again. It was my friend Leo. He works for his dad next door at Mack’s Bean Shack. He’s homeschooled, so I only see him when I’m working.
    The woman thanked me and grabbed one of our business cards before she left.
    Leo stepped up to the counter. He smelled like coffee and his brown eyes looked tired. “Hi, my name is Grace. I’d like my free flower please?”
    “Now, that’s a first. Come back tomorrow when the name is Fred, and I’ll hook you up.”
    “Fred?” He looked shocked. “You think I look like a Fred? With this incredible head of hair?”
    Leo and his hair. He’s kind of obsessed with it. Yes, it’s nice—the color of chocolate, shiny and soft-looking—but it’s kind of become a joke now.
    “Well, you look like a Fred a helluva lot more than you look like a Grace.”
    He smiled. “Actually, my dad needs some tape. Can we borrow some?”
    “Scotch or masking?”
    “Not sure. Uh, Scotch, I guess.”
    “Coming right up.”
    “You sound like a bartender. Not that I’ve been to many bars. Just seen ’em in the