Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 01 - Begonia Means Beware Read Free Page B

Hopefully there isn’t another problem.”
    Lily ushered Melinda into the shop. Rosie was ecstatic to see them come in.
    Melinda froze. “You have a dog in here? Does it bite?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Melinda, this is Rosie. She loves everyone.”
    Melinda moved away from the happy dog, trying her hardest to not come into contact with Rosie. Iris attached the leash. “Come on , Rosie. Let’s see if we can find another body.” Iris winked at Melinda as she walked out with Rosie.
    Melinda looked horrified. “Is that some kind of a search dog?”
    Lily laughed. “No. My mother is just being funny. Trying to shock you. Just ignore her. So what can I do for you?”
    Melinda looked around the small shop filled with buckets of gorgeous flowers. “I want to tell you how beautiful the tulip bouquet is that Clifton surprised me with. Cream colored tulips are my favorite.” She put her hand over her heart and smiled.
    Lily was puzzled. “He didn’t order those flowers from me. When did you get them?”
    Daisy sighed. “First thing this morning. They were sitting on my kitchen table when I got up.”
    Lily gently touched Melinda. “Have you seen Clifton today?”
    “No. He had an important meeting and said he wouldn’t be back ‘til tonight. I’m so excited about the wedding. Especially since it will bring my whole family together for a change. I would do anything to have us all get along again.”
    Lily patted Melinda’s arm. “I’m sure it will be perfect.” Lily thought to herself, Why do I always have to lie to people in this family?

Chapter 4
     
    Lily plopped into her chair in the shop. “I’m exhausted and the day has barely started.”
    Daisy handed a steamy cup of coffee to Lily. “I saw Mom’s scooter here when I arrived, but you were both gone. And Rosie greeted me inside. What happened this morning?”
    “Ahhh. ” Lily relaxed. “This tastes great. I can only sit for five minutes, though. This has been the craziest morning of my life. You’ll never believe what happened.”
    “I’m dying of curiosity. Tell me.” Daisy sat down next to her sister with her coffee.
    “Rosie got out of the house and my new neighbor —”
    “New neighbor?”
    “Yeah. He’s tall, dark and handsome. But we had a rather awkward meeting. That’s another story. My new neighbor brought her here to the store. Mom took her home for me and found a body in my kitchen.”
    Daisy’s eyes popped. “A body? What kind of body?”
    Lily grimaced. “A dead body. A dead Clifton Harris body.”
    “No.”
    “That’s what Mom said she saw. We went to the police and it turns out my new neighbor, the tall, dark handsome guy, is the new temporary police chief. Anyway, we followed him to my house and—”
    Daisy leaned close to Lily, barely able to contain herself. “And what?”
    “And the body was gone.” Lily flopped back in the chair.
    “Gone? How?”
    Lily sipped her coffee. “No idea. I think the police chief decided Mom must have been hallucinating or something.”
    Daisy finally relaxed. “What do you think?”
    “I believe her. I found begonia flowers left behind on the floor.”
    “Begonia? Beware?”
    “That’s right.”
    Daisy hesitated. “Beware of what?”
    Lily stood up. “That’s what we’ll have to find out. By the way, you were late coming in this morning. Anything interesting to share with me?”
    Daisy turned her back to Lily. “No. Nothing to share.”
    Lily looked at the back of Daisy’s long , curly brown hair. She’s definitely hiding something from me. It must be about a new boyfriend.
    Daisy headed to the back work area. “So what are we going to do about all the wedding arrangements? Is the wedding still on?”
    “It’s still on as far as I know. Melinda was here this morning and told me that Clifton left a bouquet of cream colored tulips on her kitchen table. She said he’d be gone until tonight.”
    “Cream tulips? Doesn’t that mean ‘I’ll love you