38

"Here," I say as I go through my notebook. "That's her phone number."

"Are you sure it's her?" Soph says, raising her eyebrows. "Wasn't she here to buy flowers for her mother? And from what you're telling me, I doubt she'd want to give the parent that disowned you anything, let alone say good things about her."

"Denise's birthday is nowhere soon, I'm pretty sure she must have been talking about her stepmother. From what Jake told me, she has a great relationship with their father, I wouldn't be surprised if she stopped seeing Denise as a mother altogether."

"So what are you going to do? Call her?"

"Why not? It's the only way of making sure it's really her too."

"Maybe you should talk to Daniella first, you know since this Zoe is the one that flirted with you," she says, giving me a look.

"You're right... do you think it would bother her?"

"It's your girlfriend, do you think it would bother her?"

"I never know when she's serious or just teasing me but I have a feeling it would nag at her even though she would never admit it," I say ripping the piece of paper with her number and throwing it in my pants pocket.

"So, you moving in with Daniella today, huh," she smirks, changing the conversation. "Can't believe you're abandoning me."

"Abandoning you? I will still see you every day at work," I shake my head. "And it's not like I wasn't already sleeping with her most days anyway."

"But it's official now," she pouts. "And on top of that, someone else will take your place."

"See? You'll have company... hopefully they'll stay for more than a week."

"What are you trying to imply?" she squints her eyes at me, pinching me once I shrug, not answering her.

"Anyway, how did your mom take it?" I ask as I help Soph drag a giant box into the new space.

"Surprisingly well," she shrugs, sitting on top of the box. "I was scared she'd throw a fit and demand I stay home with her forever, but I guess she's happy for me."

"Ok, and when you told her about the new store?"

"Surprisingly didn't get killed," she chuckles. "I thought she'd say we weren't ready to start a business on our own... and she did, but managed to not call me irresponsible in the process."

I raise my eyebrows. "Wow, a different woman."

"Right?" she says as she shakes her head. "I guess she's just getting old and accepting change, finally... well, I still haven't told her the part where I'll have a stranger as a housemate, she still thinks you'll be the one living with me."

"And what are you going to do when she comes to visit you?"

She shrugs. "I'll ask them to put on a red wig, my mom is half blind anyways, no big deal."

"Have you up the Ad for the room?"

"In that state?"

We both look around at the mess, boxes, and tools everywhere. The walls are being painted, and we still have to decide on what colors. "Fair enough."

"How's the house sale going?"

"Daniella and I talked to a real estate agent in the area the other day, they're going tomorrow to inspect the place and check how much it's worth selling for... this is a lot," I say with a sigh. "If Daniella wasn't around we would be doomed."

"I'm sure we would figure it out."

"I like your optimism... but I think you're only saying that because you were the one to throw us into all of this," I squint my eyes at her.

"You agreed to it," she shrugs. "Besides, everything is working out smoothly, it's all going according to plan."

"Is it? We don't know if we'll have enough money to fully start the shop yet, let alone if people are going to actually want to buy our flowers. Not to mention the fact that we've been in the flower business for only a few months, so we still have a long way to go."

"Yolo," she says simply, hopping off the box.

"Ok, whatever," I groan, throwing a paint brush her way.

⁂

"This all?" Daniella asks as I walk into her room, a single bag and Potato in my arms. "That's all you had at Soph's?"

"Everything else is here," I shrug, letting Potato jump on the floor, immediately going up to Carrot to smell her.

"You were already moving in little by little, I see," she says, wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me close to her.

"Yeah," I say, closing my eyes as her lips meet mine in a soft kiss. I sigh, looking at her. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Tell me," she hums, pressing her forehead against mine.

"Yesterday at my dad's dinner, I met Denise's son," I start. "He told me Denise has a daughter she disowned, she found out she was a lesbian."

"Well... I'm not surprised."

"Her daughter's name is Zoe."

"Ok?"

"Zoe... the one who went to the shop that day," I raise my eyebrows, knowing damn well she has picked up on the name.

"Oh yeah, the one that thinks you have such pretty and unique eyes," she says in a teasing tone making me roll my eyes. "What about it?"

"Don't you think we should talk to her?"

"Why?"

"You don't think it's a good idea, do you?"

"It's not that I don't think it's a good idea... I just... I don't know what good could come out of it," she shrugs. "But if you want to talk to her then go for it, I don't mind."

I squint my eyes at her. "If you don't want me to, just say so, it's fine."

"I mean it, I don't mind," she says, pressing her lips against mine. "I trust you."

I shake my head. "I feel like this is a trap."

"That's exactly what I'm doing," she teases me, biting my bottom lip. "Go ahead, call her."

Daniella watches as I take the piece of paper from my pocket, dialing the number, and putting the phone on speaker. It rings for a second before she answers the call. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this Zoe?"

"Yes?"

"This is Anna," I say, biting my lip. "From the flower shop."

"Oh, I don't mess with taken people, I'm sorry."

"No, that's not why I'm calling," I say, glancing at Daniella who is standing behind me, rolling her eyes. "It's about... I mean... Look, my dad is dating this woman named Denise... by any chance—"

She sighs. "Are you trying to tell me my disgrace of a biological mother is dating your dad?"

"Yes."

"And you're dating a woman," she lets out yet another sigh, this one longer. "Does she know?"

"No."

"Can we meet up?" she asks after a second of silence. "You can take your Dobermann girlfriend, I know she's there. I somehow can feel eyes burning me alive through the phone."

We meet up at a cafe nearby, Zoe already sitting at a table when we arrive. She gives us a soft smile as we approach her. "Sorry for calling you so out of a sudden, I know it's probably not an easy subject."

"It's okay," she shrugs, her eyes darting to Daniella. "Hi."

"Daniella," she says, extending her hand to her.

"Zoe," she says, taking Dani's hand. I can nearly see sparks flying out of their eyes as they stare into each other.

"Alright then," I murmur, pulling the chair back and sitting down.

Zoe clears her throat, her eyes darting from Daniella to me. "So, you're an adult and she has no real power over you... so what's really in it for the both of you for you to be so afraid of my mother finding out?"

I glance at Daniella, not knowing how much I should share. "Daniella works with her."

"Right..." she says, crossing her arms, looking back at Daniella. "You only have one option really... two if you consider leaving her," she says raising her eyebrows, the sparkles between the both of them coming back.

"What can she actually do?" I ask, dismissing their bickering.

"Honestly? Not much, she could be annoying and maybe even threaten to get you fired but that's all, can she actually do it? Not likely," she shrugs. "But do you really want to go through that?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Then you better figure out what you're going to do before she finds out," she says, letting out a sigh. "Give me a call if that does happen... I might be able to help, maybe."