“He is… I just…” I held my hand up.
“You don’t have to explain why you’re skeptical. I get it.” I nodded for emphasis. “I really do, but you’ve seen what giving someone a chance even when you’re scared shitless can do for a person. I mean, look at every single one of our sisters.” It was like the minute Magnolia gave Lennox a chance, love came knocking at Lilac, Juniper, and Daisy’s door right after. “They are in love, happy, engaged, married, pregnant, and all the above. Besides, you like him.” She smiled.
“I really do.”
“Speaking of… after the barbecue fiasco, he stayed with you the days following, so did anything happen?” Her eyes seemed to darken, and I knew something good was coming. I sat up straight, preparing myself for the tea but also feeling a bit sad because I’d been living through my sisters lately. My love life was… nonexistent. There was no one on my radar. I was single-single and in a drought to make matters worse. Here we are in June of 2020, and I haven’t had an orgasm that wasn’t by my own hand yet. Shaking my head, I glanced at my sister. “Lily.”
She opened and closed her mouth twice before saying, “He… We shared a kiss.” If her skin were a couple of shades lighter, she’d be blushing.
“The first?” She nodded. “And was it good? Worth it?”
“It was so worth it, and now I keep having these fantasies about it… about him.”
“Girl stop playing with that man,” I said, standing. “Give him and yourself what you both want.”
“I—”
A door shutting and heels clicking against the floor caught both of our attention. Jennifer poked her head into the office a few seconds later, her long braids dangling slightly in her face before she moved them.
“Good morning Blossom,” she greeted, smiling. Her eyes moved to Lily, and she stepped inside. “Lily, right? We met once a few months back.” Lily stood, and they shook hands. I sat back down and watched the exchange. Jennifer was aware of the changes to come, but Lily didn’t know that. This was the perfect way to see how she would handle herself when one of us weren’t around.
“We did,” she said, nodding. “I’m taking over for Magnolia for a while, so you’ll be seeing more of me.” Jennifer nodded, that genuine smile still on her face.
“I look forward to learning more about you.”
“Likewise.” She glanced at me and then back at Jennifer. “We finished up your morning tasks, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to shadow you for a couple of hours.”
“Of course. We have an appointment right at opening, so I’ll show you how we prepare for those.” Jennifer turned to leave, and Lily followed behind her, winking at me before she completely disappeared. I smiled. She would be just fine.
Around two o’clock, the store was bumping with clients, but that wasn’t unusual. It was summer and also wedding season. This is the time where our appointment books are always filled.
“It’s a madhouse in here,” Lily said, eyes wide. “I didn’t realize that stylists who don’t work here can rent out a space in the back for clients.” I nodded.
“Yup, that’s honestly where the money comes from. We have a lot of celebrity stylists who use this space when they’re in town. We have deals with some of the biggest designers to hold their pieces in-house for special occasions.”
“Which girls on staff are stylists?” she asked.
“Hayleigh is the only aspiring stylist we have. The other girls don’t have the desire, but they’re good at what they do.”
“This is…”
“Crazy, right?”
“It’s amazing.”
“Welcome to the good life, sis,” I said, throwing my arm around her while we took in what was happening on the main floor. It was crowded with people sitting on couches, standing near the front, and browsing while waiting on their appointments to start. “But don’t forget that you have dreams to accomplish. This here is just your security blanket.”
“I won’t ever forget that.” She shook her head and then leaned it on my shoulder. “I’m determined more than ever to make it.”
“Good. Now let me show you one more thing before I head out.” Lily had decided that she would stay and help until close, while I on the other hand, had a few things to handle for Magnolia’s baby shower this weekend. We moved toward the back office, passing closed drape after drape on our way. Each room was occupied, and I was proud of it. Once we were inside the office, I shut the door and pointed for her to sit. “Open the file that says yearly progress report for me on the desktop.” It took her a second to find it, but she eventually was able to.
“What is this?”
“Click the one dated for last year, scroll to the bottom, and look at the number.”
“Blossom what…”
“That’s what we made last year after bills and employees were paid, orders were filled, and so on. Basically, that’s the number after our expenses and taxes were taken care of.” There was that wide-eyed expression again, and I chuckled.
“That’s over…” She clamped her mouth shut and closed out of it. “I get what you are doing.”
“It took years to see a profit. Last year was our biggest takeaway ever. The point of me showing you that is so you know that hard work always pays off. We are only six months into the year, and we’ve doubled that number.”
“And you did it while also pursuing other endeavors.”
“Exactly.” It felt good not being the youngest anymore. Lily looked up to me, and though I had already been aware of it, when she opened her mouth to tell me, I felt like it was my duty to make sure she was always OK. “So, write. When you leave here, go home and write. Pour your heart out onto those pages and create a masterpiece.” I’ve read some of her work before. They were short pieces, but the girl was talented and if all she needed was little push to see it, then I’m glad we could do this. Lily wiped away her tears and stood to hug me.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me until you’ve finished your first novel.”
“Lennox said that…”
“I know. So, finish it and let your soon to be brother-in-law help you become a New York Times Bestselling author.” Lennox was one himself, and had decided to start an independent publishing company after finishing his contract with Kensington Publishing—one of the biggest traditional publication companies out there. He was more than capable, with connections up the ass to make it happen. Lily being his first author, only made sense. “Now you go ahead and help Jennifer keep this place running. I’m going to head out.”
Lily made her way to the front, and I gathered my things and exited the store through the back door. Inside of my truck, I hooked my phone up to the stand on my dashboard, and then group Facetimed my sisters. Magnolia picked up first just as I’d expected. She was at home bored and losing her mind waiting for Lennox Jr to drop.
“How’d she do?” Mags asked, smiling into the camera. My sister was kicking pregnancy ass. She looked so damn radiant at all times, and I can only hope that I will look just as good as she does whenever I’m blessed with the opportunity to carry a child.