Swapping a Broken Heart for a New Start novel Chapter 1244

Sarah Brown, always the one to stir up drama, was the first to jump in.

“Oh wow, this is something you don’t see every day. Mr. Wilson hardly ever does flower arrangements for anyone. I’ve known him for years and never even had the chance.”

Larry Adams responded with a frowning emoji. “Come on, Mr. Wilson. You’re making the rest of us guys look bad. How are we supposed to compete with this?”

Camila Davis didn’t bother joining the playful banter. She just quietly liked the post to show she’d seen it. Dennis Williams did the same, no extra comment.

Aurora Robinson, on the other hand, was clearly into it. “I need to get Billy to learn this. Then I could get a different bouquet every single day!”

Jarvis Peters just let out a helpless sigh. “So you have to learn all this just to get a girlfriend now? There’s no hope for me.”

The comments were all over the place, some teasing, some genuine. The older relatives kept it proper, focusing on the flowers and the florist.

“These are gorgeous. Who knew Walter had this kind of talent?”

“Impressive. He could be a professional.”

Audrey Williams had her social media set up so only close family and friends could see her posts. Right as she was scanning the comments, she spotted one from Harden.

“Whoa, Walter’s arranging flowers? I haven’t seen him do that in years. Didn’t expect him to make an exception for you today!”

Audrey’s finger paused on her phone. She’d just realized she’d forgotten to block her Harrisburg friends from this post. Her groups were usually set, and she hadn’t even thought about it when she posted. But looking at the post, she decided there was nothing embarrassing. She shrugged it off and decided to play along with Harden.

“Really?”

Harden must have had nothing else going on because his reply came in fast. “Of course. Walter’s always so busy, like a ghost. When does he ever have time for flower arranging? And judging by that wrapping paper… is this his Christmas present for you?”

Audrey couldn’t help but smile. From what Walter had told her, the last time he arranged flowers, it was probably for Belinda. That meant she was the first girl to ever get a bouquet from him.

Harden held up his hands in defense. “Don’t look at me. We were all supposed to hang out tonight, but then someone suggested we come find you. I was against it, but everyone else insisted. They said it didn’t feel right having Christmas without you around. What was I supposed to do? When we got here, Camila mentioned you and Ms. Williams were in the greenhouse, so we just came straight here.”

Walter’s frown deepened. Clearly, he wasn’t thrilled about the surprise company, but with everyone already there, he couldn’t exactly ask them to leave. He pressed his lips together for a moment, then said to Harden, “Why don’t you take everyone down to the lounge on the lower level? I still have a few things to finish up here.”

Harden glanced at the bouquet Walter was working on, the red and white wrapping paper matching the one Audrey had posted. He gave Walter a look, grinning with understanding. “I get it. Can’t leave a gift unfinished, right?”

Walter said nothing, just kept wrapping the flowers with quiet focus.

Iris watched him, her jealousy barely hidden. She just couldn’t admit these flowers were meant for another woman. So, pretending not to know, she piped up, “Walter, what made you decide to start arranging flowers tonight? They’re gorgeous. Are they for Camila?”

Harden almost rolled his eyes. Audrey’s post wasn’t hidden from her, was it? She’d even seen his phone earlier. Why pretend now?

Walter didn’t take the bait. He trimmed the stems with careful precision and answered, straightforward as ever. “No. They’re for Audrey.”