Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

“I’m going to find out. Helen says there’s a video.”

Kelly took a step back. “I so don’t want to be around when that happens. Ew.”

“Now I’m even more intrigued,” he said.

Of course he was. And then he was going to have Miley Cyrus stuck in his head and then what chance would she have, assuming she’d ever had one at all. Life was not fair.

“I don’t want to interrupt,” Kelly said. “Come see me when you’re done.”

“We’re finished.” She waved at Jeff and walked out with Kelly, not sure if the universe was trying to protect her from heartbreak or having fun at her expense.

*

Olivia hung up and pumped her fist in victory. The PR department of the Seattle Mariners had been more than helpful. Thanks to them, she would be able to get excellent tickets to a baseball game, which she would add to the football tickets that had already been donated. Creating a sports extravaganza, as she was thinking of calling it, would increase the value of the auction item.

In the past couple of days the reality of what she’d taken on was starting to sink in. She didn’t doubt her organizational abilities, it was more that she was working in unfamiliar territory. She didn’t know all the nuances of the town and how it worked, nor was she a favorite local kid doing good. Still, she was going to do everything possible to make the auction a success. Her goal was to raise enough money for a new roof and a major sprucing up of the inside, as well.

Her phone buzzed. She glanced down and saw a text from Ryan.

Miss you. Can we get together?

Bastard. Did he think she was going to spend time with him after what had happened at the bar?

Just the two of us or will Autumn be coming along? Want me to ask her?

She doubted Ryan would respond to her sarcasm, which was fine. What really pissed her off was feeling unsettled about him. Their relationship had ended through external forces and had never run its course. While her sensible brain could guess they would have eventually broken up and gone their separate ways, her teenaged heart was less sure. Being with Ryan was her unrealistic antidote to everything that had gone wrong back then. She knew he wasn’t anything close to what would make her feel better about herself, but she couldn’t help wanting him back in her life. Or at least the theory of him.

She pulled on workout capris and a tank top, then laced up her running shoes and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Five minutes later, she was jogging along the big park about a half mile away. It was nearly eleven in the morning, but not hot at all. She’d forgotten what it was like to not have to worry about things melting in the heat of summer.

Not that she’d paid much attention to the weather when she’d lived here as a kid. She’d had more important things on her mind. Like Ryan.

She thought about his stupid text and grimaced. No way she was going to forgive him anytime soon. He needed to be punished and for more than just his current girlfriend.

Back in high school, they’d been the perfect couple—at least before she’d been sent away. According to her friends it had taken Ryan all of fifteen minutes to get over his supposed broken heart and take up with someone else. Two years later he’d gotten a full ride to Texas Christian University. When she’d found out, she’d applied and had been accepted. He’d been surprised but pleased when she’d walked into his English class. It had been a scene straight out of Legally Blonde. But unlike Elle Woods who’d had the good sense to fall for someone else, Olivia had set her sights directly on Ryan and had never turned away.

Oh, she’d played hard to get for the first month, but once Ryan had won her back, she’d been his...until he’d dumped her for the Red Sox farm team, leaving with barely ten minutes’ notice. She’d transferred to ASU and had finished her degree there.

Frying pan meet fire, she thought grimly. She’d gone from dealing with Ryan to dealing with her mother. Not much of an improvement.

She reached the park and started along the main jogging/bike path. After a couple of minutes she picked up the pace. Her breathing was regular, her mind starting to clear. This was the part of her run that she liked the best. When the rest of the world started to fall away and she could simply be in the moment.

About a half mile later, she saw another jogger running toward her. He was tall and blond, with broad shoulders and a body that would stop traffic in any major city. She started to enjoy the show only to realize she’d met him at the tourism board meeting a couple of nights before. It was the Viking god, Sven.

She was prepared to simply say “Hi” and jog past, then saw he was slowing, so she did the same.

“Hello, Olivia.”

“Hi, Sven.”

They came to a stop.

“You’re a runner,” he said.

“I am, and it’s much nicer here than back in Phoenix.”

“Less sweating.”

She grinned. “You know it.”

“Want to run together?”

“Sure.”

She wasn’t the fastest runner, but she had a steady pace and great endurance, so if he didn’t turn the outing into a sprint, she should be able to keep up.

They started back the way he’d come, matching their strides as they jogged.

“Thank you again for your donation for the auction.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re from around here?” she asked.

“I’ve lived here seven years. I grew up in San Diego.”

“How on earth did you get from San Diego to here and why?”

He laughed. “You say it like you’re surprised.”

“I am.”

“My great-uncle had a small nursery here and left me his house and land when he died. I’d met him a couple of times when I was young and must have made an impression. He knew I’d been working for a large nursery in San Diego and wanted to start my own business.”

“People up here sure like to grow things.”

“Like your sister.” Sven glanced at her. “She never talks about you.”

“Not a surprise. We’re not that tight and I haven’t lived here for years. So do you grow tulips, too?”

“No. Other kinds of plants. I leave the tulips to the professionals. I do believe in beautiful gardens and I’ve been experimenting with mat gardens. You unroll it, water it and plants grow.”

“I think I’ve seen them on an infomercial.”

He dismissed that with a wave. “Simple designs with common plants. I want to make something more special. I’ve developed a different growing material that allows me more leeway with what I plant. I’m getting ready to launch them online, but I’m having trouble with my website.”

Sven-the-viking-god.com?

“What kind of trouble?”

“My web designer Alison wants content.”

“Most women do.”

He shot her a grin. “Yes, they do, but what is the point of a web designer if she won’t fill the pages?”

“Okay, so a web designer is like a house builder. They build the house, but they don’t furnish it. You have to buy your own furniture, meaning you have to tell her what to put on the pages.”