Then Comes Love (Blue Harbor Book 6) Read online

  Then Comes Love

  A Blue Harbor Novel

  Olivia Miles

  Contents

  Also By Olivia Miles

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  About the Author

  Also By Olivia Miles

  Blue Harbor Series

  A Place for Us

  Second Chance Summer

  Because of You

  Small Town Christmas

  Return to Me

  Stand Alone Titles

  Meet Me at Sunset

  This Christmas

  Oyster Bay Series

  Feels Like Home

  Along Came You

  Maybe This Time

  This Thing Called Love

  Those Summer Nights

  Christmas at the Cottage

  Still the One

  One Fine Day

  Had to Be You

  Misty Point Series

  One Week to the Wedding

  The Winter Wedding Plan

  Sweeter in the City Series

  Sweeter in the Summer

  Sweeter Than Sunshine

  No Sweeter Love

  One Sweet Christmas

  The Briar Creek Series

  Mistletoe on Main Street

  A Match Made on Main Street

  Hope Springs on Main Street

  Love Blooms on Main Street

  Christmas Comes to Main Street

  Harlequin Special Edition

  ‘Twas the Week Before Christmas

  Recipe for Romance

  Copyright © 2021 by Megan Leavell

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Wedding season came to Blue Harbor every year, once the sun grew warmer and the flowers bloomed, and sailboats could be seen bobbing on Lake Huron again. At the official start of each summer, most Saturdays on Gabby Conway’s calendar were already circled, and she prided herself on creating unique and personal centerpieces and bouquets for each special day. Every week, it seemed, she watched another blissful bride clutch one of her creations before beginning her march down the aisle, and for a brief moment, Gabby’s own heart was full.

  And then, every time, she was reminded head-on of what others had found and she hadn’t. Yet. Only, as the time went on and the wedding dates were set and more available men were snatched up, she was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen for her.

  She sighed as she hung up the phone and circled another Saturday on her calendar, this one not until fall, at least, because most brides did plan months in advance, though there was the occasional impromptu ceremony, which was always a little harried but almost more romantic, in Gabby’s opinion. She was receiving more business than usual now that her sister Brooke was back in town and had opened a bridal shop just down the street, and the work was at least keeping her mind off her personal life—or lack thereof. Still, every once in a while, when she made a particularly beautiful bouquet that included her favorite flowers, she couldn’t help but think…when? When would it finally happen for her? When would she find true love?

  “Let me guess,” her mother said as she came around the counter holding a vase of tea roses. “Another wedding?”

  “That makes one nearly every weekend through September,” Gabby remarked. And it was only June. Her mother had always put in a few hours at the shop each week to help with deliveries or manage orders, but it was still difficult to keep things going at this pace. “I’m afraid I probably won’t make it to Summer in the Square this weekend.”

  The annual town event was something Gabby looked forward to, but she wasn’t going to turn her back on business or disappoint a bride. She knew by her mother’s expression what she was thinking: that it was high time for Gabby to hire a full-time assistant, at least for the spring and summer seasons. But that would mean handing over control of her creations, and Gabby couldn’t help but like her designs the way she envisioned them.

  “You know I’m happy to help at the Sunday market to get you through the busy season,” her mother replied.

  The market at Conway Orchard was a weekly tradition that Gabby looked forward to—especially as her cousins also participated. But with so much to do, and mostly on her own, she wasn’t in a position to turn down her mother’s help.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I know I can always count on you.”

  “You could probably learn to trust someone else if you’d be open to hiring a proper assistant.” Her mother arched a brow.

  Gabby refused to take the bait. “But you and I have the exact same taste. And the arrangement you just made is proof of that.” She grinned broadly, knowing that her mother would cave to the flattery.

  “These are lovely, aren’t they?” Her mother bent to smell the roses, something that Gabby still did every time she made an arrangement. It was important to appreciate the small things, the reason she had opened this business to begin with, and, of course, to know that she was only giving her customers the very best.

  “They are.” Gabby herself was a fan of these pale pink roses, more of a blush color in hue than some of the other variations she carried. They were just as lovely and soft in a mixed bouquet as they were on their own. “Nothing beats a classic,” she said now, as she often did.

  Still, creatively speaking, she was always excited when it was time to create a mixed bouquet. Keeping up with the trends was important in this business, as was staying one step ahead of the brides when it came to big ideas.

  She sighed as she looked up to see one coming in now.

  The bell above the door jingled as her Uncle Dennis’s fiancée approached the counter. Candy was dressed in head-to-toe pink, her favorite color, and Gabby felt weary knowing that with Candy and Dennis’s wedding now only four weeks away, there was little time for Candy to change her mind about the flowers.

  Again.

  “I just came from my dress fitting!” Candy’s smile was radiant as her eyes flicked over the room, landing on a birthday bouquet that Gabby had set aside for pickup.

  Oh, no. No distractions. No temptation. No room for doubt. In the months since getting engaged, Candy had changed her mind about her flowers at least six times, and Gabby knew that Brooke had to tweak her wedding dress design at least as much. If not more.

  “How was it?” Gabby and her mother exchanged a subtle glance. No doubt the next person through the door would be Brooke, needing to vent.

  Some days Gabby didn’t know who was looking forward to Candy and Dennis’s wedding the most. The Conway girls or the bride herself.

  “Lovely, lovely! Just perfect!”

  Gabby felt her shoulders relax until she sensed a pause.

  “Just a few minor tweaks,” Candy continued with a smile.

  Gabby held her breath, knowing that the dress was separate from the flowers, and of course, everything looked different on the hanger. She smiled reassuringly and said, “I’m sur
e that it will be perfect, no matter what.”

  “Now, you’re probably thinking that I’m here to discuss the flowers,” Candy said.

  Gabby’s heart skipped a beat. “Actually, I think I’ve got all the information I need. All that’s left is the sample bouquet.”

  Candy’s eyes flicked to the roses that Gabby’s mother held. “Those are lovely, Miriam. So sweet and dainty. And pink. Oh, I feel like I’m describing myself!” She laughed loudly, and Gabby had to bite her lip. Candy could be sweet, and she did love pink, but she was not what anyone would describe as dainty, neither in stature nor in personality. “Gabby, I don’t recall seeing this variety of rose last time I was here.”

  Which had been about four days ago…

  Gabby watched her mother bite her lip and mutter something about limited stock. With a knowing glance at Gabby, she then quickly set the arrangement on the workbench behind the counter, away from Candy’s prying eyes.

  “What can I help you with today then?” Gabby didn’t have the energy to think about another design concept just now, and she wasn’t surprised that Candy would have changes for her so soon, either. It was one of the reasons she had held off on the sample bouquet. While normally she assembled a scaled-down version of the final design weeks in advance, this part of the process was meant to only give the bride a visual, and usually only included a discussion about adding a ribbon or removing one variety of flower. But Candy put even the highest maintenance of brides to shame, and the less time Candy had to doubt herself again the better.

  “Well, I was going over the guest list,” Candy said, pulling what Gabby had come to recognize as her “wedding binder” (pink, of course) from her oversized handbag. “And I see that you have only RSVP’d with one.”

  As if she needed the reminder. Gabby nodded. “That’s right. Singles table.” But at least she’d be in good company with her sister Jenna at her side, along with a few of her cousins on her mother’s side of the family, who had always been embraced by the Conways.

  “I just wanted to let you know that if you would like to bring Jackson Bradford as your plus one, I can seat you two at a different table…” Candy blinked at her so earnestly that Gabby burst out laughing.

  “Why does everyone in this town think I have something going on with Jackson?” Sure, the man was attractive, but he was also a complete cad. As the bartender of the popular pub at the Carriage House Inn, he was in his element flashing smiles, pouring drinks, and chatting with the ladies. Jackson was fun, but she was looking for…well, forever.

  “It’s just that you two would make such beautiful babies,” Candy lamented, and now it was Gabby’s mother’s turn to laugh.

  “Candy,” she said, stepping forward to take over the situation. “While I agree that Gabby and Jackson might make a beautiful couple, I think that it’s best to let Gabby’s heart find its own path. As longstanding family friends, all the Bradfords will be at the wedding anyway. No need to push things.”

  Candy pushed her lips together. She had considered herself something of a local matchmaker in recent months, meddling in her future stepdaughters’ love lives to her own heart’s content. Granted, now all of Gabby’s cousins on her father’s side were happily settled into relationships, whereas Gabby…

  Gabby was at the singles table.

  “I was just about to deliver this lovely arrangement to Helena over at the library. She’s hosting a small event today for the benefactors and I don’t want this centerpiece for the refreshments table to be late.” Gabby’s mother lifted the vase of tea roses again and came around the counter. “I’ll walk you out,” she said to Candy, in a way that was friendly but firm enough to leave no room for argument.

  Candy looked back at Gabby with a disappointed sigh. “If you change your mind…”

  “I won’t,” Gabby said pleasantly. “But thank you.”

  She chuckled to herself as her mother and future aunt finally left the store, the door closing behind them, leaving her in peace. She finished clipping the stems of the snapdragons and placed them in a bucket of water, then went to the sink to rinse her shears. There was an entire bucket of yellow roses to de-thorn and clip, and she reached for the first one, stopping to smell it first. She smiled, as she always did, because it never got old. What did get old was that the only man who had sent her flowers in her entire lifetime was her father, bless his heart.

  She carefully set the first rose in a bucket she’d filled with fresh water when the door chimed again.

  She glanced up, only mildly surprised to see that it was a man. Usually, the men called orders in over the phone, but some of the older gents in town still stopped in to pick out something personally, and she loved them for it. Chivalry was sadly a dying practice, at least in her world.

  But here, she noticed, as she perked up a bit, was a tall, broad-shouldered man with sandy brown hair, and a thick head of it from the looks of it. She swallowed hard, her eyes immediately darting to the left hand that was now reaching out to tap—yes, tap—the petals of a gerbera daisy, before letting it drop.

  God help her, it was bare.

  Still, he was in a flower shop. Meaning, he obviously had someone special in his life.

  “Those are new this week,” she said cheerfully, painfully aware that it was just the two of them in the store and that her mother could be back at any moment for the next delivery, very possibly with Candy still nipping at her heels.

  “They’re so perfect, for a moment I thought they were fake.” The man turned to give her a smile.

  Fake flowers in her shop? She nearly laughed, if she wasn’t so surprised to see that the man was none other than Doug Monroe.

  She stiffened impulsively, then forced her composure. This was a place of business, and more importantly, it was her place of business, and besides, she hadn’t seen Doug Monroe since high school graduation. She’d been pleased about it at the time. The guy had been a proverbial thorn in her side for the better half of her teenage years, first when they were paired against each other in debate and he had gone and insulted her stance on whether the cafeteria should ban chocolate milk, and later, when they’d run against each other for senior class president…and she’d lost. But the worst of it had been the prom planning committee, something he’d joined both junior and senior year, claiming it looked good on college applications, even after he’d already been accepted to Notre Dame.

  But the Doug she knew back in high school was tall and lanky, with tortoise-rimmed glasses that made it hard to read his eyes, whereas the man that stood before her was…well. Not like how she remembered him at all.

  She was suddenly aware that she was staring.

  “Doug?” She smiled warmly. Surely if his physical appearance proved anything, it was that he had changed from the unfriendly teenager to a well-adjusted man, who didn’t appear to be married.

  “Gabby Conway.” He grinned, and for a moment, she relaxed. She was just being silly, judging him based on his behavior back in school. That was well over a decade ago now. “Do you own this shop?”

  She nodded. Every inch of this place was her pride and joy. Not a detail had been overlooked, from the soft honey-colored paint that was the perfect backdrop to any flower, to the blue and white striped awning under the shop sign, to the little cardstock labels she affixed to the buckets with twine, that not only identified each flower but also gave her personal thoughts on what made it so special.

  Then she remembered that he had planned on going to law school after Notre Dame, something he had been quite sure to mention during his nauseating campaign speeches at the start of senior year. He’d done just that because if Doug was anything, he was a man with a plan.

  This shop probably didn’t seem like much of an accomplishment by comparison, and her old competitive spirit flared.

  “Are you visiting?” she asked with a smile. No need to hold a grudge, after all, even if she had looked forward to the prom planning committee since she’d first heard of it freshman yea
r, and had filled a sketchbook with ideas that he seemed to question every chance he had.

  He shook his head. “Nah, I moved back a few weeks ago, actually.”

  Moved back? Her mouth went dry. Blue Harbor offered many things, but eligible bachelors were not one of them, especially when Gabby factored in how many of the men in town had dated one of her cousins or sisters or friends—making them officially off-limits. The list had dwindled to, well, Jackson Bradford. Maybe, at a stretch, Ryan Harrison, also known as her sister Brooke’s brother-in-law, so that got a little weird. Only now, it seemed like there may be a fresh face, or if not fresh, distantly familiar.

  She’d settle on fresh. Enough time had passed for a second chance.

  “Wow,” she said, somehow finding the words. “That’s a big change. You were in Cleveland, right?” It wasn’t that she was interested, more like word traveled in a town as small as Blue Harbor. Though there had been no mention of return.

  “Columbus,” he said, his smile dropping a bit.

  Well, enough pleasantries. It was clear he wasn’t going to elaborate, and what did she care why he left the city? He was back in Blue Harbor. Back to stay from the sounds of it. And he was obviously in her shop for a reason.

  Gabby snagged an order form from her counter. “What can I do for you today?”

  “My father called in an order. He asked me to pick it up for him.”

  “Of course!” Gabby beamed. She’d been so distracted by those deep-set eyes that she’d never noticed before to even connect him with the order she’d filled earlier. “Your father is such a sweetheart, always sending your mother flowers on her birthday.”

  Doug raised his eyebrows. “Can’t see why. They just die within days.”