Page 3 of Shattered Hearts
Jodi Zhang smiles at me from the open doorway of her grandparents’ flower shop, Blooms A to Z. She’s a year older than me and beautiful with her long, sleek hair and dark eyes.
Before I can reply, Ann Zhang ushers me inside.
Outside of work, the Zhangs are the only people I regularly interact with. They’re friendly and kind to me despite my less-than-bubbly personality and aversion to other humans. Jodi’s grandparents, Henry and Ann, are my landlords. They rent out one of the two apartments above the shop to me and live in the other one.
“You’ll catch cold.” Ann clicks her tongue before returning to a customer in the potted plants section.
I can only smile as I wipe my slushy boots on the mat that lines the floor.
Because the whole place is resplendent with the scent of dewy flower petals, I get the urge to sneeze whenever I come in.
An oversized cream sweater drowns Jodi’s petite frame as she arranges roses in a bucket. “Rough day at the shelter?”
“Brutal.”
She leans closer to me, excitement bouncing in her eyes. “You still have that dress I bought you for your birthday?”
“Of course.”
The shimmery, slinky number hangs in the back of my closet, tags still attached.
“Some people in my behavioral economics class are throwing a New Year’s Eve party, and it’s going to be sick?—”
“No,I’mgoing to be sick.” I can’t help the grin tugging at my lips.
She gives me an unamused look. “Riley.”
“I mean it.” I pick up a fallen rose petal and weigh it in my palm. “I’ve planned my annual cold for that weekend, complete with a fever and chicken soup. It’ll be great.”
“You can’t spend the rest of your life as a hermit.” She spritzes the roses with a tall spray bottle and turns back to me. “Don’t let what happened with that shithead keep you out of the game forever.”
My heart of stone cracks a little at her words. Three years ago this month…no wonder I’ve been so exhausted. How could I forget that the third anniversary of my whole life falling apart is just a few days away?
“Thank you for thinking of me for this super sick party, but I’m retired?—”
Jodie huffs in exasperation. “You can’t be retired from dating at twenty-three!”
“Why not? Just because I’m young?” I point the rose at her. “That’s ageism.”
She drops a hand to her hip and rolls her eyes. “Wanting you to put yourself out there and move on with someone new doesn’t make me ageist. It makes me a good friend.”
Still wearing my winter coat, I throw my puffy arms around her neck and squeeze tight. “On that, we agree.”
“Okay, okay!” Jodi squirms. Too much affection flusters her, a fact I’ve always found too adorable not to exploit.
Ann flaps her hand at me. “Stop by later if you want to eat!” Another reason I love the Zhangs is because they’re constantly feeding me dinner and sending me home with enough leftovers to last for days.
With a grateful smile, I retreat down the hall and exit the back door into the alley behind the shop. A brisk wind hastens my pace toward the rusty staircase that leads up to our apartments. As soon as I walk in the front door, my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket.
I grab the device before the call goes to voicemail, stopping short when I spy the caller ID.
Shock punches me in the gut.
My fingers tremble as I accept the call, my mind flooding with worst case scenarios. “Harper?”
“Yup, it’s me! How are you?”
I sag with relief and consider ending the call. My identical twin sister soundswaytoo chipper to be contacting me with death news. “Why are you calling me?” Old hurt sharpens my voice.