The Engagement Arrangement (Boots and Bouquets #2) - Jaci Burton Page 0,75
Shouldn’t you be enjoying the now?”
Maybe she was blowing everything out of proportion, including her relationship with Finn. She should do exactly what her sisters suggested and relax, enjoy the moments and quit thinking too much into the future. “I guess you’re right.”
She only hoped it was that simple.
CHAPTER
• • • • • •
twenty-four
FINN WASN’T A master at planning surprises, but he had come up with one for Brenna that he hoped she would like.
After work he went back to his place, fed Murphy, let him run around outside a bit while he showered, then drove to the main house. Murphy ran inside and Finn followed into the living room. He was greeted by Maureen and Johnny, who had already pseudo-adopted the dog as their own.
Maureen bent down, taking Murphy’s face between her hands.
“How’s my wee boy today? Did you have a good day?”
“You’re spoilin’ him, Maureen,” Johnny said.
“Aye. He needs that.”
Finn knew his dog would always be well taken care of whenever he was out. “Thanks for watching him.”
Maureen came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “It’s our pleasure.”
Brenna came in, taking his breath away in a dark blue cotton dress that clung to her top half and swirled around her bottom half. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and the gold hoops she wore in her ears made him want to take a bite of her earlobes, something he kept to himself since they were standing in a room with her parents.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
He saw the telltale blush creep up on her cheeks. “Thank you. Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
She arched a brow in suspicion.
“You two have fun,” Maureen said, shooing them away with both of her hands. “Now go.”
“Bye, Mom,” Brenna said.
They got into his truck and they took off, heading away from the property.
“You’re really not telling me where we’re going.”
“No.”
“Am I dressed appropriately?”
He glanced over at her—okay, he ogled her legs. “You look amazing.”
“Appropriately, Finn.”
“Yes. You’re appropriately dressed.”
She sighed. “I’m very irritated with you right now.”
He smiled, hoping she would enjoy the night he had planned for her.
It took a while to get to the location since it was outside the city and on the other side of town. They had twinkling lights set up and tables all around. There was already a good crowd wandering about when they climbed out of the truck.
“This is a garden center,” she said.
“Yeah.”
“I smell food, too.”
“Yeah.”
She walked over and read the sign just outside, then looked up at him. “Fall Flower Showcase and Sale?”
“Yup.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you know about this?”
He shrugged. “I hear things.”
“I didn’t even know about this.”
“I thought you might want to see what they have. Plus there’s wine and dinner, too.”
“Really? How fun.” She grabbed his hand. “Let’s go in.”
Her enthusiasm was infectious. He knew how much Brenna loved gardening, and he’d come across this place the week before when he’d been out buying supplies. He saw the flyer for the dinner and sale and knew this was something she might enjoy, so he’d made sure she was going to be free tonight, then asked her out for dinner. He didn’t tell her what they’d be doing, hoping she didn’t already know about it. Lucky break for him that she didn’t.
They’d decorated the place nicely with everything a gardener would love. There were flowers and plants and fountains, along with rocks and garden decorations, anything else you might want or need to add to your landscape. They’d added white twinkling lights outside, which brightened up the place for tonight. Brenna seemed to soak everything in piece by piece.
“Oh, look at these,” she said, studying some blue flowers. “They’d be perfect for some fall color on the east side of the house.”
He’d already grabbed a rolling cart, so when she pointed to an item that she wanted, he hefted it up and added it.
“We need more peonies and this is the perfect time to plant them. Look at the color of these. And these ranunculus would be amazing.”
He had no idea what any of these were, but he was learning a lot just listening to Brenna talk.
“This will bloom in winter, when there’s less color and we need it most. Some of these we plant in the fall but they won’t come up until spring.”
He nodded, making a mental note to look for all those amazing flowers when they came up in the spring.
After he loaded the last flower she’d added, she turned to him. “Okay, now