Page 71 of Cheap Shot

“Yes. Along with several other hockey miscreants.”

Nearby, Morgan made an ‘oh my god, this is a big deal’ face. Privately, Sebastian agreed. This was the kind of client who could open doors for his Boston shop.

“It’s so nice of you to drop by,” he said, although he wasn’t entirely sure why she had.

“Well, I am sorry I didn’t do it sooner,” she said with a laugh. “Apparently, Connor forgot he had your card. It wasn’t until he and Jesse came over for dinner the other night that Jesse reminded him.”

“Oh. It’s no problem. They seem like a great couple. Honestly, the whole team was amazing when they did the day for Harper. I assume Connor explained all that …”

“Yes. He did. Howisyour niece doing?”

They made small talk for a few minutes about Harper before Catherine cleared her throat. “Now, I want to get to the reason I stopped by today.”

“Of course,” Sebastian said.

“Well, to be honest, I wanted to scope out your work,” she admitted with a small conspiratorial smile.

“I hope it met your standards,” he said with a soft laugh because there was something very charming about her. She had a way of putting people at ease.

“Oh yes. It’sstunning. Beautiful use of color.” She glanced around. “Do you do private events?”

“I do,” Sebastian said. “What did you have in mind? Actually, why don’t you come back to my office and we can talk more in there. I want to take some notes while we chat. And I have portfolios showing my previous work if you’d like to look through them.”

“Sounds perfect. Lead the way.”

“Can I interest you in a coffee?” he asked as he led her down the hall.

“At this time of day, I’m afraid not,” she said with a sigh. “Once I reached a certain age, I had to limit my coffee drinking, or I’d never get any sleep. It’s a shame, because I love the stuff.”

“How do you feel about herbal tea? I have a handful of flavors.”

“Like you might be my new best friend.”

Sebastian laughed.

In his office over a mug of blueberry ginger tea for her and a plain black coffee for him, they discussed some of what she was looking for while she browsed his portfolio. She worked with the Harriers Foundation, like Connor had said, and they hosted numerous events throughout the season.

She’d been unhappy with their current florist’s recent work and had been looking for someone new for a while.

It was perfect, an opportunity Sebastian was desperate to jump on, but the more she talked, the further his stomach sank.

“I’d love to say yes to you,” Sebastian said, his tone regretful. “But I have to be honest, I am a little concerned about being able to manage that level of commitment. It really pains me to say this or eventhinkabout turning you down, but I am just getting off the ground here in Boston. I’m currently short-staffed and really struggling to find people willing to work at the level I’m looking for.”

“It can be tough,” she said, her tone sympathetic.

“I’m happy to pay a competitive wage,” he said. “I’m just not finding people who are the right fit and I’m not sure why. Ineverhad this problem in New York.”

“Well, we are a little different here in Boston,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “And we don’t always take kindly to New Yorkers.”

Sebastian laughed. “Is that my issue?”

She shrugged. “I was mostly kidding, but you never know. Iamsorry to hear you say no, however. I love your work.”

“Believe me,” he said. “I wish I could take you up on your offer. I wouldloveto do the work for you. I just have concerns that I couldn’t live up to my promises.”

“I respect that.”

He sighed. “The truth is, I also have a lot of outside commitments right now because of my sister and niece. My sister is a single mom, and my niece needs a lot of care. She has an entire team of doctors and physical and occupational therapists. So many appointments. My sister does her best, and her work tries to be flexible, but it can be tough. It’s gotten worse since her husband bailed on them and I am trying to pick up the slack but it’sreallydifficult and …”