Anderson In Bloom – Jennifer Dugan

“Nikki . . .” I say softly. “Andy . . .” She smiles. I don’t bother to correct her because in this tiny bubble, for the first time in a long time, I don’t feel like being somebody else. I don’t want to wear someone else’s name or live their life.

Seeing her in my living room somehow makes me want to both forget the past and live in it forever. Even if only for a minute. Nikki takes a step toward me and then another until she’s crowding into my space. “My friends will be here soon,” I whisper. “I know.”

Her face is so close to mine, the almost-kiss from before flashing forward into something real and tangible now. Nikki would barely have to lean forward for our lips to meet, and she seems to realize that she’ll have to be the one to bridge the gap this time. “I should have kissed you that day in the shop,” she says.

Her breath ghosts over mine the way it has a million times before and I never thought it would again. I know on some level this is wrong. Too soon, too fast, too early, never again, and not now. We have so, so much to talk about, and I don’t know if I even want to forgive her. If I should? If I can? If she’ll even show tomorrow —but none of that matters with her Tobacco Vanille Tom Ford perfume clouding my brain and the heat of her lips just millimeters from mine.

She was always so warm for me. Inviting and hot, her body made for mine as much as mine was made for hers. Who are we to deny— The sound of footsteps on the stairs leading up to my open apartment door has me jumping away, laughing nervously. Nikki gestures to kick the door shut before dropping back against the wall, like she needs it to hold her up.

Chapter Two: TMZ Will Break Your Heart Chapter Three: Just When You Think It Can’t Get Worse Chapter Four: Emotional Support Bathtubs and Awkward Encounters Chapter Five: Shipping Charges Soothe My Soul Chapter Six: Check, Please Chapter Seven: Sometimes You Just Want Your Mom Chapter Eight: Truth or Dare But You Can’t Pick Dare Chapter Nine: Every Rose Has Its Thorn Chapter Ten: The Miserable Business of Moving On Chapter Eleven: Coffee Interrupted Chapter Twelve: The World’s Worst Pizza Party Chapter Thirteen: Not Nearly Enough Chapter Fourteen: La Petite Mort Chapter Fifteen: Pining Is Not Just for Trees Chapter Sixteen: A Give and Take Chapter Seventeen: Good Is Relative Chapter Eighteen: Friends Don’t Fall in Love Chapter Nineteen: Sometimes Lies Are Better Chapter Twenty: Come Together to Fall Apart Chapter Twenty-One: Sad Songs on Repeat Chapter Twenty-Two: Say It with Flowers Chapter Twenty-Three: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times .

. . Chapter Twenty-Four: Love and Hand Dryers Chapter Twenty-Five: Lies Aren’t Better After All Chapter Twenty-Six: Rise and Shine Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Jennifer Dugan Copyright About the Publisher 1kitap1.com/en Chapter One In Which the Fear of Being Known Results in Free Flowers The woman in the plaid coat eyes the carnations wearily, checking and rechecking the price, picking up first one color and then another. I glance up at her from behind the front counter of this too-warm flower shop that I call home—literally, I rent out the tiny studio upstairs—and try to gauge if I’m needed.

The way she frowns and immediately looks away when our eyes meet tells me I’m probably not. Fine, but don’t come crying to me when you make your “celebratory bouquet” with a bunch of flowers that mean “I hate you.” I scoff to myself and go back to dragging my rose stripper down the stems of the latest delivery. The sharp blade rips the thorns and leaves off with a satisfying slicing sound that almost lets me forget the truth of it all— which is that my job here is to smooth out all their wildness, file down their rough edges, and make them more palatable.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: c47805ee49eabfe0
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 14,474,839 bytes (13.804 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 236
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 424.06 minutes
• Total Words: 84,811
• Total Characters: 449,186
• Average Words per Page: 359.37
• Average Characters per Page: 1903.33

Most Frequent Words

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