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busy man with no time to waste. And he didn’t sound overly happy. “While I do not make a habit of giving first chances twice, I heard about your delay this morning.”
    How?
    “Your willingness to help a stranger despite the cost to yourself speaks as loudly as your non-attempt at an excuse.”
    Is that good or bad?
    “I believe you would make an excellent addition to Blue Chip. If you’re still interested in the position, give me a call.”
    Jace stumbled. His arms flailed as he fought to regain his balance and his heart leapt hopefully. Rubbing the joint where his prosthetic met his arm, he continued toward his bike.
    He’d respected Masters and his reputation. What some considered close-minded, Jace had seen as good business sense. Even when the viewpoints he’d respected cost him a job, Jace hadn’t been able to cast blame. Now Masters was adjusting a personal policy for his benefit. Why? How had he heard? Who could have known about Misty’s attack and Jace’s missed interview that would have had access to Masters? Whoever they were, they clearly had some pull. Enough that the job sounded as if it were a lock if he called back. Assuming he was reading Masters’s tone accurately.

Chapter Six
    “The pavilion you’ve chosen for your reception is casual.” Misty pulled a couple of square vases of varying heights from her shelves, along with some rainbow foam in cantaloupe orange, honeydew green and lemon yellow and moved to the round conference table where her clients sat. “You’re a young couple who loves fun outside. That’s why you’re having an outdoor wedding in the early summer. So you don’t want anything too elaborate.”
    “Right.” Drea smiled hesitantly. “Our budget is…modest.”
    “And shrinking with every new addition,” her fiancé Connor added.
    “We’ve been watching that,” Misty assured. It was common for couples to hear elaborate, but miss the qualifier before the word. “That’s why I would suggest you do flowers for the bouquets, but for your centerpieces we fill vases like this of different sizes with this rainbow foam cut into cubes.” While talking, she cut off a section of each colored cube to demonstrate. “We’ll layer them in the vases with fresh fruit of the corresponding color mixed in.”
    “How do you mean?”
    “We’d slice limes to go with the green, lemons to go with the yellow, oranges to go with the orange. In the center of the taller vase we’d put a couple of calla lilies to go with your bouquet as well as those for your bridal party and the flowers you’ve chosen for the ceremony. And in the bouquets we could wrap the stems with something that looks like orange peel or lime rind.”
    “And you think that’s good enough for a wedding?”
    “I do. The colors support your summer theme and the lightness of your spirits. The lilies and fruit will add a touch of casual class. And it all helps keep the focus of the day where it belongs. On you.”
    “I like the idea of that,” Drea whispered. “Even if some people will still find fault.”
    “Some people thrive on judgment and making others unhappy.” Misty rested a hand on Drea’s and infused her tone with soft reassurance. “Others are too deeply wounded, or too entrenched in a contentious misunderstanding or too afraid of something to see a way out of their personal unhappiness. The only thing you can do is find your own happiness.”
    Jace was one of those people, or a combination of them, and though Misty had been warned he would be gone when she woke, she’d hoped to find him there. She’d hoped to have the chance to figure out which kind of person he was and why he appealed to her so profoundly.
    “It would be easier if your arrangements would magically fix them.”
    Drea’s chuckle pulled Misty from her thoughts of Jace. “Yes, it would, but sometimes those quirks are the things that make people interesting.”
    Connor took Drea’s hand and squeezed affectionately. They stared