It was noon.

Felix preferred to call it ad meridiem, primarily because Latin phrases had boost girls' impressions on him, or so he claimed. In fact, more than half of the techniques he professed to have worked on females had been proven to be fallacies.

The streets were usually the most populated around noon, as was our shop. As Mothers' Day drew near, many sons and daughters had approached us to seek for their mothers' favourite flowers. Mercifully, Lara and her husband had offered to lend their helping hand, so I could focus on floral arrangements during the day. Although Damian had mentioned coming to the shop today, he was nowhere to be found.

"Ally, keep your eyes on your scissors." Felix came over when I was cutting stems.

"Go back to work, Felix." I frowned at him. "Take care of the customers."

"I'm just looking out for you, sis." He placed his palms on his hips.

I grinned at him. "Aw... Thank you very much."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, who are you looking for?"

I shot him a puzzled look. "I'm sorry?"

"You kept staring at the front entrance." He switched his glances between me and the doors. "Is there somebody you're expecting?"

"Yeah, I'm finding Nemo." I went back to snipping flowers.

"You're not searching for a fictional fish." He didn't leave me alone. "Oh, here comes the signature blush..."

"I don't have a signature blush."

"Apparently, you do." He punched his fists into the air. "I knew it's Damian!"

"Your assumptions are ridiculous." I shook my head in disapproval.

"Damian is not coming today, sis." He snubbed me. "He has other plans."

I lifted my head. "What? How did you know that?"

"He told me." Felix grinned proudly at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "But why didn't he tell me?"

"Aha! You care about him." Felix's smile grew wider. "Are you jealous of our friendship, Ally?"

I crossed my arms. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Your facial expressions gave it all away."

"Well, if that is the case," I raised my eyebrow, "I believe it's time to get you some glasses."

"No thanks. Just because you need them doesn't mean that I do."

"Short-sightedness can be genetic."

"Not necessarily." Felix pointed at me. "Oi, don't you change the topic! You can't hide your crush on Damian from me."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Felix, you can't jump to conclusions like that."

"Oh yeah?" Felix stared at me. "Then just who were you looking for?"

I took a brief look at the glass doors without turning my head, hoping that the next person entering the shop would be someone I knew. In the nick of time, I noticed a wheelchair coming through.

"I was... looking for Caroline and Jeffrey." I cleared my throat. "They come in every week for carnations. Don't you remember?"

"Sure..." He nodded at me, but clearly unconvinced.

"Now if you excuse me," I pushed him out of my way. "I need to tend to our two loyal customers."

"Of course!" He gave me a thumbs-up. "It is healthy to distract yourself from your crush from time to time."

I glared at him. "Stop lurking around and get back to work."

"Right away, boss."

With Felix out of my vicinity, I beamed merrily at the old couple approaching me.

"Good afternoon!" I made way for them to pass through the narrow corridors. "This way, please. I've put your basket at the far end of the shop."

"I see you have been working hard today." Jeff made a remark.

"Uh-huh," I said as I tipped my toes to reach their basket on the shelf. "Mother's Day is around the corner."

"You should let yourself rest a little bit, Ally." Jeff frowned at me with concern. "Your face is burning up."

"Really?" I felt my cheeks with my palm. Heat was radiating through my cool fingers.

"Oh, Jeffrey! You don't know about girls." Carol joined our conversation. "She's probably having boy issues. Am I right, Ally?"

I swatted my hands. "Uh, no. Perhaps the ventilation is not working well at the moment."

"I'd love to meet him when you two end up together." Carol touched my forearm when I placed the basket on her lap.

"Me too." Jeff winked at me.

Before I could deny that I had a romantic interest, our shop's telephone started ringing. I cursed at it mentally.

"Felix, can you pick up the phone?" I called him.

"No, not right now." Felix panted as he ran around to gather flowers. "My customers need me."

I turned to the cashier. "Lara, can you - "

She didn't even let me finish. "Ally, the phone is literally on the table beside you."

"Answer the phone, my dear." Carol tapped me gently. "Jeffrey and I will see ourselves out."

I grimaced. "Are you sure?"

"We know the shop well enough to need an escort." Jeff placed a fifty dollar note in my hand. "See you next week, Ally."

"Alright." I waved after them. "Watch out for the water puddles on the floor."

"Will do." Jeff raised his hand in response.

After seeing Caroline and Jeffrey to their safety, I picked up the phone and spat out the line that I recited long ago, "Hello, this is the Bloom Room. How may I be of your service?"

"Hey, Ally." A husky voice filled my ears. "It's Damian."

"Oh." I perked up and straightened my clothes, as if he was in the room. "Aren't you coming to the shop today?"

"That was my original plan, but Elaine is visiting today." Damian's voice was slightly muffled by the noise around him.

I pointed out. "You sound like you're in a populated place."

"So are you." Damian chuckled. "I'm grabbing groceries right now. My fridge has been empty for days."

"So, that's why you're calling. What sort of flowers would you like her to have?"

"What was the last batch you saw today?"

"Carnations?"

"I'll take them. What do they go well with?"

I widened my eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Actually, carnations are one of her favourites."

"Okay then, I'll grab some red and white carnations, which generally symbolize fascination and distinction..." I navigated through the water buckets to retrieve the flowers. "And several daisies for the sake of harmony. Are these okay?"

"Absolutely!" Excitement was evident in his response. "Can you deliver them to my apartment? I'll text you my address once I get all of my groceries in my car."

"Alright." I bent my neck to the right to secure the phone between my ear and shoulder.

"Thank you for helping me in such short notice, Ally!"

"No problem." I smiled and wrapped the bouquet in my hand with ribbons.

"Any word of advice?"

"Clean up your apartment and look smart in it."

"I don't know if I can do that."

"I won't approach your flat if you don't."

"As a delivery person or as my girlfriend?"

"Both."

"You are harsh, aren't you?" Damian chortled nervously.

I laughed with him. "Just a little."

"Anyways, I've reached my car." He paused and sighed. "I guess we'll talk later."

I nodded. "Uh-huh. It's dangerous to be on the phone while driving."

"See you in a few, Ally."

"Bye, Damian." I kept my grin on when I ended the call.

"Bye, Damian."

The smile melted off of my face. "Felix, how long have you been creeping on me?"

"Not long," he snickered, "but long enough."

I shot him a threatening stare. "I'm going to murder you when I come back."

He just smirked at me. "Have fun at Damian's place."

"I won't." I grabbed the bouquet and went for the door.

Maybe you will. My mind echoed.

Oh, not again.