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Coming Up Roses

Staci Hart
Contents (61)
  1. Coming Up Roses
  2. Staci Hart
  3. Author’s Note
  4. 1
  5. A Good Groping
  6. 2
  7. Poison Ivy
  8. 3
  9. The Brood
  10. 4
  11. Let Her Be Wild
  12. 5
  13. Things You Can Count On
  14. 6
  15. Big Ideas
  16. 7
  17. Princes and Pirates
  18. 8
  19. Rhymes with Yes
  20. 9
  21. Double Take
  22. 10
  23. You Can Try
  24. 11
  25. Ever the Gentleman
  26. 12
  27. Curiosity Kills
  28. 13
  29. Ace
  30. 14
  31. Just the Truth
  32. 15
  33. Things the Cat Drags In
  34. 16
  35. Gold Digger
  36. 17
  37. Fudge Ripple
  38. 18
  39. Fixer
  40. 19
  41. Fool
  42. 20
  43. Heart Burn
  44. 21
  45. Empty Spaces
  46. 22
  47. Rainbow Road
  48. 23
  49. Tick Tock
  50. 24
  51. A Certain Faith
  52. 25
  53. Moments
  54. 26
  55. Make a Wish
  56. 27
  57. Imagine That
  58. Epilogue
  59. Thank you
  60. Also by Staci Hart
  61. About the Author

Coming Up Roses

Staci Hart

Copyright © 2019 Staci Hart

All rights reserved.

stacihartnovels.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover by Quirky Bird

Editor: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing

Proofreading: Love N Books

Playlist: https://spoti.fi/2JFtu4m

Pin Board: http://bit.ly/2YegsmC

Contents

Author’s Note

1. A Good Groping

2. Poison Ivy

3. The Brood

4. Let Her Be Wild

5. Things You Can Count On

6. Big Ideas

7. Princes and Pirates

8. Rhymes with Yes

9. Double Take

10. You Can Try

11. Ever the Gentleman

12. Curiosity Kills

13. Ace

14. Just the Truth

15. Things the Cat Drags In

16. Gold Digger

17. Fudge Ripple

18. Fixer

19. Fool

20. Heart Burn

21. Empty Spaces

22. Rainbow Road

23. Tick Tock

24. A Certain Faith

25. Moments

26. Make a Wish

27. Imagine That

Epilogue

Thank you

Also by Staci Hart

About the Author

To those of you

searching for home:

Sink your roots into the earth.

Stretch your leaves up to the sky.

Because home

is where you are.

Author’s Note

Many of us can claim our love for Jane Austen, but only a few of us are foolish enough to retell her stories.

I have taken some liberties with Pride and Prejudice, and I hope you’ll allow me to imagine the Bennet sisters as unruly men (less our Lizzie) and Longbourne as a flower shop in Manhattan. And I hope beyond hope that you enjoy my nod to the Bennets, who we love so well.

1

A Good Groping

LUKE

Not a single thing had changed in five years.

Not the little bell on the door that rang entries into my family’s flower shop. Not the ancient oak barrels, stuffed to the brim with petals and greenery. Not the smell, that mixture of earth and sweet perfume only made by hundreds of varieties of flowers in the same room.

That smell meant one thing: I was home.

I scanned the shop for activity—and my family, who was never far from here—but found none. So deeper into the room I went, running a hand over the timeworn wood of the counter as I passed.

But all I saw was stillness, and all I heard was music playing somewhere in the back.

I followed the sound, past a table littered with stems and scissors, twine and twigs, floral putty and pin frogs, a vase stuffed with a vivid array of poppies. But when I turned the corner where a row of humming coolers stood, I found one thing that had changed.