Mom sighed. “Weddings and funerals—the bread and butter of any flower shop and work we haven’t seen much of in the last decade.”

“It’s taken years for Ivy to convince Lila to use us for weddings, but she wouldn’t even entertain the idea until the article came out in Floral,” Tess said. “It probably doesn’t help that Ivy’s her sister. It blurs the professional boundaries normally in place, leading her to believe she can march into the greenhouse and bawl Kash out about the color spectrum.”

I chuckled. “She can bawl me out all she wants. Won’t bother me.”

Tess shook her head. “I don’t know how. If she talked to me like that, I’d talk right back.”

“I’m sure you did before she trucked into the greenhouse,” I said.

“I tried,” she answered with a tilted smile.

“Let her get it out of her system. I’ll be the family dog.”

Tess’s brow quirked. “The family dog?”

“Yeah, you know, Dad has a bad day at work, comes home and yells at Mom for burning dinner. Mom yells at the kid for spilling milk. Kid kicks the family dog.”

She frowned. “That’s so sad.”

Another soft laugh. “Oh, it’s not so bad … I’ve got nothing to complain about. Sounds like Lila’s getting it handed down to her and she’s gotta vent it off. It’s not really about us. It’s about her.” I shrugged again.

Tess shook her head. “You’re so laid back, you’re practically horizontal.”

“It’s genetic. You’ve met my father, right?”

The room laughed.

“You do your fair share of fighting, Kassius,” Mom said, turning to Tess. “Don’t let him fool you. I’ve broken up too many fights to harbor any illusions about who’s starting them.” She gave me a pointed look.

“Luke starts them. I’m the one who finishes them,” I noted.

“Because you cheat,” Luke added.

“Cheat or outmaneuver?” I asked.

“Cheat,” Luke and Jett said at the same time.

“Kassius, how was your date with Verdant Osborne?” Mom asked eagerly. “You’re the only one who entertains my matchmaking with enthusiasm. Which is why you’re my favorite,” she said archly, glancing at my brothers.

Luke and I shared a meaningful look. Mom had a knack for matching me with the easiest of lays.

“We went to dinner and a movie,” I said, not mentioning the fact that I couldn’t tell you a single thing that’d happened in the show. We’d spent a hundred and nineteen minutes finding various ways to get each other off in the back row of the theater, fully clothed. “It was educational,” I added.

“Well, she does have her PhD from Columbia. I’m sure she has a thing or two to teach you.”

“You have no idea.”