Wild Rose, Book 1 of The Late Bloomer Series (Contemporary Romance)

Chapter 1

Daisy ushered the last of the visitors out the door, hugging and thanking them for coming by. Once the door shut, she leaned against it and said, “Can we take out the good wine now?”

For the first time in weeks, Vi laughed. The group was together again, and now the real healing could begin. 

“Let’s take this morbid party outside for some fresh air. You know my mom loved your courtyard, Rose.” Vi stood up with Amazonian grace and walked outside. Rose followed with a box of matches, lighting the dozens of candles she kept in glass cases all around the courtyard. Dusk was approaching, and she knew they’d be out there for hours.

“How are you holding up, babes?” Ivy squeezed Vi’s shoulder with one arm, gripping the wine bottle and opener in the other.

“I’m alright, Ivy. Really. I can’t tell you how much having you all here helps. And if it’s all the same to you guys, I’d love to talk about anything but grief and death and dying tonight. These last few weeks have drained me.” Vi always asked for what she wanted, and as the oldest of their group, she usually got it. She sank into her favorite chair as Ivy uncorked the wine and started pouring into the glasses Lily set on the table. “But before we do that, I want to say a big thank you to Rose for organizing this service and helping me with a thousand details and breakdowns during the last few weeks. You always take such good care of all of us, Rose. I couldn’t have gotten through this mess without you.”

“Cheers to Rose!” Ivy raised her glass and the rest followed. Rose felt the warmth of their love but still blushed from the attention.

“If we’re looking for a change in subject, I have an idea. Let’s talk about Rose. After all, we’re eating and drinking all of her food. No family gathering is complete without nagging and unsolicited advice for the hostess!” Daisy grinned, expertly deflecting attention away from her own love life.

“Let’s see. My only child left home to travel the world instead of going to college, my best friends are all over the world now, my landscape design business is doing great, and my love life is totally nonexistent. That about covers it.” Rose frowned as Ivy pretended to play a violin at her sad tale.

“Ah, but you forgot about the sexy older man,” prompted Vi. The others immediately stopped what they were doing.

“What?” Ivy, Daisy, and Lily spoke in unison, stopping mid-action to look at Rose, who sunk down on the settee and fluffed a pillow as she curled up her legs. 

“Don’t get too excited. The older man Vi’s referring to is one of Rachel’s discoveries in Italy. She’s decided to squander her European travels to work in a restaurant and get free lodging from some middle-aged Antonio Banderas lookalike who owns the place.” Rose took another sip of her wine. “This is not the kind of education I wanted for my nineteen-year-old daughter, but it’s not like I can ground her anymore, can I?”

“Maybe you should go over there and straighten him out, Rose. Or I can do it for you.” Lily cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders like she was getting ready for a street fight.

“I love it that you’re a healer by day and a bone crusher by night, Lil. Someone should make a superhero movie about you.” Ivy clinked glasses with Lily.

“Funny you should talk about going to Italy. Rachel has invited me to come over for a visit. I’m resisting because I don’t think I could stand it if she introduced him as her boyfriend.” Rose put her head back on the settee, looking up at the darkening sky. She spotted the first star twinkling and knew it wouldn’t be long before her neighbors the coyotes started their nightly howl at the moon. “He’s probably the same age as me.”