It Happened One Night Read Online Free

Let’s go on a date. Like two teenagers out on the town.”
    “Do I have to have you home by ten?” he asked.
    “Only if you promise to keep me awake ’til eleven.”
    Gene laughed and helped her to her feet.
    May 10
    The next morning Lana stood in the Wildflower Barn and chatted with Mrs. Montaigne, one of the many regulars who made a point
     of stopping by during Lana’s shift. The sun slanted hard and bright into the yellow room that had been built to house their
     shop. Other parts of the Barn were utilitarian and somber, used for storage and mixing seeds. But this room was Lana’s favorite.
     She’d hung wind chimes and stained glass in the small, high windows to catch the light. Her coffee cup steamed on the counter
     in the cool air. And though she’d awoken this morning to find her bed empty, she refused to let Ron’s lack of bedside manners
     ruin an otherwise good day.
    “I just don’t know,” Mrs. Montaigne said, her Quebecois accent peeking through. “I’ve never liked these glaring colors. Orange,
     red, yellow… Do you have something less bright?”
    “Of course,” Lana said. “Follow me.”
    She led the way to their newest display of seeds and picked up a packet of their cool-tones mix. Mrs. Montaigne took it, her
     eyes brightening as she showed the packet to her granddaughter. “
Oui
. This is exactly what we came for. Isn’t it,
ma fille
?”
    Jackie peered shyly from behind her grandmother’s floral skirt. She rarely talked, but Lana could see that she was always
     deeply interested, listening, trying to figure things out. Lana had always liked talking to children. Watching them puzzle
     through everyday life made her see the world a little differently, as if rediscovering it through their eyes. She looked forward
     to the day she could rediscover it through her own as well.
    Mrs. Montaigne handed the packet to Jackie for a closer look, and Lana couldn’t help but launch into detail about how optimum
     mixes balanced beauty with durability and diversity. But Karin had cautioned her not to give away too many secrets. They guarded
     their percentage allocations much like the makers of Pepsi and Coke guarded their recipes.
    “Okay, okay, you’ve convinced me!” Mrs. Montaigne exclaimed, laughing. “To listen to you talk about flowers is like listening
     to this little one talk about cartoons. There’s just no end!”
    Jackie blushed shyly and Lana thought it would be fun to hear the little girl chatter for a while. But she remained silent
     as they walked to the counter to check out.
    “I saw your boyfriend last night,” Mrs. Montaigne said, giving a conspiratorial wink.
    “Oh, did you? He took me out for my birthday. Did you know I turned twenty-nine? It was fantastic. Roses, candlelight, and
     he even sang me a song in the middle of the restaurant. Everyone was looking. It was the funniest thing.”
    “No, I don’t think so.” She frowned, lines etched deeply around her mouth. “I saw him in front of the college. He had a suitcase.
     Like he was coming back from a trip.”
    Lana laughed. “Oh, you mean
Eli
. He’s not my boyfriend.”
    “Well, why ever not?”
    Lana laughed again and couldn’t help but wonder if Mrs. Montaigne had set her up. The question had been posed to her a hundred
     times—a thousand it seemed. And yet she’d never been able to articulate an answer that could make people understand. “Eli
     and I are just friends.”
    “But I see you flirting with him all the time.”
    “Laughing with him. I’m laughing. There’s a difference.”
    “But I see the way he looks at you. You cannot tell me that isn’t love.”
    “It is love. It’s platonic love.”
    “If you say so, dear.”
    To change the subject, Lana bent down to talk to Jackie, asking what her doll’s name was and if she wanted to pick a flower
     to take home. She loved talking to people—about flowers, about the store, about the Burlington area, about whatever was going
     on in her