Best Buds (13 page)

“Hear! Hear!” shouted Gramps, and everyone clapped and cheered.

“Time for cake!” Poppy said. “Where is it?”

“It’s coming,” said Mom with a grin. I gave her a look. The cake was being delivered? Wasn’t it a little late?

There was a knock at the back gate. Everyone just looked at me. “Go get it, Del,” Mom encouraged me. Confused, I stood up, walked over, and opened up the gate. And there stood Hamilton Baldwin, holding a large, white bakery box. I just stared.

“You work for the bakery?” I asked, totally bewildered.

He laughed. “No, I don’t.”

Rose pushed up behind me. “Invite him in, Miss Manners!” she said.

I blinked and stepped back so he could come in.

“Wow!” he said, gazing around the backyard. “This looks great.” He grinned. “Sorry I missed the lobster, but I had a” — he grinned — “prior engagement!”

I led Hamilton to the table and introduced him to my family.

“Hey, everyone,” he said, as laid-back as ever.

“Pleased to meet you, young man,” said my gramps, which made me laugh. Mom took the cake box from
Hamilton and then the rest of my family thoughtfully busied themselves getting plates and forks and knives.

I looked at him. “So …” I started.

“Becky called me,” he explained. I grinned. When did Becky have time to play tennis with all the social arrangements she was making? I had to give my BFF a lot of credit.

“So I called your mom and asked her if there was anything I could bring. And she told me — dessert!”

I took a deep breath. “But what about your date?” I asked.

Hamilton looked confused. “My date?”

“The one you were about to introduce me to at Ashley’s party!” I explained. Sheesh.

Hamilton looked like he wanted to laugh. “That wasn’t my date. That was my cousin Melissa. She’s here for the summer to help out my mom at Fleur.” He smiled. “My mom makes me take Melissa everywhere with me since she doesn’t know anyone.” He smiled. “But now that she’s settled in, I’m going to have more free time on my hands.”

“Oh,” I said, smiling. It all made sense. Why he blew me off. Why he and the girl had been in Fleur together. And why Ashley had said he was bringing a date to her party.

“So maybe when you get back from Maine, we could … go to the movies or something,” Hamilton said, blushing a little.

“Definitely,” I replied, my cheeks turning red, too.

From behind me, my family began to sing “Happy Birthday.” I turned around. Mom was standing at the top of the steps holding a strawberry shortcake from Bella’s!

I turned to Hamilton. “That’s my favorite!” I told him.

He grinned. “Your mom told me. It’s mine, too!” He looked at me. “Happy birthday to you, Delphinium Bloom.”

A very happy birthday to me, indeed
, I thought.
This evening just gets better and better.

Mom placed the cake in front of me, glowing with fourteen candles, one for good luck. “Make a wish,” she said.

Gran and Gramps were there. I was having the birthday party of my dreams (pretty much). With one very special guest. I wasn’t quite sure what to wish for. I closed my eyes, thought of something, and blew out the candles, all in one breath.

“Hooray!” cried Poppy. “You get your wish!”

“Don’t tell us what it is,” Aster warned.

“And we have some special news,” said Rose.

“Gran and Gramps are coming to Maine with us!” shrieked Poppy.

I gave Gran and Gramps each a huge hug. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.

I grinned at my family. They might not always do things exactly the way I hoped they would. But they had really come through for me today. It seemed like all my birthday wishes were being granted.

“And I’m coming, too!” added Aunt Lily.

“Yay!” I said weakly.

Okay, sometimes
all
your wishes can’t come true!

Read on for a
sneak peek at the next
Petal Pushers book!

The house phone rang. I reached out a soapy hand and picked it up. “Bloom residence,” I said.

“Hello, may I please speak to Daisy Bloom?” a woman’s voice asked.

“May I ask who’s calling?” I said, looking pointedly at my sisters, who were all lacking in phone etiquette skills. The twins simultaneously stuck out their tongues at me.

“This is Marlene Lewis,” the voice said. “From the Homecoming Committee.”

A big grin spread over my face. I held the phone to my chest and brought it to Mom, who was curled up on the living room couch knitting Aster a long black scarf.

“It’s a woman named Marlene Lewis,” I whispered. “She’s from the Homecoming Committee.”

Mom sat up straight and put her knitting to the side. I handed her the phone, then lingered in the entryway to listen.

“Hello, this is Daisy Bloom,” she said. “Hi, Marlene, how are you? I can’t wait to show you our amazing idea for the Homecoming bouquets. I was hoping we could set up an appointment this week….” She paused to listen and a frown crossed her face. I leaned forward, worried. “Oh, I see. Is that your final decision?” Mom nodded. “Okay, well, thank you for your time. Good-bye.”

I was too afraid to ask. Dad did it for me. “Oh, Daisy,” he said sympathetically. “That didn’t sound like it went so well.”

Mom nodded grimly. “It certainly didn’t. This Marlene person told me that she already hired another florist.”

My heart sank. “Fleur,” I said. I shook my head. I had been right to be suspicious at the mall!

Mom nodded grimly. “Fleur,” she confirmed.

Dad frowned. “Marlene just started this fall. She probably doesn’t know that Petal Pushers has always done the flowers for Homecoming. Do you think I should talk to her?”

Mom shook her head no emphatically. “She’s allowed to make her own decisions,” she said. But then she dropped her head into her hands. “But she didn’t even give us a chance. This is the first time that our family isn’t doing the Homecoming bouquets in seventy-five years. How am I going to tell Gran and Gramps?”

Too Many Blooms
Flower Feud
Best Buds
Coming Up Roses