Lilium Candidum
Chapter One

Summary: As a florist, Lily saw love bloom in unexpected ways, yet never for herself. After two men from different worlds enter her shop, she finds herself overwhelmed with love; but who will she choose?

She stood behind the till, waiting for the rush of customers as her assistant turned the sign to open. It was the week of valentines day and that meant that her shop was going to be overpopular; husbands and boyfriends ordering flowers for their other halfs. She sighed at the thought; she had been single for almost 6 years, not that she was counting.

"Lily, are you okay?" Her assistant, Savannah asked as she walked back to the counter.

"I'm fine thanks. Doing anything interesting for valentines day?" Lily asked, to which Savannah started talking about how her fianceé was planning a romantic dinner, and Lily counted her as one of the lucky ones. Savannah was 21, 5 years younger than Lily and she was extremely pretty; her brown hair flowed past her shoulders in curls and highlighted her eyes with freckles dotted across her face. Ever since she had met James a year ago, there seemed to be a certain glow about her.

At that moment a well dressed business man walked in wearing what Lily guessed was an Armani suit, a black briefcase held firmly in his left hand as he looked around the assortment of flowers. He had neatly trimmed blonde hair, deep blue eyes and seemed to tower over Lily.

"Hello sir, may I help you?" Savannah approached him and the two began a discussion, one of which Lily couldn't hear as they moved deeper into the shop. He came back five minutes later with an assortment of white and red roses, and she sighed, knowing he had a partner.

"Wow, who's the lucky girl?" Lily joked as she began to wrap the flowers in paper delicately. She ignored the feeling of his eyes upon her as she worked, blowing away a blonde curl that kept falling in front of her eyes.

"Oh...my mother. She's all alone on valentines day now my fathers gone." He replied, not taking his eyes off her as he took out his wallet. She felt all giddy on the inside, happy at the fact that he was single. A slight gasp came from the back room and she turned round to see Savannah giggling at the pair.

"I'm so sorry." She said, taking the money from him and passing him the flowers softly. His hand brushed against hers as he took them and she blushed slightly, her cheeks warming at his touch. She watched him turn away and begin to leave, and sighed at herself for letting someone worthwhile walk out of her life.

"Listen..." He turned back to her abruptly, startling her, "I hope you don't find this completely inappropriate, but would you like to go out for dinner tonight?" She nodded softly and they switched numbers and names; he was Russell Tomlinson, a wealthy businessman who was 4 years older than her. "See you tonight." He smirked, finally leaving the shop.

"Well, you are a fast worker, aren't you?" Savannah said, finally emerging from the back room and laughing in her face. The rest of the day went by like a blur, the shop filling up at noon and was empty by closing time as Lily rushed off to prepare for her date. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Savannah yelled as she walked off in the opposite direction to meet her fianceé.

X X X

Russell took her to a posh restuarant, choosing a booth in the back of the room for privacy. Elegant people sat all around them and Lily felt underdressed; she had opted for a white blouse and a black pencil skirt, and had tucked her blonde hair into a loose bun with curls framing her face.

"Russell, this place is...amazing." She muttered, taking a sip of her white wine as she gazed around at the well dressed couples in the weak lighting of the restaurant. They ordered their food and talked whilst waiting for it to arrive, talking about work and interests. Shocked, Lily found that he was more into classical music than her indie bands. After a moment of arkward silence, Russells phone began to ring and he cursed as he looked at the screen.

"Excuse me, I have to take this call." He said, standing up immediately and walking into the dish collector, knocking plates and glasses all over the floor. "Watch where you're going you idiot!" Russell yelled, causing a scene before walking off to answer his call. The dish collector cursed as he bent down to collect the broken peices into the plastic box he was carrying, ignoring the looks and whispers from other customers.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked, moving from her seat to help him pick the broken peices up. He looked up at her and almost fell back at her insane beauty; he had never seen someone as gorgeous as her.

"I...I'm fine, honestly." He said, looking down and picking up a broken peice of glass. "Shit!" He muttered under his breath as the sharp glass slid across his skin, along with a blush across his cheeks as he realised she was still watching and helping.

"Oh, here, sit down. I have a plaster here somewhere." She said, helping him into the seat as she emptied her bag looking for a plaster. "Here we go." She said, extending her hand for his. He reluctantly held out his hand and ignored the pain as she pressed the plaster against his cut. "All better." She said, smiling.

"Thank you, but I'd better get back to work." He said, moving away from the booth and picking up the box as her date came back, pushing him aside as he sat down.

"Sorry about that." Russell said as he took her hand and rubbed it softly.

X X X

"Thank you, I've had a wonderful night." Lily said as she pulled his jacket tighter around her shoulders, looking deep into his eyes and reluctant to go inside. He lowered his head towards her and pressed his lips on hers softly, and her body shuddered in delight. His tongue gently parted her lips and entered her mouth, and she had to refrain from gasping in shock.

"Goodnight Lily." He said, pulling away from her and taking her hand which he kissed softly. "I'll see you again soon." He said. And she saw him the next day as he dropped into her shop on his way to work, just to give her a soft kiss.

"Wow Lily, looks like you've got a good one there." Savannah said as Valentines day drew near; it was only tomorrow and Lily took delight in guessing what Russell was going to get her. She sat on the stool; the shop was almost empty as she propped her head on her elbow, falling into a daydream.

"Uhm, hi." The voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she gasped at the man in front of her; it was the dish collector from the restaurant, yet he looked smoother and cleaner.

"How's the finger?" She refrained from giggling as he held up his hand to show her where the plaster remained, and she nodded in acceptance. "Okay, well how can I help you?"

"I just wanted to say thanks, you know for the other night? None of the other snobby customers would have helped me." He stood in front of her arkwardly, his mind mulling over what to say.

"You think I'm snobby?" She asked, stepping back and feeling hurt.

"Oh god, no! Not you, I mean... You were the only one who noticed I was in trouble.."

"Sorry, do you mind if I ask how you found me?" She said, the question slipping into her mind as Savannah began helping a customer pick out some flowers for his wife.

"Oh, my sister...I told her about you, she's always in here buying flowers...Her names Sara." He was stuttering, a nervous trait that always betrayed him when he was talking to someone he liked.

"Oh Sara, right. Listen, I was just about to go out for lunch. Would you like to join me?" She asked, grabbing her coat from the back room and leaving Savannah in charge. They made polite conversation as they walked to starbucks; his name was Dan, he was 28 and worked at the restaurant whist he tried to figure out what he wanted from life.

"Sara's got everything she wanted, see. Our parents always prefered her, the baby of the family. She's a lawyer now and is happily married, unlike me - I don't have 2 pennys to hold to my name; I don't even have a girlfriend." Dan said, sipping his coffee as they relaxed in the back corner of the coffee house. She was about to continue the conversation when her phone vibrated on the table, shocking them both from the intimate moment.

Can't make dinner tomorrow, Mum needs me. Russ, xx. Her mind felt like it was going to explode at the thought; she had gotten up early that morning to go shopping for some special food, and now he was turning her down?

"Listen, considering we're both single do you fancy coming round for dinner tomorrow night? Just as friends obviously." Lily asked, quick to add in the last part. Dan nodded in agreement and she wrote her number on his hand, ignoring the warmth that spread through her entire body. "See you then." Lily smiled, finishing off her coffee and leaving the shop, trying to gather her thoughts.

Authors Note: New story, reviews pls? Much appreciated :) xoxo