❝my sister’s favourite person❞
pairing: kimi antonelli x florist!reader
summary: a chatty girl starts showing up at your family flower shop every single day and, for some reason, decides you'd be the perfect match for her older brother.
warnings: fluff, love at first sight, maggie playing cupid, gorgeous kimi (obviously), brief mention of annoying men 🙄
a/n: i loved every single second of writing this 🤭 i really hope you all enjoy it too.
ଓ english is not my first language, be kind.
ALL YOU EVER WANTED was to rest your head on the counter and have a three-hour nap.
Your family’s flower shop is on a completely deserted street corner. Seriously, nobody ever passes by there. And when the bell above the glass door finally rings, signalling some sign of life, ninety per cent of the time the scene is the same: a man, his eyes fixed on his mobile screen, clearing his throat before asking for ‘anything red that looks expensive’. They never buy them out of affection. They buy out of guilt, after forgetting their wedding anniversary, or to avoid spending the night on the sofa. And, to make your mood even worse, they almost always complain about the price of the roses or spend the five minutes whilst you’re cutting the stems venting about how ‘women are far too complicated’.
You simply smile, tap the card machine, hand over the bouquet, and silently hope those women break up with their partners.
At first, she was just a passing figure after school hours. A little girl, no older than ten or eleven, clutching the straps of her heavy rucksack with both hands, slowing her pace until she came to a complete stop in front of the shop window. She'd stand there with her nose almost pressed against the glass, utterly mesmerised by the yellow tulips.
On the third day, she finally gathered the courage to push the door open. "Do they need lots of water?" Was the very first thing she asked, without even saying hello, pointing straight at the yellow tulips.
You couldn't help but smile. Patiently, you explained how much water they needed, how to keep the soil moist, and how much sunlight they liked.
The next day, she came back with more questions. The day after that, you decided to cut a particularly vibrant pink dahlia and held it out to her.
"A little gift for my most loyal customer of the week," you said.
The girl's eyes lit up so brightly that you thought she might actually jump with excitement.
From that moment on, your own little desert found its soundtrack.
Maggie was a force of nature — chatty, endlessly curious, and bursting with energy that never seemed to run out. Yet she was remarkably polite, with a level of manners you rarely saw in children her age these days. She looked you straight in the eye when she spoke, asked for the scientific name of every plant in the shop, and wanted to know why rose thorns grew the way they did.
Quickly, Maggie’s visits became the highlight of your day. Her parents, realising that their daughter had found a safe and wholesome refuge amongst the flowers and conversation, gave her permission to spend that sacred hour there after school. The arrangement worked perfectly: she would walk in, fill the shop with stories about her teachers, her lunch and her history essays, and at half past five sharp, a car would turn up to pick her up.
It wasn’t just any car. It was always a luxury sports model, a car far too posh, far too expensive for your circumstances — or for anyone you knew. The driver, the girl’s father, would simply give a gentle double-beep from the kerb; Maggie would give you a tight hug and rush to get into the back seat.
On a mild Tuesday afternoon, Maggie's stream of words was moving even faster than usual. She was perched on the tall stool beside the till, swinging her legs as she watched you arrange a bouquet of lilies.
"…and then mum said I couldn't have chocolate before dinner, but my brother secretly gave me a piece because he's the best, even though he can be a bit grumpy when he has to wake up early," Maggie rattled on, only pausing to take a breath. She rested her chin in her hands, staring at you with an almost comically serious expression as she studied your face.
"You know something? You're really pretty. Like… really, really pretty."
You let out a quiet laugh, wiping the sap from your hands with a cloth.
"Thank you, Maggie. That's very kind of you."
"No, I'm serious. You look like a model," she insisted, with the peculiar certainty only she could have. Then, completely out of nowhere and as naturally as if she were asking about the weather, she leaned forwards.
"Do you want to date my big brother?"
You nearly dropped the bunch of lilies onto the floor. Your eyes widened, and you blinked a few times, trying to process what she'd just asked.
"Why not?" Maggie pressed, pouting in genuine confusion at your immediate rejection. "He'd think you were beautiful! And he's not dating anyone right now, so there's nothing stopping you from dating him. He's really nice, I promise."
You smiled awkwardly, shaking your head at your little friend's boldness.
"Maggie, sweetheart, I don't even know your brother. And I don't think people just start dating because someone's little sister decides to play cupid."
"But he's famous!" She argued, as though that were the final piece of evidence that settled the matter. "Everyone knows who he is. If you look him up online, there are loads of pictures of him wearing those weird racing clothes and holding trophies."
You simply shrugged, returning to tie a satin ribbon around the stems of the lilies. You'd heard her chatter before about her brother being a racing driver and famous, but you'd never paid much attention. You didn't watch motorsport, you didn't follow celebrity news, and since you didn't have social media, the name Kimi meant absolutely nothing to you.
Other than the fact that he was the older brother of this adorable girl.
"Famous or not, I don't really care about those things, Maggie," you said gently, a smile tugging at your lips. "Your brother probably has far too busy a life to be pushed towards the florist by his very chatty sister."
Maggie didn't look remotely convinced.
She hopped off the stool, adjusted her rucksack as the familiar, elegant horn of a luxury car echoed from outside the shop window. She walked to the door, but before pushing it open, she turned back to you with a mischievous, determined grin.
"Fine. Have it your way," Maggie sang, holding the handle. "But I'm going to introduce him to you anyway. One day I'll bring him here, and you'll see I was right! Bye!"
♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡ • ♡
Two weeks had passed, and you had almost forgotten the solemn promise Maggie had made at the shop door. After all, the days remained grey, the counter continued to accumulate dry leaves, and the customers were still the same men buying roses out of sheer guilt and complaining about the price.
The clock struck exactly five o’clock in the afternoon when the bell above the door not only rang, but seemed to herald an event. Maggie came in first, practically skipping, her brown hair swinging and a grin from ear to ear that gave away the fact she was up to something.
"I told you I’d bring him!" She exclaimed, her childish voice echoing through the silent room.
Just behind her, the glass door was pushed open by a large hand with long fingers. A boy stepped into the flower shop, and when he looked in your direction, it felt as though the air had been sucked out of your lungs for a whole second.
You tried to remain professional, but the shock was inevitable. He really was handsome. His honey-coloured eyes mesmerised you. He was dressed simply, in a dark jacket and a plain t-shirt, but his bearing and the way he filled the room made it seem as though he belonged somewhere completely different from that plywood counter.
What you didn’t realise, however, was that the shock on the other side was exactly the same.
Kimi stopped a few steps away, his eyes fixed on you. For weeks, he'd had to listen to Maggie chatter nonstop over breakfast about "the perfect flower girl", who gave her dahlias as gifts and seemed to know everything about the world. He had expected to find a kind elderly woman or, at most, an ordinary girl. But seeing you standing there, surrounded by green leaves, with a few loose strands of hair falling out of place and a genuinely surprised expression, completely disarmed the driver. You were breathtakingly beautiful, with a natural, fresh beauty that felt completely removed from the world of appearances and plastic he was used to living in.
For a moment, silence filled the flower shop, broken only by Maggie's attentive, eager gaze as she looked back and forth between you and her brother, waiting for the magic to happen.
"Hi." Kimi broke the silence. "I'm Kimi, this little brat's older brother."
You let out a genuine laugh, immediately feeling your cheeks grow warm. To your own despair, you felt your heart jolt inside your chest, beating much faster than normal. You felt silly, like a teenage girl having a meltdown over a handsome guy, but his presence was far too magnetic to ignore.
"Nice to meet you, Kimi." You replied, stepping out from behind the counter to stand closer to them. "I'm ____. Your sister is adorable."
"I suppose she is." Kimi gave a small, relaxed smile.
The conversation flowed with a surprising ease for both of you. There was none of the irritating rush of the men in suits who usually came into the shop, nor any need to impress one another. While you talked about how Maggie had learnt to take care of tulips and how she had become the shop's most important customer, Kimi simply watched.
He was completely enchanted. Not only by your voice or your beauty, but by the way you moved through the space, with a gentleness and calmness that seemed to numb the exhaustion of his day. But what truly meant the most to Kimi — what genuinely warmed something inside his chest — was the way you treated Maggie. You looked at the little girl with genuine affection, answered all of her ridiculous questions without the slightest hint of condescension, and treated her like a real friend. In his world, where everyone either wanted a piece of his fame or only came close because they wanted something from him, seeing someone treat his little sister with such purity and devotion felt almost like a miracle.
Maggie, meanwhile, was on the verge of bursting with excitement. She folded her arms, narrowed her eyes at the two of you with a knowing smile, analysing every exchanged glance and every shy laugh. In her mind, Cupid's plan was working perfectly. You were going to fall in love — she was absolutely certain of it.
"Well," Kimi finally said, clearing his throat softly, although he clearly didn't want to end the conversation. He looked around at the buckets of flowers surrounding you. "Since we're here, I suppose I should buy something. I don't want to leave Maggie's favourite flower shop empty-handed."
"What were you thinking of getting?" You asked, walking over to the displays of fresh flowers.
"I'd like a really beautiful arrangement for my mum." He said, pointing towards a few classic flowers that matched the style he had in mind. "And…" He looked down, meeting his little sister's bright eyes. "…what would you recommend for my tiny co-driver?"
Maggie let out an excited squeal, wrapping her arms around Kimi's waist. You laughed at the sight, feeling that pleasant flutter in your stomach all over again.
"For Maggie, today it'll be yellow tulips… They suit her." You said, carefully picking the prettiest flowers from the bucket and trimming the stems to the perfect length.
You arranged the bouquets with practised skill, feeling Kimi's eyes burn into your hands as you tied the ribbon around them. When you handed over both bouquets — the elegant one for his mother and the tulips for the little girl. Kimi's fingers brushed against yours as he passed over his bank card. It was only a brief touch, but it sent a shiver down your spine.
Kimi didn't complain about the price. He paid with a grateful nod, slipped his wallet away, and looked straight into your eyes.
"Thank you for the flowers. And… for looking after her every day." He said, with a sincerity that made your heart skip another beat.
"You don't have to thank me. It's the best part of my day." You replied, and you weren't lying.
Kimi gave you another one of those crooked smiles, gently patted Maggie on the shoulder to signal it was time to leave, and walked towards the door. Maggie followed straight behind him, but before stepping outside, she turned back, pointed at her brother, then at you, before making an extremely obvious heart shape with her hands and winking. Kimi, slightly embarrassed, simply tugged her away by the back of her rucksack.
The door closed, and the sound of the luxury car's engine echoed outside as they drove away. You remained standing behind the counter for several long minutes, still holding the tea towel, wearing a hopelessly silly smile that simply refused to disappear.
The following days took on a completely different colour from the usual grey that surrounded your little corner of the street. Kimi kept showing up. Almost always at the same time, parking his luxury car outside. But unlike his father, he didn't simply honk the horn. He got out, pushed open the glass door, making the bell chime overhead, and stepped inside to tell his sister it was time to go home.
Later on, somewhere between conversations with the little girl, you eventually discovered why he had been around so often: formula one was on a short break in the racing calendar. That was why he was home, enjoying some time with his family before travelling the world again to race fast cars.
And it was on one of those mild afternoons that your routine changed completely.
"Please, please, pleeease!" Maggie begged, leaning over the counter with both hands clasped together, her wide brown eyes wearing the most perfectly calculated pleading expression an eleven-year-old could possibly manage. "It's just a trip to the shopping centre! Kimi will drive, we'll have some gelato, and you can help me choose my new trainers… Please!"
You glanced at the clock on the wall, then out at the empty street. The flower shop was completely dead, just as it usually was. You hesitated, looking over at Kimi, who was leaning against the tiled wall beside the ferns with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. He wasn't saying anything to pressure you, but there was an amused sparkle in those absurdly expressive eyes as he watched his little sister's performance.
"Maggie, I still need to close the shop, tidy the buckets…" you began, stumbling over your words as you desperately clung to your safe little bubble.
"I'll help carry the boxes if you promise you'll come." Kimi interrupted, his gentle voice carrying an almost teasing challenge, accompanied by a crooked smile.
Looking at Maggie's impossibly adorable face, your resistance crumbled completely. You let out a defeated sigh, laughing at your own lack of resolve.
"Alright. You win. I'll close early today."
Maggie's victorious squeal almost made the gerbera petals tremble.
The outing turned out to be surprisingly light-hearted, with nothing awkward or uncomfortable about it. At the shopping centre, you found yourself immersed in Maggie's pre-teen world. You spent well over an hour wandering from rack to rack through department stores, helping her put together outfits that were stylish but still appropriate for her age, and the three of you spent ages debating which pair of trainers was the perfect one — eventually settling on a beautiful pair that was colourful without being over the top, making Maggie practically strut through the shopping centre afterwards. Kimi walked just behind the two of you, carrying all the shopping bags without a single complaint, simply watching the dynamic between you with that attentive, genuinely warm look that kept making your stomach flutter.
After shopping, you all headed to a gelateria. Sitting by the window, sharing different flavours of gelato, conversation flowed effortlessly. Kimi laughed at Maggie's sarcastic comments about school, and every now and then he'd tease her just enough to make her stick her tongue out at him. More than once, you caught yourself watching his profile beneath the shopping centre lights, the way he seemed so relaxed away from the spotlight, and you still couldn't believe just how handsome he was.
The highlight of the day, however, came as you were walking towards the car park. Maggie stopped abruptly in front of a jewellery shop window, pointing excitedly through the glass.
"Look at that one!" She exclaimed, nearly pressing her nose against the display. It was a delicate necklace with a tiny butterfly pendant, its wings shimmering softly in a colour that shifted depending on how the light caught them. Maggie turned to you, completely enchanted. "It matches your eyes perfectly. Doesn't it, Kimi?"
Kimi stepped closer, narrowing his eyes to study the necklace in the display before shifting his gaze directly to your face. His stare lingered long enough to make your cheeks burn.
"It does." He agreed, his voice coming out a little quieter, never taking his eyes off yours. "We'll take it."
"No, honestly, you don't have to…" you began, instinctively taking a step backwards as your shyness took over.
But Kimi was already pushing open the jewellery shop door. It took a long time before you finally agreed. You argued that it was too expensive, that it was unnecessary, that you couldn't possibly accept such a gift, but the combined persistence of the two siblings proved impossible to resist. Maggie used every pout and promise of good behaviour she had, while Kimi simply handed his credit card to the shop assistant with infuriating calmness, saying only, "She's taking it." In the end, you gave in, holding the little gift bag with trembling hands and your heart beating in your throat.
Later that night, the silence of your bedroom felt like the perfect setting to process everything that had happened. You placed the bag on top of your chest of drawers, took a long shower, and changed into your pyjamas.
Before going to bed, your eyes drifted towards the little black jewellery box, now resting outside the bag. Carefully, you unclasped it and lifted the butterfly necklace out. Standing in front of your wardrobe mirror, you gathered your hair with one hand and, with some difficulty thanks to your returning nerves, fastened the clasp behind your neck.
The pendant settled just below your collarbone.
You let your hair fall back into place and simply stood there in silence, looking at your reflection beneath the soft glow of your bedside lamp. Your fingertips brushed the cool metal of the butterfly. Maggie had been right, and so had Kimi. The subtle shimmer of the butterfly's wings truly brought out the colour of your eyes in a way you'd never noticed before.
You smiled foolishly at your own reflection, your mind replaying the image of those honey-coloured eyes looking at you…
God, you couldn't possibly be falling in love.
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