Everlasting

Thayer's ( Stepping ) eighth novel is a disappointment, a lightweight, predictable fairy tale of a young woman's success in business and in love. When 17-year-old Catherine Eliot decides not to attend college, her cruel, cold, socialite parents cut her off completely. With the support of her grandmother Kathryn, whose mantra is ``It will come to you,'' Catherine stumbles into a job at a small New York City florist's shop--inadvertently discovering her true vocation. After three years, she blackmails an old pal of her dad's for enough money to buy the business. Her daring new ideas, sense of elegance, and social connections make Blooms the hottest floral emporium in Manhattan. Catherine and Harvard law student Kit Bemish fall in love; he's already engaged, though, and obeys his parents' command to marry. Work and an affair with her Blooms partner distract Catherine until Kit reappears in her life. Blooms expands as Catherine and Kit produce two perfect children and see her younger siblings safely into adulthood. Fairy grandmother Kathryn leaves her estate, Everly, and its extensive gardens to Catherine. With handsome knight Kit and her beauty, brains and independent spirit, it's never in doubt that this superficial (though likable) heroine will live happily ever after. Literary Guild dual main selection. (Mar.)