“They are cool. String gardens are essentially balls of soil held together with moss and string rather than pots. They aren’t difficult to make once you understand the process, and I actually give a free class once a month. This month’s class is on Wednesday evening, if you’re interested.” Lizzie had at least a dozen string gardens hanging from the ceiling, and not only were they a great conversation starter, but they fed right into her love of creating unique plantings. She explained the process of making a string garden to the couple, and before leaving, they bought two of her favorite plants and signed up for her class.
After they left Lizzie had an onslaught of customers. She was on her feet all day, and by the time she closed the shop, she was running late to meet Blue. She leaned her back against the door, the heaviness of fatigue suddenly settling in. She was so tired, she wouldn’t have her wits about her tonight, and it had taken every bit of her strength to stop kissing Blue last night. If they kissed tonight—and boy did she hope they would—she might not be able to stop.
She had a good feeling about Blue. Being with him was not just easy, but he’d looked at her like she hung the moon over the sea when they were on their walk, and she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had looked at her like that, if ever. She wanted to get closer to him, but at the same time, she knew she needed to keep her distance. Maybe she should cancel their date. It’s not a date.
Her mind traveled back to the look in his eyes when he said he wasn’t going to walk away from her, not after that kiss. That kiss. The kiss that left her head spinning and her body turned on in places she didn’t know could be turned on. If he could do that with one perfect kiss, what would it be like to go further? To feel his mouth traveling down her neck as his hands caressed her naked skin? Her breasts? A thrill rushed through her at the thought.
She grabbed her purse and fished out her cell phone, mulling over the idea of canceling before she got in too deep. She noticed she’d missed a text from Blue, and her heart leapt despite her concerns.
Are we still on for our friendly outing tonight?
Her webcast aired tonight, and she liked to watch the first few minutes to make sure there weren’t any technical issues, but she could do that on her phone in the privacy of a bathroom while they were out. She didn’t want to cancel seeing him. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
She replied with a quick yes before she could change her mind, silently praying that there would be no technical difficulties to deal with. There rarely were, but it would be just her luck to have something go wrong this evening. She pushed away the nerve-racking thoughts and retrieved the flowers that hadn’t sold, debating what she’d do with them. Lizzie didn’t believe in wasting anything and gave to others as often as she could. That was why she dropped off the goodies she baked for her webcasts at the homeless shelter on the way to work the mornings after she filmed. When it came to doing something with the flowers that hadn’t sold and would soon wilt, she had several options, but today was cemetery day.
Her phone vibrated with another text from Blue. Great. Looking forward to getting to know you even better. See you in twenty mins?
The truth was, she wanted to get to know him better, too. Her chest tightened with the reality that there was a whole side of herself that she couldn’t share with him or anyone else, but just this once she wasn’t going to let that stand in her way. She’d had a great time last night, and didn’t she deserve just one more night out with a friend? It’s not like she was going to jump in the sack with him—even though the idea had run through her mind a thousand times today.
If he really wanted to get to know her better, why not start right now? She typed in a quick response.
I’m running late. Sorry! Heading to Shore’s Edge Cemetery before going home. Meet me there? She sent it off and gathered the flowers in her tote. As she walked out the door, she realized she was way too excited to be going to a cemetery—and she really needed to get her emotions in check now, because as she found out last night, getting her emotions in check around Blue was not an easy feat.
Lizzie pulled into the parking lot of the cemetery and parked beneath an umbrella of trees. She gathered the tote of flowers she’d brought, and as she stepped from her car, Blue’s truck pulled into the lot. A shiver of delight ran through her as he parked and stepped from the truck with that sexy smile that made her forget to keep her distance.
“This wasn’t what I imagined when I asked you out, but I’m game.” He pressed a hand to the small of her back and kissed her cheek. He smelled fresh, as if he’d just showered, which made Lizzie realize that she hadn’t.
She’d been so intent on getting to the cemetery—and seeing Blue—that she hadn’t slowed down enough to think about proper dating etiquette.
Way to go, Lizzie.
This isn’t a date.
Maybe not, but it sure felt like one.
“I can’t believe you came,” she said honestly.
He stepped in closer, sucking all the air from the space around her.
“You don’t think I’d pass up time with you, do you?”
She inhaled a jagged breath, filling her lungs with his fresh, manly scent, and smiled, which was about all she could muster at the moment. This was definitely a date. She may have been able to fool her mind into accepting the offer, but her body knew the difference.