I stared at him for a long moment. He was still in his suit from work, meaning he must have rushed from the office when he’d discovered I was here. He dropped onto the living room couch and scrubbed his hands over his scalp. Teddy no longer looked like one of Atlanta’s elite corporate attorneys, descended from Black Georgia royalty and intent on strong-arming me into resuming our relationship. He looked like a scared little boy, realizing that he was in danger of losing something he held dear.
“Yes,” I whispered as I pulled the door to the condo open and wheeled my suitcase through it. His eyes met mine, and the pain in his expression made my heart clench. I had no intention of hurting Teddy, but he deserved to know the truth. “There is someone else. It’s me.”
His lips pressed into a tight line as I pulled the door closed.
CHAPTER TEN
Hey, there,” I whispered as I snuck up behind Dan in the greenhouse. It was the middle of the day and I’d just come from lunch at Erica’s. Dan usually didn’t like to be disturbed while he was working, but it didn’t stop me from doing so almost every day. I’d also come with reinforcements, just in case. “Can I come in?”
“You’re already in, Emma,” Dan said with a chuckle but didn’t turn around.
“You know what I mean.” I took a few steps closer to see what he was working on. He had the head of a rose sliced open on his worktable, and he was looking through the lens of a microscope. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t disturbing you.”
“You, my dear”—he rose from the microscope, picked up his pencil, and scribbled something into his notebook before he turned to face me—“are always a welcome distraction.” He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me into him, brushing our lips together. “How was your day, beautiful?”
“So far, so good.” I smiled against his lips. “And it’s definitely improving.”
“I’m happy to hear that.” His large hand slid to the nape of my neck where he tightened his grip and deepened our kiss. Our lips parted and his tongue slid over mine while he used both hands to caress my back. My eyes fluttered closed as Dan’s kiss carried me away, making me so lost in his embrace that I dropped the bag of muffins I was holding. “Shit, let me get that.” Dan bent down and picked up the brown paper sack.
“They’re from Mavis,” I said breathlessly, pressing my fingers to my lips, which were still tender. “She was my first stop today, and she wanted to make sure that you weren’t working through the day and skipping lunch.” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Guilty.” He chuckled and reached into the bag and pulled out a muffin. “This one’s got a bite taken out of it.”
“I had to taste it to make sure it was okay.” I shot him an innocent grin and batted my eyelashes.
“Well, that was incredibly thoughtful, Emma.” He snaked his arm around my waist and kissed me again. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I grinned at him. “I also got you an avocado, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with french fries from Erica, and…” I made a dramatic show of pulling a thermos out of my tote bag. “I made you some tea.” The thermos full of tea I presented him was from the third batch I’d made, the one that tasted closest to the tea he made for me every day.
“Wow,” he said, eyeing the thermos like it might explode, “you made this? Without any help?”
“Yes, I did.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’ve been watching youcarefully over the past few weeks, and I think I did a good job.” I crossed my arms and nodded with more confidence than I felt.
“I’m sure it’s lovely.” He kissed the side of my head and led me outside. He removed a folded blanket from the back of the tractor and laid it out, and we proceeded to spend a lazy afternoon kissing and eating lunch. I told Dan all about my morning with Mavis, who’d told me stories about my grandparents, while he pretended to like my tea.
“Did you know Mavis is a cancer survivor?” I stroked Dan’s beard as I reclined in his lap, watching him sip.
“I did.”
“And my grandmother took over running her bakery while she went through treatment, and never accepted a penny for it?”
“I did,” he repeated and glanced down at me, his beard twitching with a smile.
“Did you know that Mavis was the first person my grandparents convinced to try medical marijuana, and that the brownies she sells are actually my great-grandmother’s recipe?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Now, that”—he put his cup down before leaning over to kiss me—“I didn’t know.”
“They were such amazing people who did this huge thing that touched so many lives.” I sat up to look Dan in the eyes. “Sometimes I wonder…”
“Wonder what, love?”
“I wonder if I’m capable. What if they made a huge mistake leaving everything to me?”
“They didn’t.” He stroked my cheek.
“How do you know?”
“Because George and Harriet King were two of the cleverest people I’ve ever met. If they chose you, they had bloody good reason.”
