He could see his point.
The back acreage of the garden was open and he didn’t like it.
The chances were very unlikely that a car or a van would drive through it, but with everything else going on at Club Bandit he didn’t want to risk it.
“I talked with Ivy this morning.They can’t wait for the anniversary dinner.”
“Yeah a lot of people are looking forward to it.Xander called and asked if I wanted the name of his seafood guy,” he laughed, grinning.
“Did you tell him yes?”
“I don’t say no to Xander Montague, love.”
“You are smart that way, Master,” her eyes lit with amusement.
Zee kept working, listening to Ella hum a few bars here and there as she, with one hand, tugged at burlap covering a bush.
This time he couldn’t leave her to it and went to help her.
They worked in companionable silence as they moved on to the next bush and then Zee grabbed a rake and started raking the debris on the ground.
He wasn’t a gardener and this wasn’t how he wanted to spend the last couple of hours he had before leaving but he wanted to give Ella a chance to get out to her garden because she was going to miss it for the week he was away.
“There’s so much to do.”Ella reached down and tugged at the covering on one of her beds.
“Maybe I should see if there’s a service sub with a green thumb who wants to volunteer.”
“A young model with plenty of energy?”
“Or just one who doesn’t hate gardening,” Ella waggled her eyebrows at him and he laughed.“It’s sweet of you to spend time with me out here but you didn’t have to.”
“I want to make you happy, Ella.”
“I’m not unhappy, Master.”She turned and looked beyond their property line and he wondered what she was thinking.“Ivy also said that Gabe is in Montreal for some kind of training thing he’s running.Maybe you two can have dinner.”
“I’d like that.”He’d like it more if she was with them.“Ella, Madison has to come home within the next three weeks, something to do with her visa.At least she had her passport with her, so I guess it wasn’t all that impulsive.”
“I wonder if she had a bag packed.”
“Probably.”Zee brushed off a fleck of dirt that was on her shoulder.“And Annie will have a few days off then too.”
“What are you proposing?”She tilted her head to him, her lovely smile spreading across her lips, making him feel young for a moment, here where it was just the two of them.
“That we go on a trip, just the four of us.”
“The girls want to?”
“I don’t care if they want to or not, I’m going to make them.Annie will need the break.Madison will be so happy that I didn’t cut her off.”He was teasing but the words came out gruffly.
“You’d never.”Ella reached up and cupped his chin in her palm.“You arenotyour father, Zee.”
“I know, dear heart.You made me see that all those years ago.But that kid of ours doesn’t need to know that.”
Ella laughed and shook her head.“Maybe this once, I’ll let you scare her, just a little.But I think it’s too late.They know you’re a softie.”
Zee spun around and draped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck, until she giggled.
He wanted to spend more time with her in her space but glancing at his watch, he had to go.He had a plane to catch.
