Slowly, she wandered over to the fountains.
Crew trailed behind and stepped up beside her. Even though he was staring at the concrete fountain, she felt his attention on her. “That was a really cute birdhouse.”
She blinked. “The ladybug?”
“Yeah.”
“It is!” She clamped her lips shut again, determined not to embarrass him. “You probably think I’m insane, getting excited about a birdhouse shaped like a bug.”
He turned his head. She turned hers too. Their gazes locked.
“I love your enthusiasm, Fern. You were born for this job. Your parents even knew it when they named you.”
The air bottled in her lungs gusted out, and with it, a puffed laugh. “That means a lot to me.”
“What do you say about getting some photos of these items you like?”
“Great idea.” She pulled up her phone camera and Crew followed her around while she snapped photos of the options. “I can print the photos and create a presentation board for Willow. Maybe we can even put it up in the lodge for everyone to get a feel for how it will look.”
“They’ll love it.”
The way he said it, gritty and low, made her wonder if they were talking about the garden anymore.
When they got back in the truck, another one of her favorite songs was on the radio. It always got her moving, and she tapped her foot. Seeing her response, Crew turned up the music and started belting out the tune, a country lilt in his tone that brought out the meaning of the words.
With a laugh, she joined in with her own less than perfect voice, and a dozen songs later, they reached the greenhouse.
One look at the glass walls and her morning forced its way back—the objects in places sheknewshe hadn’t left them.
Crew put the truck in park.
She gripped the bag containing the security system. “Were you serious about installing the security system for me?”
Any spark of amusement in his eyes cooled. “I’m serious.”
She wasn’t wrong about his beard. In only a few hours, the shadow on his angular jaw had sprouted to full-on stubble, which made her fingers itch with the desire to run her fingers over it. To find out if it was soft or coarse.
While she definitely needed the security system for her own peace of mind, there was more to her question. If she was honest, she wasn’t ready to end their time together. She liked Crew. But was she ready for more? She hadn’t gained her independence all that long ago.
But who said they had to jump into a relationship? She could just throw herself into his lap and kiss him like she wanted. She could skim her fingertips along his jaw and learn the rasp of his stubble.
“You want me to follow you to your place?” he asked, jolting her from her thoughts.
“That’d be great.”
She climbed out, bag in hand, and gave him a smile before she closed the truck door. He watched her unlock her car and slide behind the wheel with the intensity of a man who’d take a bullet for her.
Fighting the throb that had started low between her thighs, she drove to her apartment and led him up the flight of stairs. Showing him around her apartment took all of two minutes.
“The place is much bigger inside than it looks on the outside.”
She spun to face him. “Yes! That was the real selling point for me.”
When they reached the kitchen, she spotted the dirty mug in the sink…and familiar panic crashed over her.
She froze, muscles locked for a heartbeat. She darted forward and switched on the water. She squirted dish soap in it and grabbed the dishcloth to quickly wash the mug. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have left that there. I’ll just—” She scrubbed the cup much harder than necessary.
Silence throbbed in the air. Then a big hand reached across her and switched off the faucet.
