Seeming to smile at my awkwardness, he stated, “I’m going to show you around Spring Hill and then take you to lunch.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
He escorted me to his black SUV. I noted his license plate number as we approached. Opening my door, he smiled. “You need help?”
Without waiting for an answer, he placed one hand on the smallof my back and took my hand in his, guiding me into the vehicle. I stepped onto the side rail and eased into the buttery leather seat, exhaling as he closed the door behind me. Glancing around, I noticed the clean burgundy-and-black interior.
Sending a quick text to my aunt, I gave her the make and model of the car with the Maryland tags.
“Your car is nice,” I complimented him as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
He flashed me a lopsided grin. “I appreciate that.”
I slipped my phone back into my bag. “This interior is so…” I looked around again, unable to put it into words. “It’s rich.”
“Rich?” He chuckled, pressing the button to start the engine. “I mean, yeah, it cost a little bit extra because it’s custom.”
“I mean, itdoeslook expensive,” I told him. “But I’m talking about rich in color. This shade of red is so beautiful.”
He sat back and assessed me.
Our eyes locked, and initially, I waited for his response. But after a few seconds of silence, we were just staring at each other. His cologne filled my nostrils. I inhaled deeply, realizing how long we’d been looking into each other’s eyes. Inexplicably, I couldn’t look away.
“Bordello,” he said finally.
“Hm?”
“That’s the…” His eyes dropped to my lips. “That’s the name of the custom color.” He tore his eyes from me and put his car in reverse. “You ready to see what Spring Hill has to offer?”
I exhaled. “I’m ready.”
“So, Jazmyn…” He glanced over at me before driving away from Aunt Addison’s house. “What did you get into yesterday?”
“Spent time with my aunt.” I fidgeted with my seat belt. “How was the trip to get plants?”
He let out a dry laugh. “It was cool. They didn’t have what the website said they did, so my mom switched up what she wanted. We were there for a lot longer than we were supposed to be. But it was fine.”
We fell into an easy conversation about his mom’s newfound love of gardening and my aunt’s love of plants in general. I did morelistening than talking, but we exchanged stories of their overzealousness. His mom sounded a lot like my aunt.
“She lost her mind in Richmond.” Lamar laughed. “We went from the nursery to the hardware store and then back to the nursery until she had everything she wanted.” He shook his head as he drove us out of Chance and entered Spring Hill. “I love my mom, but it’ll be good for everyone when I head back.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The longer I stay, the more she finds for me to do. And because Bill threw out his back, she got me doing everything she can think of.”
“Who’s Bill?”
“My stepdad.” He glanced over at me. “You mentioned you grew up in Chance. Are your parents still here?”
I shook my head. “No. Well, yeah. But they spend summers and major holidays in Florida. They’ll be back up this way in August.”
“So they spend their summers at the beach in Florida… and you spend your summers in Chance.” He paused. “Interesting.”
I snickered. “I hear judgment.”
“I’m not judging. I’m observing.”
I pointed at him. “Aren’t you also on vacation in Chance?”
