Page 111 of When Love Takes Root

His hand warmed mine again. “I don’t need you to be who you were before grief. I’m not trying to date a ghost of your old life.”

My breath caught.

He continued before I could respond. “And I’m not asking you to trust me because I sound good under flowers. Watch me. Let your children watch me. Let time tell on me. I’m not scared of consistency.”

My chest filled until breathing took effort.

“Do you know how attractive that is?” I asked.

His smile came slow. “You flirting with me, Ms. Coleman?”

“I might be.”

“Under mood lighting?”

“With tea.”

“And charcuterie,” he added.

I laughed, and that time, nothing in me tried to punish the sound.

After we finished eating, he led me through the conservatory with my hand tucked in his. We wandered deeper into the conservatory beneath orchids, herbs, and citrus trees.

“Plants send electrical signals too,” he said near a wall of climbing jasmine.

I looked over at him. “Now you’re just trying to make everything about your trade.”

“No, listen. Plants respond to touch, light, injury, water, all of it. Not like us with nerves, but they communicate. Roots talk through chemical signals. Trees share resources through fungal networks underground. Whole systems helping each other survive where nobody can see.”

I stared at him.

He glanced down at me. “What?”

“You’re fine.” His steps slowed. “And smart,” I added. “Which is honestly inconvenient.”

His smile turned wicked around the edges. “Inconvenient?”

“Very. I was prepared to resist broad shoulders. I was not prepared to resist plant science.”

He laughed, and I loved that I had caused it.

We stopped near a lemon tree tucked beside a stone bench. A few lanterns hung above us, spilling warm light over his face. He reached up and brushed a stray loc away from my cheek, his fingers grazing my skin with the same care he had used before our first kiss.

“You having a good time?” he asked.

I nodded. “Too good.”

His thumb rested near my jaw. “That scare you?”

“Yes.”

He nodded once, accepting it without making me defend it. “Still want to be here?”

“Yes.”

His eyes lowered to my mouth.

“Can I kiss you?”