If they could be bothered to help at all.
My mouth was suddenly dry. I shook my head as if to clear it, but it didn’t do a bit of good. Something had changed between us. The air was thick with sexual tension.
“Want some coffee?”
He nodded and took a seat at the table. Calliope, the traitor, trotted after him, curling around his ankles. I watched in awe as she climbed Mac like a tree and settled in his lap.
For the first time in my life, I kind of wished I were a cat.
“I’ll get all the windows done today. The weather proofing foam smells a bit, so I’ll try and do that from outside.”
“Thank you. What do I owe you?”
I looked up and he was watching me.
“For what?”
“The supplies.”
“Nothing.” He grinned at me. “I can afford to buy a lady some caulk and weather stripping.”
The man had perfect teeth, stark white against the swarthy tan of his skin. He looked smooth-shaven, but I could see the hint of a five o’clock shadow. I wondered if it would scratch my skin when I kissed him.
If I ever kiss him, I scolded myself. It’s not going to happen, Sussy.
I brought over his coffee and a mug for myself. I sat down across from him, not quite sure what to do with myself. I could go back to work. Or, better yet, find something to do outside so I was less distracted.
Mac lifted a tomato from the bowl on the table. I’d had a mini-photoshoot for my ‘Suzanna’s Seeds’ Instagram account that morning. The latest batch of heirloom tomatoes was perfectly ripe, with great colors. He stared at it, then sniffed it with a perplexed look on his face.
“It’s a purple sky gazer.”
“A what?”
“It’s a tomato,” I said, suddenly put at ease by the adorably confused look on his face.
“You’re joking.”
I shook my head, taking the purple- and white-striped tomato to the kitchen and giving it a quick rinse. I sliced it open carefully, scraping away the seeds from half of it for preservation. I cut the rest into bite-sized portions. Then I grabbed two forks and brought the rest over to the table.
“It’s better with salt,” I said. When he nodded, I sprinkled a little sea salt on top. Then I handed him a fork.
He took it and speared a bite. I couldn’t help but stare at his perfect lips as he tasted it. He closed his eyes in pleasure, and I almost had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I had a feeling my panties were down there too. The man was far too sensual to be around. I wondered whether he was deliberately trying to seduce me or if it was just natural.
I quickly looked away and took a bite myself.
“I’ve never tasted anything like that,” he said. “It’s so… tomato-y.”
I giggled, but I knew what he meant.
“Store-bought kind of tastes like cardboard, right?”
He nodded, taking another bite.
“It would be a shame to put this in a salad.”
“Ah, but it is delicious with mozzarella. Or you can toss it with basil and watermelon.”
I smiled with pride as I said, “I have heirloom watermelons growing too.”
“It’s not the season.”
“A greenhouse makes all things possible.”
He stared at me in that disconcertingly direct manner. He ran his thumb over his lip while he was staring at mine. I audibly gulped and stood up, hastily looking for something to do.
“I need to… um… outside,” I said as I grabbed a work apron off a hook by the door. I trotted out to the garden, feeling like a complete ninny. I was a complete ninny.
The man had me absolutely tongue-tied.
I headed right for my safe space, the greenhouse. Inside, it was warm from the sun, and the air was full of the smell of rich, damp earth and growing things. I had an ancient patio table in the center, with low shelves lining each wall for supplies, with plants and seedlings on the top shelf, at about waist-height. I quickly checked on some sprouts, misting them before carefully covering them again with a sheet of transparent plastic to keep them extra-cozy. They were out of the direct sun, under my potted lemon and avocado trees. Those were my favorite two foods, other than heirloom tomatoes and garlic shoots. I checked on the bulbs I was forcing early as well, garlic and onion for myself, as well as a few heirloom varieties of daffodils and tulips.
I was thinking of branching out into bulbs and tubers if my business kept growing the way it was. Slowly and surely, just like a garden. All it took was hard work, love, sunshine, and a little bit of luck.
It was twenty minutes later before I realized what I had done.
I’d left him alone. In my house. Not that I expected him to rifle through my drawers or anything, but there was a chance there were panties under the bed.