"We. "
"Had to call in the troops. " She stepped into the shower. "Took Harper with me, then had Logan and Stella swing by as reserves later in the day. I put in the nicest four-season perennial garden. Looks sweet now, and in a few weeks the early daylillies will pop, and the wild indigo, then it'll move right into the spirea and ladybells, the meadow sage and foxglove. Harper started this gorgeous purple clematis on a copper trellis and put in a trio of oakleaf hydrangeas. Then when Logan got there . . . "
She trailed off, stuck her head out, hair dripping. "I'm boring you senseless. "
"Not at all. I may not know what you're talking about, but I'm not bored. You sound revved. "
"I am. I'm going by tomorrow morning for some final touches and to present her with the final bill. She may faint, but she's going to wow her in-laws. "
"You never did give me an answer about that plant for my apartment. You know, feng shui. "
"No, I didn't. "
He waited five seconds, heard nothing but water running. And laughed. "Guess that's answer enough. You know, I'm fairly intelligent and responsible. I could be taught how to care for a plant. "
"Possibly, but your track record's ugly, Mitch. Just ugly. We may discuss a probationary period. I threatened to hurt Cissy if she didn't maintain what I did over there. I heard her talking to Logan about hiring him to come in twice a month to deal with it. And that's fine. We should all be self-aware enough to know our limitations. "
"You water it. You put it in the sun. I can do that. "
"As if that's all there is to it. You want to hand me a towel?"
She shut off the water, took the towel he handed her, and began to dry off. "We've been so busy at work I've barely been able to knock two thoughts together about anything else. Stella's wedding's right around the corner, too. And I know there are things that need my attention in this project. "
He watched as she slathered on cream, as the scent of it mixed with the scent of her soap. "We'll manage it all. "
"Winters fly by now that I've got the business. A lot more to do over the winter than people might think. And here we are, into another spring. I can hardly believe it's . . . "
Her eyebrows drew together, with that faint vertical line between them. Falling silent, she carefully replaced the top on her cream.
"Just hit you, didn't it?" he asked.
"What would that be?"
"The two of us, right now. " He stayed where he was as she moved by him into the bedroom, as she opened a drawer for fresh clothes. "End of the workday, talking over the shower. It's all very married, isn't it?"
She slipped on cropped gray sweats, tugged a T-shirt over her head. "How do you feel about that?"
"Not entirely sure. A little nervous around the edges, I guess. Amazingly calm at the center. What about you?"
She rubbed the towel over her hair as she studied his face. "Getting married again wasn't just not on my radar, but top of my list of things to avoid. Such as poisonous snakes, frogs dropping out of the sky, ebola viruses, and such. "
He smiled, leaned on the doorjamb. "I heard past tense. "
"You have good ears. I fell in love once, very young. And when I fell in love, I married. It was very good, and I'll love John Ashby all of my life. I'll see him in the sons we made together, and know I wouldn't have them if we hadn't loved the way we did. "
"People who can and have loved like that are fortunate. "
"Yes, we are. At one time I was lonely. My boys were going their own way, and the house just seemed so empty, so quiet. I was sad, under the pride of seeing the young men I'd help create, I was so damn sad. "
She walked back into the bathroom to hang the damp towel, then opened her daily moisturizer to smooth it over her face.
"I needed something to take that away, or thought I did. I wanted someone to share the rest of my life with. I picked someone who, on the surface, seemed right. That mistake cost me a great deal. Emotionally and financially. "
"And because of that, you'll be very careful about another marriage. "
"I will. But I'm in love with you, Mitchell. " She saw the emotion rush into his eyes, and what a thrill it was to see it, to know it was there because of her.
She saw him start to step forward. And stop himself, because he knew she wanted him to wait. Another thrill, she thought, to be so well understood.