Blue Dahlia (In the Garden 1)

Even as she hung the basket, he was lifting another, and by merely raising his arm, set it in place. "Showoff. "

"Shorty. "

Hayley came through the doorway, turned briskly on her heel and headed out.

"Hayley. "

"Forgot something," she called out and kept going.

Stella blew out a breath and would've asked for another basket, but he'd already picked one up, hung it. "You've been busy," she said.

"Cool, dry weather the last week. "

"If you're here to pick up the shrubs for the Pitt job, I can get the paperwork. "

"My crew's out loading them. I want to see you again. "

"Well. You are. "

He kept his eyes on hers. "You're not dim. "

"No, I'm not. I'm not sure - "

"Neither am I," he interrupted. "Doesn't seem to stop me from wanting to see you again. It's irritating, thinking about you. "

"Thanks. That really makes me want to sigh and fall into your arms. "

"I don't want you to fall into them. If I did, I'd just kick your feet out from under you. "

She laid a hand on her heart, fluttered her lashes, and did her best woman of the south accent.

"My goodness, all this soppy romance is too much for me. "

Now he grinned. "I like you, Red. Some of the time. I'll pick you up at seven. "

"What? Tonight?" Reluctant amusement turned to outright panic in a fmgersnap. "I can't possibly just go out, spur of the moment. I have two kids. "

"And three adults in the house. Any reason you can think of why any or all of them can't handle your boys for a few hours tonight?"

"No. But I haven't asked, a concept you appear to be unfamiliar with. And - " She shoved irritably at her hair. "I might have plans. "

"Do you?"

She angled her head, looked down her nose. "I always have plans. "

"I bet. So flex them. You take the boys for ribs yet?"

"Yes, last week after - "

"Good. "

"Do you know how often you interrupt me in the middle of a sentence?"

"No, but I'll start counting. Hey, Roz. "

"Logan. Stella, these look great. " She stopped in the center of the aisle, scanning, nodding as she absently slapped her dirty gloves against her already dirt-smeared jeans. "I wasn't sure displaying so many would work, but it does. Something about the abundance of bloom. "

She took off her ball cap, stuffed it in the back pocket of her work pants, stuffed the gloves in the other. "Am I interrupting?"