Winning Her Heart

I hope he doesn't mind the walk. Fortunately, though, he seems to be enjoying it. I try to think of other things that we can talk about. At least I know why he doesn't believe in love. I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt.

Each person reacts differently to it, though. When I got cheated on, I’d taken it as a lesson. I guess his response was to shut it and all his emotions out and throw himself into his work.

Chapter 9 - Gabriel

I follow as Lorelai leads the way down the sidewalk. Her red hair is still gleaming brightly, even in the dim moonlight. I wonder if I can still see her freckles? I shake my head and tell myself to get a grip. No time to get mushy or romantic now.

I'm thrilled that she wanted to spend more time with me, but I'm worried that we might be trespassing. It doesn't look as if this garden is open to the public, especially at night. I'm all for taking risks, but it seems a little out of character for sweet, innocent Lorelai to trespass.

Come to think of it, I have never noticed this garden before. I guess I’ve never had a reason to until now.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" I ask her.

She opens the gate and lets us inside. "It's fine. I'm here all hours all the time,” she assures me.

After a few seconds she lets out a giggle. “What's so funny?" I ask her.

She turns to explain to me. "One time I did get in trouble for being here. But I explained to them that I owned a bridal shop and was scouting locations for pictures and events."

I’m a little shocked and impressed. It's such an innocent lie, but it's still a bold, unexpected move from her. It’s fascinating to listen to her talk. I get the sense that she doesn't do this very often. It’s actually refreshing, the shameless honesty she’s shown so far.

She’s shared personal things, serious, heavy stuff, which is vastly different than the usual women I'm out with. All they talk about, if they ever get around to it, is their possessions or money. I suppose I kind of open myself up to that with the auctions, but I guess I didn’t realize before now how sick of it I am.

I'm enjoying this. Aside from Tim, and my ex, I don't think I’ve ever had such a genuine conversation with someone. Without all the flattery and pickup lines, it’s actually quite nice. We’re so wrapped up in our conversation that I didn't even notice that we’re inside the garden already. I stop talking and turn to look around. It really is beautiful, especially in moonlight. I've never seen anything like this.

She leaves my side and walks around the garden. Her delicate hands touch different flowers, pointing them out to me. "Gardenias,” she murmurs, trailing her fingertips over a lush white blossom, "Stargazer lilies, and over there are some peonies. And here’s a tiger lily…”

I hurry to walk behind her, looking at the ones she just named. They’re all lovely, even if they don’t hold a candle to her. "How do you know about all these different types of flowers? Is it just that you’re here a lot?”

She keeps walking, but slows her pace. She half turns to me so we can talk better as we walk. "Well, it's funny but, I always wanted to own a flower shop. Naturally I had taken courses in botany and design, but I just never got around to pursuing that. So the knowledge is still there, it just collects dust most of the time.”

Wow, I never would have expected to have attended college. She still looks young, maybe only a few years out of high school. That's what gives her that innocent look, I suppose. I wonder briefly what she was like in school?

I tell myself to stop thinking that and get back into reality. I can't get more deeply involved with her than I already am. That's ridiculous. That's not what I set out to do tonight, yet it feels like that's what's happening. I need to fight these feelings.

Against my better judgement, though, I look at her. I want her to keep talking. Her voice is soft, but entrancing. I feel like it’s drawing me in. Making me want to hear more about her. To know her even more. Or maybe that's just her very essence, magnetic and making me crave more. Her eyes still manage to light up in the moonlight as she looks at the flowers. She obviously cares about everything that she does.

She starts talking again and I eagerly listen, "I’ve always kind of dreamed of expanding my shop and adding floral services to it as well. That's only a dream, though. It would be way too expensive to make it happen, trust me I've looked into it."