Strip Search (Tap That)

Axl snorted. “I’m not sure what won Leighton over, to be honest. I’m not charming.”

“It was your dance moves,” she told him, amused. It was true. She’d seen him up on that stage and while it was not instant love, it was sure in the heck instant lust.

“Oh, shit,” was Axl’s opinion. “I’m lucky you even gave me the time of day then.”

Leighton wasn’t sure if he was serious or not. He had to know he looked good without his shirt on. But if anything, she hadn’t believed he was serious about talking to her. “Axl bought me a drink and I refused to take it.” It was weird talking about this when they weren’t actually engaged. Or even dating. Yes, they’d had sex. But they weren’t together. But she wanted Axl, and Bill, to know that Axl had proven himself a nice guy right from the beginning.

“Actually,” she said. “The dancing caught my attention, but his kindness is what stuck with me.” She eyed him, but he was looking at the photos on the wall. So she turned to Bill. “He saved me from a panic attack.”

Axl cleared his throat. He looked embarrassed. “All right. Let’s go see this garden.”

“Take a compliment from your lady, geez.”

“He’s not that kind of guy,” Leighton told Bill. “It’s okay. He is romantic, though, whether he wants to admit it or not. He brought me here, didn’t he?”

What Leighton could admit was that she liked Axl as a person. She liked that he wasn’t bragging or patronizing or full of charming platitudes. He was the very definition of what you see is what you get. It was very appealing.

She wasn’t sure what she was going to find in the back yard, but when she spotted the arched trellis dripping with pink roses, she felt her heart squeeze. Yep. Axl was a romantic. “Oh, Bill, it’s beautiful,” she said.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he told her, pride in his voice as he stepped off the back porch and started across the grass.

Leighton could see that in the distance, beyond the trellis, was the lake, dark and sprawling. The arch of the roses seemed to be framing a structure but it was hard to see because the density of foliage created a blanket of green and pink. The second they stepped under the arch she realized why. It wasn’t a simple trellis. It was a series of trellises creating a hallway of roses. They were all around, a tapestry of perfumed blooms, encapsulating her in a cocoon of flowers. It was a veritable tunnel of roses. She gasped and turned in a full circle, and up above her, looking up in amazement at how the roses were carpeting the ceiling. Or rather, creating a ceiling.

“This is fantastic.” Running her fingers gently over some of the open blooms, she felt Axl’s eyes on her. Turning, she saw raw lust on his face. It made her gasp a second time because of the sheer raw desire in his expression.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She could see he wanted to kiss her, and that if Bill weren’t with them he would. Moistening her bottom lip, she looked away, unable to shield her feelings under that intense scrutiny. “Is this a greenhouse?”

There was a glass doorway at the end of the ten feet or so of roses.

“Yes, come on in.” Bill opened the door. “This was Soon-ja’s favorite spot. She would read in here for hours.”

When Leighton followed him inside, she could see why Soon-ja would want to spend time there. It was like a fairytale. The entire greenhouse was constructed of old wooden windows. There were lights strung across the ceiling and several comfy couches and chairs with pink cushions. But the most extraordinary thing was the flowers.

They were growing everywhere. In pots, in boxes, on trellises. Among the flowers were whimsical water features burbling away. All the flowers were varying shades of pink, from the palest pink to a rich magenta. Leighton touched a bloom in awe. “Rose of Sharon.”

Bill was standing with his hands on his hips and his jaw was working a little. Leighton realized how emotional it must be for him given that he had just lost his wife. “Good eye,” he told her. “Rose of Sharon is the national flower of South Korea and I wanted something to remind Soon-ja of home. But turns out Rose of Sharon can’t grow outside in Minnesota. Too damn cold here to survive the winter. So I started collecting old windows at garage sales and flea markets and garbage picking. In two years I had this greenhouse put together. Then we just started growing and it kept getting bigger and bigger. Now it’s this.”

“It’s magical,” she told him. “Seriously magical.” Leighton reached behind her and snaked her fingers through Axl’s. There was a lump in her throat and she wasn’t sure what to say to him but she wanted to convey her appreciation for him bringing her there.

“Like I said, Leighton loves roses,” Axl said, squeezing back. “That’s why I wanted her to see this.”

Bill didn’t answer. He just went to the opposite end of greenhouse from which they’d entered and opened a set of double doors. It framed a perfect view of Lake Superior.

“Wow,” she said for the second time. She went to the open doors and found a little deck extending off the back of the greenhouse with yet more roses framing either side of the wooden platform. She could smell the water along with the heavy scent of all the flowers. The air on the deck was cool after the humidity of the greenhouse and she stood there for a minute, doing a full 360 degree turn. “This is perfect. We’ll stand here,” she said. “I’ll walk up through the roses. Chairs here in the greenhouse. It will be tight but we can make it work. We will only have immediate family at the ceremony. The reception can be bigger.” She could see it easily. It required barely any work, which was important on their timeframe.

She turned to Bill. “That’s of course, if you don’t mind us getting married here. I don’t want to intrude on your special place.”

In fact, she felt a little weird having a fake wedding in a place that celebrated a lifelong love. She didn’t want Soon-ja haunting her from the afterlife. Which frankly, she would have every right to do.

“Of course you can get married here. I don’t even come in here anymore. I have a gardener who takes care of the flowers now, but I can’t bring myself to spend time here. It’s a waste if no one is using it.”

That made her feel a little better. If he sat there every day she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to violate his space like that for the very mercenary reason of saving her job. “Thank you. We’ll be careful and respectful with the space.” She turned to Axl. “I mean, if you want to get married here.”

The look he gave her made her nipples harden and a warm sensation pool between her thighs. He was undressing her with his eyes and it made her both completely aroused and flustered.

Seeing in her a garden should not be a turn on. That it was made her feel about as sexy as she ever had in her entire life.