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That zing of awareness in her middle grew stronger. Did she want to find out? Yes. But should she?
China left Golden Shores behind and headed up the four-lane highway northward. Payton hadn’t said much, seemingly glad to sit back and be chauffeured. He been raised with a cook, did he have a chauffeur, too? He smelled wonderful, sort of like warm earth.
“So where’re we going?” he finally asked.
“To a nursery about ten miles from here. They have the hardiest plants around.”
At least now she could concentrate on what he was saying instead of how good he smelled. She’d never be able to get into her car again without thinking of him. She groaned. His scent was sure to linger for a long time.
“You’re really into plants, aren’t you?” Payton rather liked the way China’s eyes lit up when she spoke of going to the nursery. What would it be like to have China’s eyes shine in anticipation of seeing him? Somehow the challenge and the idea that it could happen gave him a rush he’d not experienced in a long time.
“Yeah, I’m really into plants.”
“Why?”
She jerked her head toward him. Her look was one of shock, as if he’d discovered something he wasn’t supposed to see. What was she hiding?
“I starting gardening as a preteen with a neighbor and it grew from there. Pardon the pun.” She gave him a smile. “I like growing flowers and that turned into growing tomatoes, and then a full garden patch.”
“Interesting.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just that it’s interesting that you turned into a gardener at such a young age.”
“I didn’t know there was an age limit.”
“I’m just making an observation.” Time to change the subject, which obviously had an agenda behind it. “Tell me about your name. Where did it come from?”
“My parents.”
He smirked. “Funny. How did your parents decide on the name?”
“My father said I looked like a china doll. So there you have it.”
“It makes me think of something fragile,” Payton said.
“Don’t be mistaken by my name. I’m no pushover.”
“Believe me, I never thought you were.”
“How about the name Payton? It’s an interesting name.” She made a right turn down a long straight road.
“Oh, I’m from a long line of Paytons. Father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etcetera, etcetera.”
“Sounds impressive.”
“Yeah. There are some that think so.”
She glanced at him. “Not you?”
“I’m proud of the heritage but there is also baggage and pressure that goes with it that I’m not a fan of.”
“Oh, poor little rich boy.”
He made a scoffing noise. “Not funny.”
“Then don’t you mean expectations instead of baggage and pressure?”
How had China managed to read between the lines so clearly? He couldn’t seem to get his parents to understand why he’d had to get away. Why he had to find his place in the world. Janice certainly wouldn’t understand. His name and position had been what had drawn her to him in the first place. It hadn’t been true love. The type that stayed with you through thick and thin, in health and adversity. After his illness he had to know that someone wanted him for himself and not his family name.
“Yeah. Expectations.”
“I know about those, too,” she said, so softly that he almost missed the words. “Okay, here’s the nursery.”
China drove into the packed sand lot and parked. Payton grinned as he stepped out of the car. She was already picking out a child’s red wagon that sat among six near the door of a long half-moon shaped building with black netting covering it.
“You pull and I’ll pick.” China lifted the handle, indicating it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I was ordering you.”
“I don’t mind taking orders.” The smile she gave him was one of relief. Where had she gotten the idea that she wasn’t allowed to speak her mind? He took the wagon handle. “What’s this for?”
“To put the plants in.” She left off the “dummy” her tone had implied and headed off through the door, leaving him to follow. Payton couldn’t remember feeling more out of his element. He’d never been to a plant nursery or been so completely dismissed by a woman for something as mundane as a plant.
He grinned, looped his fingers through the hole of the handle and went after her. This was one more of those new experiences he’d hoped for. He seemed to have a number of them when he was with China. They started down the rows of tables filled with green plants and then up the one with flowering plants. They all looked the same to him.
As they went China’s cheeks took on a rosy hue in the heat.
She stopped and looked at him. “I have some suggestions, but do you know anything you might want?”
He was clueless but he’d never admit it. “I’ll trust your judgment.” And he found that he did.
Payton watched has China moved though the sea of plants in an almost butterfly method. She flitted from one plant to the next, picking up this one and putting it on the wagon, discarding the next and moving on down the line. In no time the wagon was full and she was leading them to the door.
Falling behind, he called, “Hey, is this like going to war? Where you can’t speak in case the enemy might hear us?”
She stopped and looked back at him. “What?” Her look implied that she’d almost forgotten he was there. He didn’t like that idea at all.
Stepping closer, into her personal space, he asked, “Remember me?”
She blinked, her eyes going wide. Good, at least she knew he was alive.
* * *
China stepped away. Payton had been too close. Near enough for her to smell his warm masculine scent with a hint of spice.
“Of course I know you’re here.” She went back to looking at the plants. “I don’t see any Crotons or Hawaiian ti so I need to ask. It would be perfect in the living area and any rooms that face the same direction.”
“Like my bedroom.”
Payton might not have intended the words to come out gravelly and suggestive but they sounded that way to her.
His bedroom. What was it like? As beautifully decorated as the rest of his home or had he put his own stamp on the space? She didn’t think she’d ever know. That was one place she didn’t plan to explore.
“We have to find the plants that can handle the direct light. If they don’t have them here we can go to another nursery that I know of, if you have time.”
“I’ve got all the time in the world.” He acted as if he was perfectly content to do whatever she asked until an unsure expression covered his face for a second. He quickly smiled again. Had he been thinking about having cancer and how close to death he’d been?
“I’ll pull these to the checkout counter while you find someone to ask about the others.”
A few minutes later China joined him. She was here with Payton. That thought gave her a warm glow. “They don’t have what I’m looking for.”
“Then off to the next place we go.”
“It’s about a half an hour up the road,” China said as she pulled out of the parking lot.
They road in silence for a while before Payton asked, “Have you lived in this area all your life?”
“Born and bred here.”
“Ever thought of moving?” Payton asked.
“Not really. My parents are here. My sister also.”
“I have a sister, too.”
“Really? You close?”
“We were at one time. At least, until I moved down here.”
China waited on a car so she could make a left turn. “My sister and I went tw
o different directions a long time ago.”
“Why’s that?” Payton asked. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was studying her profile.
“When my brother ran away at sixteen it changed everything.” Why had she told him that? That was one subject she didn’t discuss with anyone and certainly not with someone who was almost a stranger.
