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“I thought not,” she said, a smile playing on her lips. “So, what did you decide on?”
“Enchanted Florist,” he said.
“It’s whimsical.” she said. “I like it.”
He smiled. He’d been a little uncertain about the name. He’d been waffling back and forth for weeks between that and something more direct. Realizing she seemed to be waiting for him to continue, he added, “I’ve got a little bit of cosmetic work to do in there. Painting, patching, stuff like that, but I should be open by next week if all goes well”
“I can’t wait to see it. The paint is really dark now. I hope you’re changing that. You’d want something more muted on the walls, right? So the flowers stand out? The blue is kind of depressing.”
He cocked an eyebrow and said, “My sister said the exact same thing when she saw it. She made me look through no less than sixty paint swatches. I think we decided on toasted sesame, whatever the hell that is.”
“It’s gotta be better than powder blue,” she said. “I’m going to go back inside now. You may want to think about some sun screen. You’re a little red and it looks like you’ve got a ways to go.”
“Sad thing is, I used SPF 70. It’s the curse of the fair-skinned.” He walked over to the cooler and grabbed the can of sunscreen next to it. He proceeded to spray it over his arms and chest, then sprayed his shoulders.
She gave him a look of pity and said, “You missed half of your back. Pretty much the entire sunburned part. May I?”
He held the can out to her, and said, “Please do.”
When she took the can from him, he turned around so his back faced her. As she sprayed him, it stung a little bit on his lower back. He’d probably already done some damage there.
When the cool stream stopped he turned around and took the can from her. “Thanks,” he said.
“No problem. Your lower back is gonna peel, probably,” she said, making a face.
“I’ll live,” he said, setting the can down beside the cooler again.
“You’re probably right,” she said. She gave him a small wave as she walked toward the door on the roof and then said, “See ya.”
He gave her a slight nod and said, “Later, Princess.”
He continued to watch the sway of her hips. Even hung over, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she was fucking gorgeous. Her blue eyes and lightly tanned skin seemed to contrast with her dark red-brown hair. She was curvy in the best possible way.
When she rolled the eyes in question and went back inside, he laughed. He continued to watch the door for a moment after she’d gone back inside. He had the feeling that she was going to be trouble of the most interesting kind.
By 5:30 the greenhouse was up and he’d moved the rest of his tools in. He briefly considered the idea of a rooftop garden. His father had never been keen on growing vegetables, but Evan kind of liked the concept. God knows he had a million books on the subject. Maybe a small herb garden, some garlic. A few small, hearty plants.
Clearing the trash from the installation off the roof, he lugged it down to the Dumpster. He continued to consider the rooftop. It could be a nice place to entertain. He could see adding a deck table, a grill, some seating, and some lights. It was already coming together in his mind.
He was planning to continue living here for the foreseeable future. He should probably invest in it. He really liked the idea of putting down roots. He’d moved to Seattle after college, but it never quite felt like home. When his sister mentioned one of her patients was planning to sell her business, he’d been interested. After he found out the building was included in the assets, he’d jumped at the opportunity.
He’d originally thought that he’d demo the top floor of the building and turn it into one single living space, but Connie Weatherly was a tough old bird. She told him in no uncertain terms that her renter would be staying until she wanted to leave.
At the time he’d been mildly disappointed by that. He’d wait it out though. So, maybe for the next couple years he’d live in the apartment as is. It would be worth it in the end. Essentially he’d bought a home and business all in one.
As he walked back upstairs he realized two things. He was hungry and he really needed to shower. Using his smartphone, he found a Chinese place close by and placed an order for some sweet and sour shrimp, fried rice, and an egg roll.
Walking into the bathroom, he stripped out of his clothes and noticed that he was indeed sunburned. Turning the water on cool, he let it warm up for a second and then stepped under. He hissed at the initial shock, but his body quickly adjusted. He stood under the cool stream until some of the sting left his back, then washed quickly.
He slid into a pair of gym shorts, opting to skip the shirt. Taryn had been right. His lower back was probably going to peel. He rifled through the boxes of bathroom items until he found some burn spray. Uncapping it, he sprayed some on his lower back and waited for the numbing effect.
As he was rinsing his hands, he heard a knock on the door. Perfect timing, he thought. Grabbing his wallet, he opened the door and found Taryn standing there holding a brown paper bag.
He looked at her for a moment, curiously. Uncertainty must have been written on his face because she said, “I think this is yours. The delivery guy showed up at my place. I don’t think he spoke much English because when I told him I didn’t order anything, he looked confused. He called someone, I think maybe to translate. I gave up and just signed for you.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“Don’t thank me. I strongly considered keeping it. That smells really good,” she said, grinning. “You’re just lucky I was already making dinner.”
