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“Why?” He pockets his hands and stares at me head-on without a flicker of emotion.
“Because it amazes me how the most beautiful flower can blossom from the worst conditions.” I check out my reflection in the murky water. “It seems silly to relate to a flower—”
“It’s not.”
I look up to find his eyes focused on me. The warmth reflecting in them encourages me to open up without worrying about the consequences. “I spent a long time underestimating myself, only to realize I needed to make it past the bad stuff and find the light.”
“Is this the reason you liked visiting the greenhouse?” He stops beside me to get a closer look at the flowers.
“The main one.”
“Any others?”
“You’re looking at it.” I spin in a circle with my arms extended, and my hands brush against a couple of leaves.
His lips press together in a poor attempt to hide his smile. “You’re a crazy plant lady.”
“Please. I haven’t officially earned that title until I have a greenhouse of my own.”
“Do you want one?”
“A greenhouse?”
“Are the pesticides in here getting to your head or are you just struggling to comprehend what I’m asking?”
“Maybe I’m struggling because you’re not asking in the first place.”
His chest heaves from a deep breath. “Would you like a greenhouse?”
“In your backyard?”
“I think we can start calling it ours, seeing as you live there too.”
My mouth opens before shutting again. “You’re offering to build me a greenhouse?”
“If only to save me from tripping over potted plants in the middle of the night when I want a goddamn glass of water.”
“Of course. How silly of me to think you wanted to build one to make me happy.”
“Anything I do is solely for my benefit.” But his grin says the exact opposite.
The warm feeling from his smile follows me as we keep walking through the greenhouse. I take the time to explain all the different plants to Declan. For someone who always seems to be taking the lead, he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered about following me.
As we step out of the greenhouse and blink up at the sun, Declan asks, “Where to next?”
I point toward the trail that will take us around the lake. “That way.”
Together, we walk hand in hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Declan asks me questions about different plants and I answer them, getting far too excited about topics like the difference between tropical and semi-tropical. He asks silly questions, half of which I’m sure are done purposefully to make me laugh.
Seriously, there is no way I willingly married someone who doesn’t know the difference between a succulent and a cactus. He seems confused about how all cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti, and I spend a good hour in the Arid Greenhouse with him, explaining everything I know about the different plants. Not once does he seem bored despite my nonstop chatter.
Declan, a man who doesn’t speak for longer than five-minute spans of time, spoke to me for hours. The idea makes me far giddier than it should.
It’s not until the sun begins to set that Declan steers us toward the exit.
“So, did you ever find them?”
“Who?”
