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I feel eons better than I did yesterday. My skin isn’t as flushed and the cramps aren’t as bad.
That sore spot between my shoulder and neck has grown worse, though.
I make a mental note to talk to Charlotte later and ask her exactly what she gave me.
Wilson leads me downstairs, and we eat breakfast again outside in the garden. This time, Beau joins me, giving me his signature kind smile as he sits down with his own plate.
His massive frame barely fits at the small café style glass table, and I fight a laugh as he squeezes himself into the chair.
“Morning, beautiful,” he murmurs, his foot brushing against mine under the table. “I heard a rumor you’re my sidekick in the garden.”
I blush. He’s as handsome as ever in his college sweatshirt and faded jeans, his hair slightly mussed.
I want to kiss him.
I nod. “I talked to Grey last night. Thank you so much for offering me this.”
He chuckles, his eyes bright with delight as he flashes me his dimples. “You love it here, I can tell. There’s no one else I’d rather have.”
My stomach does a flip.
After we finish breakfast, we start in the greenhouse, shutting the door and leaving a reluctant Wilson to glare at us.
“Heknowshe’s not allowed in here,” Beau adds, as he hands me a small trowel and gloves. “He’s been acting up since you’ve arrived.”
I laugh. “I think he’s just spoiled,” I say.
“Charlotte prepares him a fresh breakfast every morning, so yes.”
I grin.
We work side by side, pulling up garlic, cutting heads of broccoli, collecting herbs, and filling up baskets of produce.
“I really love doing this,” I say. “I haven’t felt this calm in a long time.”
Beau nods. “You’re nurturing a living being,” he says. “It takes a certain amount of care and respect. You know they couldn’t survive without you, and that’s a powerful thing.”
I still, but he continues his work, moving from one planter bed to another.
“That’s a sweet way of looking at it,” I murmur finally.
He looks back at me and nods. “It may be sweet, but it’s true. You give something what it needs to thrive, and suddenly you become their world.”
The air shifts with tension. I squirm under his gaze, unsure how to respond.
But he turns back to work on a trellis of snap peas. “I didn’t have a lot of friends as a kid,” he admits. “I was teased a lot for being so scrawny.”
Which is insane, because he’smassive.
“James was my foster brother, but he could only protect me so much from other kids. So, I spent a lot of time alone, outside. I picked up a book on gardening and the rest of history.”
My heart aches.
I try to imagine Beau being bullied as a child, yet still turning into the kindest, most gentle person I know.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
He shakes his head. “Nah. It all worked out in the end. Besides, now I have a pretty girl as my gardening partner.”
