words made Cecilia sound as unromantic as they came, and she was a great businesswoman. But one who’d managed to bring romance right to the heart of her working life through her instigation of this year’s masked-ball event. Not to mention all the flowers she stocked for Valentine’s Day, and the flowering maze she had designed and nurtured to fruition.
‘Given your track record over the last six years, I have no doubt that the Valentine’s Day trade will exceed all expectations.’ He made the comment matter-of-fact, but his thoughts were not pragmatic.
She’d been in a relationship a few months ago. His brother Brent had mentioned that it had ended.
So she’s single.
Why would Linc even consider her availability?
She may be hurting and still love the guy.
‘Thank you.’
For a moment Linc didn’t know what she was thanking him for, and then he remembered. He’d paid her a compliment. A business one, about her ability to do a great job as plant-nursery manager.
Which was true.
‘You’re welcome.’
They moved between rows of gardening supplies, through arrays of flowering plants and herbs, potting mix and foliage. Linc began to find his focus again, and the colour in Cecilia’s cheeks returned to normal.
So it was fine. He’d been foolishly carried away—imagining things, nothing more. Flights of fancy weren’t Linc’s style. He would make sure it didn’t happen again.
Cecilia’s love of her work shone through more and more as she talked avidly, explaining the progress and plans that related to each area.
‘What’s happening in that shed?’
He asked the question as they walked towards a shady path, far into the back section of the nursery. Access to the shed was gained through a locked gate. There were no customers to be seen or heard, and it truly felt secluded and private.
In fact, it was the perfect setting for a man to steal a kiss. Assuming that a man would choose to do something so unprofessional.
So much for him returning his thoughts to nothing but business.
‘I’ll show you.’ Cecilia led the way to this final shed on the property and unlocked and opened the door. The tour with Linc had proved productive so far, but she had been oh-so-conscious of him the entire time.
This sharpened interest towards Linc needed to stop.
She felt a moment of nervous anticipation as she prepared to reveal this part of the business. It was working well, and she was proud of it, but what would Linc think of the concept?
‘I hope you’ll approve of this aspect of the nursery.’ She tried to imbue nothing but confidence into her tone as she went on. ‘This is where I work on my repurposing projects. I get some of my best ideas for the future direction of the business when I’m working here, too.’
With this statement carefully delivered, and avoiding the thought that she also came here when she missed her sister the most, Cecilia glanced about the area.
Sunlight streamed through skylights in the roof into a large open-plan area that housed projects in various stages of completion. Old boots with creepers growing out of them...a rocking chair that had been painted orange and black, its seat area filled with a large planter of pumpkin vine... Demand for this kind of repurposed item was growing.
‘I didn’t know about this.’ Linc’s gaze moved about the area before it returned to her. ‘How long have you been doing this work? Where did you get all these items?’
He wouldn’t realise it, but the sun coming through the skylight above had cast his profile into sharp relief. Every strong feature and every subtle nuance was there for her to see. Right down to the length of his dark eyelashes and the way they curled slightly at the ends. And the shape of his lips...
Cecilia struggled to remember his question. He’d asked something about where she got the items for refurbishment. It was one of her favourite aspects of the plant nursery, which showed how easily being around Linc could throw her completely off her guard.
‘I find items in all sorts of places.’
She took a step to the side, to break that particular view of him. It was as though she’d jumped back through time six years and all her past awareness of him as a man had returned.
Actually, it hadn’t—because she saw him now with a history of working in his employ for six years. She saw him with more maturity. With more certainty in her interest in him...
‘I started this operation about four months ago.’
Soon after she’d realised she needed a distraction and a way of letting out her emotions, thanks to the implosions going on in her personal life.
She simply couldn’t feel a renewed attraction to Linc, let alone a deeper one. Because— because business and that sort of pleasure didn’t mix. Because she had enough to deal with in her life without trying to take on a romance. Because she’d learned the hard way, when Hugh had disappeared from her life without a backward glance, that you just couldn’t trust romantic attachments once ‘real life’ interfered with them!
Most of all because Linc had rejected her overtures all those years ago. Remember? There was no earthly reason why he’d feel any differently now.
‘Any time I’m out and about I visit garage sales and junk shops...thrift stores and car boot sales.’
Perhaps if she made herself sound like a lonely single girl with a craft obsession, she would embarrass herself out of being so conscious of him.
‘All the items are ridiculously cheap to buy,’ she continued, ‘and people leap at the chance to purchase the end product—the repurposed item. There’s good profit to be made, and the items appeal to the style of visitor who comes here to tour the maze. Jemmie features them online, as well.’
His strong hands lifted a pottery urn from the bench. It had a chunk missing from one side. ‘So a buyer will pay top dollar for this?’
‘Once the urn has herbs growing in it, or maybe some flowering cacti, you’ll be surprised how quickly it will be snapped up.’
She took the urn from his hands, held it up to the light. She ignored her fanciful thoughts and how it felt to stand so close to him, to measure her smaller frame against his taller, stronger one.
Get over it, Cee. Get over it right now!
Cecilia went on to tell Linc about her repurposing timetable, and then led the way back through the nursery acreage to the maze, quickly showing Linc the upgrades she’d had done to the fruticetum at the centre of it. Its circular arrangement combined colourful blooming potted shrubs with evergreen native species.
‘Clever work.’ He made the declaration the moment they stepped into the central area. ‘Those shrubs grouped all around the edges of the circular space will add to the air of mystery for the masked ball.’
She gestured
