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Authors: Kelly Lucille
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him, questions had pushed out the fire of desire enough he knew she would probably not be up to more of the same just then. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!
She studied him with something moving in her eyes and he let her, knowing his face was back in his perpetual scowl and not doing a damn thing to soften it. Yes, his fucking reaction was extreme but if she asked him if he was fucking okay he was going to put his fist through the fucking fiberglass wall. That would go over really well.
Emma sucked in a breath to speak and he waited for her questions with clenched jaw.
"Coffee should be ready," she said quietly. "Let's get you some, me some tea, and then we can come back and I'll show you how to transfer the plants."
Noah clenched his teeth harder, making the words sound forced. "You think caffeine will cure what ails me?"
Some of her usual humor returned to her eyes, even as her cheeks pinked with her words. "I think after that phenomenally hot kiss; I need to settle my nerves a bit before jumping straight into teaching you the plant business." She smiled that teasing smile of hers again, her eyes twinkling with it. "Getting you some clearly much needed caffeine is just a bonus."
And just like that Noah felt the tension drain out of him. He blew out a hard relieved breath. Then he almost smiled. His lip quirking up just a bit as he met the humor in her eyes with his own much rustier version. "Hot kiss?"
" Phenomenally hot kiss," she corrected him. Making big eyes at the same time to emphasize the word phenomenally.
He chuckled. A minor fucking miracle that. "The girl make good coffee?" he asked, taking Emma's hand to pull her away from the wall, and liked the feel of it so much in his, that he kept it while they headed back to the garden center.
"Um," Emma said and he looked at her to see she was looking at their clasped hands, a pretty rose hue back in her cheeks, as they walked around the tables toward the exit. She cleared her throat and met his eyes, hers apologetic. "I drink tea," she finished by way of answer.
Which probably meant no.
"Right," he muttered. Scratching coffee into a high priority slot on his mental to do list for that afternoon.
At his tone Emma chuckled softly, tipping her head a bit so that it briefly rested against the side of his arm as they walked hand in hand, as if she was sharing the laugh with him through osmosis.
It set him up for the day better than coffee ever could.
CHAPTER SIX
Sitting in Noah's truck, with Noah driving on their way to visit with Hannah, Emma had to admit the day had been a surprise. From the amazing kiss in the morning, the strange emotion fraught end to it, and then the rest of the day, working with Noah in the greenhouse transplanting. He was not wrong. He learned fast. He also had big hands and a whole lot of muscles that made some jobs, like bagging and hauling compost and soil conditioner, easy, and others, like working with the fragile newly sprouted plants she was re-potting, not so much. But he persevered, through that looking at first ill at ease and then as he got the hang of it strangely satisfied with the work. It was a good look on him, much better than the thousand yard stare he occasionally had.
They had lunch with Lucy. Emma made sandwiches from the cold cuts she kept in the fridge, while she tortured Noah with more childcare. It gave Paige a chance to take a lunch, and Emma another chance to giggle at Noah’s reaction to feeding Lucy. Later Noah met the other three employees that worked under Margo while he helped her out restocking the more ungainly stock.
Louise was in her late fifties, had what Hannah referred to as an old lady fro and wore polyester pants with elastic waist bands exclusively. She had also been a master gardener for over thirty years and knew everything there was to know about gardening. She looked Noah over and shook her head dourly.
"Oh, honey," was all she
She studied him with something moving in her eyes and he let her, knowing his face was back in his perpetual scowl and not doing a damn thing to soften it. Yes, his fucking reaction was extreme but if she asked him if he was fucking okay he was going to put his fist through the fucking fiberglass wall. That would go over really well.
Emma sucked in a breath to speak and he waited for her questions with clenched jaw.
"Coffee should be ready," she said quietly. "Let's get you some, me some tea, and then we can come back and I'll show you how to transfer the plants."
Noah clenched his teeth harder, making the words sound forced. "You think caffeine will cure what ails me?"
Some of her usual humor returned to her eyes, even as her cheeks pinked with her words. "I think after that phenomenally hot kiss; I need to settle my nerves a bit before jumping straight into teaching you the plant business." She smiled that teasing smile of hers again, her eyes twinkling with it. "Getting you some clearly much needed caffeine is just a bonus."
And just like that Noah felt the tension drain out of him. He blew out a hard relieved breath. Then he almost smiled. His lip quirking up just a bit as he met the humor in her eyes with his own much rustier version. "Hot kiss?"
" Phenomenally hot kiss," she corrected him. Making big eyes at the same time to emphasize the word phenomenally.
He chuckled. A minor fucking miracle that. "The girl make good coffee?" he asked, taking Emma's hand to pull her away from the wall, and liked the feel of it so much in his, that he kept it while they headed back to the garden center.
"Um," Emma said and he looked at her to see she was looking at their clasped hands, a pretty rose hue back in her cheeks, as they walked around the tables toward the exit. She cleared her throat and met his eyes, hers apologetic. "I drink tea," she finished by way of answer.
Which probably meant no.
"Right," he muttered. Scratching coffee into a high priority slot on his mental to do list for that afternoon.
At his tone Emma chuckled softly, tipping her head a bit so that it briefly rested against the side of his arm as they walked hand in hand, as if she was sharing the laugh with him through osmosis.
It set him up for the day better than coffee ever could.
CHAPTER SIX
Sitting in Noah's truck, with Noah driving on their way to visit with Hannah, Emma had to admit the day had been a surprise. From the amazing kiss in the morning, the strange emotion fraught end to it, and then the rest of the day, working with Noah in the greenhouse transplanting. He was not wrong. He learned fast. He also had big hands and a whole lot of muscles that made some jobs, like bagging and hauling compost and soil conditioner, easy, and others, like working with the fragile newly sprouted plants she was re-potting, not so much. But he persevered, through that looking at first ill at ease and then as he got the hang of it strangely satisfied with the work. It was a good look on him, much better than the thousand yard stare he occasionally had.
They had lunch with Lucy. Emma made sandwiches from the cold cuts she kept in the fridge, while she tortured Noah with more childcare. It gave Paige a chance to take a lunch, and Emma another chance to giggle at Noah’s reaction to feeding Lucy. Later Noah met the other three employees that worked under Margo while he helped her out restocking the more ungainly stock.
Louise was in her late fifties, had what Hannah referred to as an old lady fro and wore polyester pants with elastic waist bands exclusively. She had also been a master gardener for over thirty years and knew everything there was to know about gardening. She looked Noah over and shook her head dourly.
"Oh, honey," was all she
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