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“Mo, but I’ arden”
I throw myself out the back door and onto the patio before she can say anything else to stopchildish but unable to take the higher road I want to do soful with my career, with my life, but most of the time it feels like I’m the only person who believes I’m capable And what drives ht
2
Vera
I feel like a cloud of bad energy follows as I head toward the garden to try and get so in my chest, but it’s hard How can ainst ht now, too, since I’ve been ht sends another pang through my chest, and more than a little panic
The grounds of our house are huge for LA, but I’ve ed to claiarden with a mix of roses and wildflowers, plus a few neatly-tended rows of spices and vegetables that I give to Gregory when I can Working outside and helping things grow has always brought me a special kind of peace and cal of happiness I get when I’ht now
Because I’ve been busy stressing aboutother potential en fir to be ato do It will be perfect
I retrieveand head over to ht blue when I was insunwashed, cracked and beautiful I push past the gate and look around, analyzing where the most desperate work is needed…except there isn’t any
The garden is iht, and my flowers have been pruned There’s fresh dirt around some of the plants and I can still see the damp places where they’ve been watered The air huffs out of me like a blow to the stoarden Whenever I’m home I make sure to tell them to let me do all the work It’s less for them to do and stress relief for me
After the rejection and the argument withcare of arden by what may have been just a fewof betrayal froer I’ve been holding in I leave rounds The caretaker is here so to arden but me
Coives us privacy, I see the telltale blue polo of one of our caretakers He’s watering the flowerbeds at the edge of a fountain, and I can’t see which of our staff it is since he’s facing away from me
“Hey!” I call out to him, but he doesn’t turn He’s next to the fountain, soover to him and tap him on the shoulder “Hey Are you the one who did work in the private garden?”
He turns around, and allleave ht flies out of ardener
I have a hard ti to take it all in and alsoI’ht? Tan skin, dark hair, dark eyes, and ar out of that stupid polo the company makes them wear If the rest of his body is like his arms…damn
“Private garden?” he asks, confusion written all over his face
Oh Right I’arden “Yeah” I say, trying to forarden that’s fenced off No one on the staff is supposed to take care of it It’sit hard to be mad anymore, and to be honest I can’t fault what he did there His as flawless, and I wonder if his work in other areas is equally flawless Wonder if he’s as good with his hands as he see down What is wrong with me?
“I’m sorry,” he says “I didn’t know I’m…new”
I nod, resigned to the fact that in with This isn’t aboutout of ood job But you don’t need to do anything in there from now on I like to do it”
He gives me a smile in return, and I feel my pulse kick up a few solid notches “I’ht, and I’ll remember that The plants just really looked like they wanted some attention” I could swear his eyes stray down ined it
“How bad was it?” I ask
“It honestly wasn’t too bad A feeeds here and there, so terrible,” he says, his eyes warm “First time back in a while? Maybe you were away on vacation, or…?”
“I wish” I run a hand through my hair in frustration “I’ve actually been busy with these job interviews and stuff It’s all I think about And then today…” I gesture blindly toward the house, unable to put into words the conflict with er I can’t believe I’ all of this “Anyway, I was just hoping to blow off some steam,” I finish “I’m Vera” I hold out my hand, which he takes
A hot jolt runs through h and calloused I can feel“I’m James London,” he says “Nice to meet you”
I nod, reluctantly letting go of his hand “Nice to meet you, too”
I look back toward the house, and see someone at the patio doors It’s been only a fewout to check onto a caretaker and s to waste it I look back at James “Do you need any help?”
His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline “You want to help me?”
“Well, I was going to work in arden But since I can’t…” I smile
“Right” He laughs a little nervously “Well, sure I still need to water all of the flowers here, and add so”
“That I can do” Mywith James, and I have no doubt she’
ll tellable to look at someone this hot and piss off my parents at the same time? This is a priceless opportunity
He hands me the hose, and I aim it at the flowers I definitely, definitely watch hi I wasn’t focused on his ass when I was about to yell at him, but now that I look…yeah I didn’t think it was possible to be attracted to a guy’s ass I guess this proves that theory wrong
When Jas of soil on his shoulder The shirt they gave hi up as he walks, affording ht abs I’m about to call up that company and say thank you The skin I see is tan and toned, and suddenly I realize that he’s looking at round and not the flowers
I look away, a flush of e over my whole body
He sets down the bags by the flowerbed I’ and newly planted flowers “So, Vera” I think I hear a smile in his voice, but maybe he talks to everyone that way “What kind of jobs are you applying to?”
“Architecture”
“Following in your dad’s footsteps?” It’s so unexpected that I look over at him He says, “I knoho your father is”
“Yeah…” I clear my throat “His line of work isn’t exactly what I’m interested in” I move on to the next flowerbed
“What are you interested in?”
Part of e me just as harshly as my friends and fa to make conversation “Ultimately I’d like my work to be humanitarian Hopefully soht away, but I’d like to be part of a firlance over at hi to read his reaction