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"Have a wonderful time"

"She sure didn&039;t look like anybody&039;s mother," Stella said under her breath

What would she look like in twenty years? Hayley wondered

She studied herself in the mirror while she rubbed Vitamin E oil over her belly and breasts Would she still be able to fix herself up and know she looked good?

Of course, she didn&039;t have as rand at Roz helped her understand just what thatas Roz, or as eye-catching as Stella, but she looked okay She took care of her skin, tried out the azines

Guys were attracted

Obviously, she thought with a self-deprecating smile as she looked down at her belly

Or had been Most guys didn&039;t get the hots for pregnant women And that was fine, because she wasn&039;t interested inthat mattered was her baby

"It&039;s all about you now, kid," she said as she pulled on an oversized T-shirt

After cli up her pillows, she reached for one of the books stacked on her nightstand She had books on childbirth, on pregnancy, on early-childhood developht

When her eyes began to droop, she closed the book

Switching off the light, she snuggled down "&039;Night, baby," she whispered

And felt it just as she was drifting off The little chill, the absolute certainty that she wasn&039;t alone Her heartbeat quickened until she could hear it in her ears Gathering courage, she let her eyes open to slits

She saw the figure standing over the bed The light-colored hair, the lovely sad face She thought about screa, just as she did every time she saw the woman But she bit it back, braced herself, and reached out

When her hand passed through the woman&039;s arm, Hayley did let out ain bed and fu it I&039;m not!"

Stella cli basket for display After looking over last year&039;s sales, crunching numbers, she&039;d decided to increase the number offered by 15 percent

"I could do that," Hay ley insisted "I&039; to fall off a stupid stepstool"

"No chance Hand onias"

"They&039;re really pretty So lush"

"Roz and Harper started -volurowers like Roz and Harper, we can do them in bulk, and our cost is low These are bread-and-butter plants for us"

"People could make up their own cheaper"

"Sure" Stella clieraniuh to resist all this color and bloo on their own, have a hard ti apprentice, sell"

"So we&039;re putting these baskets everywhere"

"Seduction Wait until we move some of the annuals outside, in front All that color will draw the custo perennials too"

She selected another basket "I&039;ve got this Page Roz, will you? I want her to see these, and get her clearance to hang a couple dozen in Greenhouse Three with the extra stock And pick out a pot One of the big ones that didn&039;t move last year I want to do one up, put it by the counter I&039;ll move that sucker In fact, pick out two Clean off the discount price When I&039;m done, they&039;ll not only move, they&039;ll move at a fat profit"

"Gotcha"

"Make sure one of thelaze," she called out "You know the one? And don&039;t pick it up yourself"

In her an to plan it White flowers - heliotrope, impatiens, spills of sweet alyssue Another trail of white petunias Daray pots Good contrast with die cobalt And she&039;d do it up hot Bold red geraniums, lobelia, verbena, red New Guineas

She added, subtracted plants in her mind, calculated the cost of pots, stock, soil And s another basket

"Shouldn&039;t you be doing paperwork?"

She nearly tipped off the stool, ht have if a hand hadn&039;t slapped onto her butt to keep her upright

"It&039;s not all I do" She started to get down, but realized being on the stool kept her at eye level with hian"

"It doesn&039;tthere" But he let it fall, slipped it into his pocket "Nice baskets"

"In the ht be You had a look on your face when I came in"

"I usually do That&039;s why it&039;s called a face"

"No, the kind of look a wouy drool"

"Did I? Mind?" she added, gesturing to a basket "You&039;re off theto turn two over-stock pots on the discount rack into stupendous displays and considerable profit"

Even as she hung the basket, he was lifting another, and byhis arm, set it in place "Showoff"

"Shorty"

Hayley cah the doorway, turned briskly on her heel and headed out

"Hayley"

"Forgot so

Stella blew out a breath and would&039;ve asked for another basket, but he&039;d already picked one up, hung it "You&039;ve been busy," she said

"Cool, dry weather the last week"

"If you&039;re here to pick up the shrubs for the Pitt job, I can get the paperwork"

"My crew&039;s out loading theain"

"Well You are"

He kept his eyes on hers "You&039;re not dim"

"No, I&039;m not I&039;m not sure - "

"Neither am I," he interrupted "Doesn&039;t seeain It&039;s irritating, thinking about you"

"Thanks That really h and fall into your arms"

"I don&039;t want you to fall into them If I did, I&039;d just kick your feet out from under you"

She laid a hand on her heart, fluttered her lashes, and did her best wooodness, all this soppy rorinned "I like you, Red Some of the tiht?" Reluctant aersnap "I can&039;t possibly just go out, spur of the moment I have two kids"

"And three adults in the house Any reason you can think of why any or all of theht?"

"No But I haven&039;t asked, a concept you appear to be unfaht have plans"

"Do you?"

She angled her head, looked down her nose "I always have plans"

"I bet So flex them You take the boys for ribs yet?"

"Yes, last week after - "

"Good"

"Do you kno often you interrupt me in the middle of a sentence?"

"No, but I&039;ll start counting Hey, Roz"

"Logan Stella, these look great" She stopped in the center of the aisle, scanning, nodding as she absently slapped her dirty gloves against her already dirt-s soabout the abundance of bloom"

She took off her ball cap, stuffed it in the back pocket of her work pants, stuffed the gloves in the other "Aan corrected "But it&039;s okay You up to watching Stella&039;s boys tonight?"

"I haven&039;t said - "

"Absolutely It&039;ll be fun You two going out?"

"A little dinner I&039;ll leave the invoice on your desk," he said to Stella "See you at seven"

Tired of standing, Stella sat on the stool and scowled at Roz when Logan sauntered out "You didn&039;t help"

"I think I did" Reaching up, she turned one of the baskets to check the syood ti soan, you wouldn&039;t go You kno to say no loud enough"

"That ht&039;ve liked a little "

"He is what he is" She patted Stella&039;s knee "And the good thing about that is you don&039;t have to wonder what he&039;s hiding, or what kind of show he&039;s putting on He&039;sI can&039;t say he&039;s a nice man, because he can be incredibly difficult But he&039;s an honest one Take it from me, there&039;s a lot to be said for that"