Page 18 of Poinsettia Lane

As she circles the next display, she feels a little spark on the back of her neck and Asim walks up to her, brushing his hands off on a small towel that he tucks into his back pocket.

“Everly,” and there’s that voice she can’t get enough of, extending the first syllable of her name as though he’s savoring it.

“Hi, Asim.” Everly smiles up at him, unreasonably pleased that she got the words out without her voice betraying her, and she’s also managing to keep the panic at bay.

“I’m so pleased you’re here,” he says, and she doesn’t think anyone has ever said those words to her before. She likes the way he speaks. “Are you here for anything in particular?”

She wants to say she’s here for him, but manages to refrain from embarrassing herself just yet.

“I’m just looking around. This place is beautiful.”

“Thank you. I’ve put a lot of work into it,” he replies.

Everly’s jaw falls open, and his eyes crinkle in the corners. “You… own this place?” she has to clarify if that’s what he meant, because that’s a far cry from being a delivery driver.

“I do. Built it myself, and I live here too, right upstairs.” He gestures to the staircase in the corner.

“Wow.” Everly is impressed, to put it lightly. She knows how much work that takes. Inheriting and building upon something like she did is one thing, but building an entire business from the ground up is another entirely. “That’s amazing.”

“Thank you, it’s a lot of work, but it’s what I love to do.” His eyes wander over the various plants, a small smile curving his lips, clearly proud of the space he’s created. “Well, let me know if I can help you with anything.”

He can’t leave yet! She only just got here and found him.

“Yeah, actually…” Everly rushes to reply, then pauses, unsure what to say to keep him here. So much for those plans and backup plans. They’ve flown completely out of her head.

Asim raises his eyebrows in question, and she blurts out the first thing she can think of.

“I was thinking about doing some re-landscaping, and wanted to purchase some plants for the… terracing.” She holds up the plant in her hands; one she picked up at random with a tag that reads “monstera siltepecana”.

Asim gives her what might be an inquisitive look, glancing down at the plant, then back up at her face. He might also be trying not to smile, but he can’t hide those twinkling eyes. She can tell he knows. Everly has absolutely no idea what she’s doing, and he sees right through her. Instead of calling her out on it, he offers to help instead.

“Can I show you what I have in the native flora section? They’d be much better suited to the dry Arizona climate.”

“Oh, sure, that’d be great.”

He gently takes the potted plant from her hands, and while it takes both of hers to hold it, one of his nearly wraps around the whole thing. She thought there wasn’t anything else about him that would turn her on, but she should have anticipated those hands. Strong hands, working hands, hands that he clearly knows how to use. Asim sets it back onto the display, next to a sign she hadn’t noticed before that reads “tropical indoor plants.” Right on cue, her cheeks heat up; so much for not embarrassing herself this time.

“Wait here.” His voice is a gentle command that she’s happy to follow.

Asim returns moments later pulling a cart behind him unlike any cart she has seen before. It’s long and flat, without sides, and fat rubbery wheels, which makes perfect sense for a plant shop now that she sees it. Instead of going left into the greenhouse, he leads her through a double door in the back she hadn’t noticed initially.

“Oh, it keeps going.”

Immediately, her eyes widen and she tucks her lips into her teeth as she looks up at him. What a stupid thing to say. Why doesn’t she ever think before she speaks?! If she was alone, she’d facepalm again at how lame that was.

“I never realized how big it was, or that there was more back here. It’s very impressive.” She explains, trying to save face.

“Yes, it keeps going.” He quirks a sideways smile at her. “Would you like a tour?”

Everly’s heart thumps in her chest.

“I’d love that.”

Anything to spend more time with him, especially since it’s actually going well this time.

Or, as well as can be expected when you’re a bumbling ball of anxiety.

They leave the cart by the back door for now, and Asim walks her around the property, bypassing the “employees only” signs. He points out three more domed greenhouses in the back, as well as a large outdoor area with potted plants in place of a fourth one, explainingthat each greenhouse is temperature regulated with fans and humidity control to create the right climate for each group of plants he has growing in them. He has some tropical and subtropical plants that he propagates and grows himself, like the one she was admiring inside, he says with a half smile and a little elbow nudge to her arm, causing Everly’s cheeks to pink again, but she takes it in stride and smirks back at him with a one shoulder shrug. She’s caught, and she doesn’t care one bit because look where she is now.

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