Page 30 of Poinsettia Lane

Everly clears her throat, then blushes at how awkward that sounded. Asim raises his brows and grins at her, enjoying her flustered state while also giving her a chance to speak. She shakes her head and leans forward to re-tie her shoe, looking for any excuse to collect herself. She needs to snap out of it, and the voice in her head is telling her to get a grip already. Asim rubs the back of his neck, then grabs his shirt from a hook by the door, slipping it on over his head after quickly wiping away the lingering sweat with a dark green hand towel he had by the entrance.

“Should we get out of this heat?” Asim asks, pushing open the greenhouse door.

“Yeah, just give me a sex.” It takes Everly a split second to realize what she said, and when she does she freezes in place, mortification sluicing an icy path down her spine. She’s still half crouched, on her way to standing, and her mind is imploding. She’s in denial; there’s no way. She absolutely did not just say “sex” to him, instead of “sec”. Surely, that was in her head.

Everly is too afraid to look. She slowly straightens her back and legs, standing to her full height, but keeps her eyes on her toes. Her face is on fire. Before she can figure out how to salvage this situation, his voice flows toward her from the door, the words slow and clear.

“No problem… a moment of peace… might be breast.”

Everly’s head snaps up, and her wide eyes lock onto his. His face looks utterly serious, but she can see the amusement in his eyes, the tight line of his jaw as he wrestles in a smile, and he slowly quirks one dark brow at her. She doesn’t have time to think it through, her body just reacts.

Laughter bursts out of her, and suddenly she’s hunched over again, with her arms wrapped around her middle as though that will somehow help contain her mirth. The giggles pour out of her mouth and her eyes start to water. She can’t stop, and soon she’s gasping, half in pain from the effect of her laughter on her abs and cheeks. Asim is laughing too, a deep, rumblingchuckle that only spurs her on.

Eventually they manage to get a hold of themselves, the laughter easing into hiccuping sighs, and Everly swipes her hands across her cheeks to dry her leaking tears, then across her forehead and the sweat that has beaded up from the hothouse. Walking out the door, she looks up at Asim, and he nearly stops her heart again. He’s always attractive, but she hasn’t seen him like this before. The laughter has made him glow. He looks lighter, radiant, and he’s looking at her like she’s the only thing in this world worth looking at.

Everly averts her eyes and takes a deep, calming breath. She can do this, she can move forward like an adult.

“Sorry,” she says, “I have no idea what that was. I’m such a dork sometimes.” Her mouth twists to the side in a wry smile, and she shrugs one shoulder in an effort to minimize her discomfort in the aftermath of what can only be considered a complete loss of her mental faculties.

Asim steps in front of her and lightly touches her arm, snagging her attention so her eyes meet his again. His smile is warm and tender, and he uses both hands to brush the hair back from her face, gently holding her in place.

“It’s a good thing I like your dorkiness then," he replies softly, and a smile slowly blooms across her face at the sincerity she sees on his. He takes her hand firmly in his much larger one and turns toward the outdoor plant section.

“Besides, that might have been the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” His voice is lighthearted and playful, so she’s not entirely sure how serious he is. Regardless, Asim strides along the path as if they do this all the time. Like everything is normal, totally okay, and not at all out of the ordinary while tugging her along with him.

“Thank you," she says quietly, and Everly hopes he knows she means it for more than just the compliment.

Lacing his fingers with hers, Asim leads her to a number of plants he had in mind as possibilities for her garden. All of Everly’s attention zeroes in on that contact. The heat of his palm, how the size of his handencompasses hers, his thumb rubbing distracting circles on her skin. When he squeezes her hand and gestures to a row plants, Everly mentally nudges herself back into the present moment and picks the ones she likes best. She does her best to listen attentively to his advice and recommendations, rather than think about his lips or the calluses that line his palms. Asim is incredibly knowledgeable, but never acts as though he’s superior or makes her feel stupid or silly for asking questions. If anything, he seems to radiate joy at her expressed interest.

A warmth has taken residence in her chest, and it thrums through her. Between Addison coming back into her life and the introduction of Asim, she honestly can’t remember a time since her parents died that she has felt so light. This feels like hope. It also feels a bit terrifying.

As Asim guides her through row after row of plants, Everly tries to imagine the work that goes into this place and can only guess at how much it must have taken to build it from the ground up. She keeps trying to picture it as an empty piece of land, and she simply can’t. It’s like Magnolia Nursery was always meant to be here, as though it has always been and always will be right here where it belongs.

After she insists on paying for everything, Asim tells her not to worry about the plant delivery.

“I’ll load them up in the truck and bring them with me this weekend," he says, which is when they’ve arranged to continue their landscaping work. He’s got a couple extra employees on the weekends so it’s easier for him to get away then.

Not having to worry about unloading the larger plants on her own is another weight taken off her shoulders by this man who has already dug his own little spot in her heart. She hopes for another kiss before she leaves, and is not disappointed. Asim leans down and gives her lips a soft brush with his, dragging his knuckles along her jaw as he leans back and leaving sparks in their wake.

“See you later, Ever.” He smiles down at her, emotions flickering across his face, though she can’t decipher what any of them might be. She’s not sure she could untangle her own emotions right now either, so she lets it goinstead of worrying—and that is a miracle in and of itself.

“Bye, Asim.”

She aims a smile over her shoulder, stealing one last look at him as she gets into her car and pulls out of the lot, the smile stretching to take over her face as she drives away.

The weekend cannot come soon enough.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TIME IS FLYING by and somehow also crawling at a glacial pace. Everly doesn’t know how it can go so fast and slow at the same time, but eventually the weekend arrives. She’s been eagerly—and anxiously—anticipating seeing Asim again, which means the house is spotless because outside of work she’s been stress cleaning for two days straight.

It’s finally Saturday morning, she’s been up for hours already, and she’s peeking through the kitchen window, straining her ears for the first sounds of his truck rumbling down the road. Everly is excited not only to see him, but also for him to see her. She felt uncomfortable not knowing what to wear for their “gardening dates”, as she’s been privately calling their time together, so she remedied that with some online shopping. She would never admit to having gone overboard, but Frankie had no trouble accusing her of doing so when they video called the other night and Everly showed them what she bought. She’s proud to say that she limited herself to only two pairs of rubber gardening ankle boots, even though there was a third she desperately wanted as well.

Everly wasn’t exactly sure what would be best for clothing, so she got a few different outfit options to try, including the overalls she’s chosen for today. They’re a dark coffee brown with floral embroidery along the sides of her legs and on the front chest pocket, and she has the pant legs rolled up to just under her knees. She chose a light blue t-shirt to wear underneath as it matches some of the embroidered flowers, and of course, fuzzy socks.They’re tradition at this point, and today they’re hot pink dinosaurs with teeth chomping her toes. The sage green ankle boots she bought to match the gloves Asim gifted her are waiting by the doors to the patio, along with a new wide brimmed straw hat to protect her face and neck from the sun.

As soon as Everly manages to gain some semblance of control over her restlessness and settle down on a kitchen stool to wait, she hears what she hopes to be his truck turning into the driveway and immediately pops back up again, standing on her toes and leaning over the counter to look out the window. Sure enough, the Magnolia delivery truck is trundling up her driveway.

She can’t wait, and she doesn’t even try. Everly rushes to the front door and steps out onto the porch, standing at the top of the stairs again as Asim expertly maneuvers it into place where he can unload the plants directly onto the lawn, then opens the door. The moment Asim notices her, his face lights up. His eyes crinkle at the corner and a lopsided grin takes over his face as he pauses for a moment with his hand still on the truck door. Everly shifts her weight, giving him a fleeting wave and then clasping her hands behind her, twisting her shoulders back and forth in an effort to contain her restless energy as he slams the door shut and strides toward her, his long legs eating up the distance between them. She really hopes he doesn’t think she’s ridiculous or looks silly in her new gardening getup. His face splits into an even bigger grin as he gets closer and finally notices her socks, and she huffs out a pleased laugh at his reaction.

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