Page 5 of A Vine Mess
“Then you can stay as long as you want.”
Ella was starting tomake me look bad with how much time she spent at the winery, and I’d be worried about my job if I didn’t know how indispensable I was around here.
Truthfully, I didn’t mind having her around—secretly loved it, actually. And every day for the last few months, I found myself looking forward to walking into the greenhouse in the mornings and finding her already there, up to her elbows in dirt as she tended to the section in the corner that housed her flowers.
That morning, she hadn’t noticed my arrival yet, so I took a moment to stand in the doorway, leaning my shoulder against it, arms crossed over my chest and a small smile on my lips as I watched her.
Her touch was gentle, reverent as she gently peeled the blooms apart and trimmed away a leaf that had begun to turn yellow at the edges. Then she set her tools down and cupped the fluffy snowball of a hydrangea, burying her face in the delicate petals as she deeply inhaled.
The smile—it couldn’t be described as anything but pure bliss. And it was the kind of smile I hadn’t seen on her in far too long.
Trust me, I’d been looking.
Not wanting to scare her but needing to announce my presence, I pushed off the door frame and cleared my throat loudly, letting my boots scuff on the concrete floor as I approached her.
That deep brown and bright purple hair went whipping around her head as she whipped it toward me, a hand to her chest. “Fuck, Liam.”
“I’m sorry,” I chuckled awkwardly. “I didn’t want to startle you.”
“It’s okay,” she said, waving a hand. “I get lost sometimes.”
“Get you lost all you want,” I assured her. “My greenhouse is yours whenever you want.”
Ella quirked one of those perfect, dark brows. “Yourgreenhouse?”
I grinned. “Yeah,mine.”
She pursed her lips. “Last I checked, it wasmyname on the walls of this place, but sure.”
Fuck, I loved that fire. Missed the way her eyes flashed when she challenged someone. That side of her had been buried far too long under the large, stifling ego of her ex. I was happy to see it returning.
In truth, even since the last time I’d seen her just a few days ago, she was looking better. Her skin flushed healthily instead of looking sallow, the dark bags beneath her eyes brightened considerably.
Almost like she was coming back to life before my very eyes.
“What’s your plan for today?” I asked her as I moved closer,bending to inspect the tulips growing along the edge of the planter box we’d constructed over here for her.
I’d never understand how she did it—turned something so ordinary, so common yet beautiful, into something so unique. It forever amazed me that a tiny seed could become something so incredible. Where they emerged from the stem, the petals were a vibrant pink, almost fluorescent, but as the color moved to the tips, it faded to a softer shade, like the inside of a seashell.
The flowers were works of art, and the entire planter was filled with similar masterpieces and experiments. The hydrangeas, for example, were a riot of colors from blue to purple to pink to white. Once, when I’d asked Ella about it, she told me she fertilized each with something different, weighing the outcomes so she could pass the information onto other florists and horticulturists.
Ella gave me a look that said it should’ve been obvious, but out loud told me, “This.”
I barked out a laugh. “Fair enough. But how would you like to do something else?”
“Such as?”
“Such as…helping at the community garden?”
Ella perked up, shooting upright and wiping her hands on the legs of the white pinstriped denim overalls she favored while gardening. Either she had multiple pairs of the same ones, or she washed them daily, because I rarely saw her working in anything else.
“It’s planting day?” she asked excitedly.
“It’s planting day,” I confirmed.
Personal project abandoned, she gestured toward the door. “Lead the way.”
The community garden was a new addition to Apple Blossom Bay, spearheaded by the winery’s head chef, Ezra, and his now-fiancée, Brie, the youngest of the Delatou sisters. But as the resident agricultural engineer—yes, it was a thing, and an actual degree I held, hence securing my position as the head vintner at a winery so young—I’d helped Ezra and Brie with the construction and layout of the rows.
