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“Would you like to see?”
She nodded happily.
“Let’s go to the nursery.”
Soon, they were in a greenhouse full of benches covered in clear plastic cups, each containing a seedling. A few already had tiny flowers in bloom.
“This is where the magic happens,” Dave said, excitement in his voice. “We choose the roses we think will be the best parents, put two together, and cross our fingers. With luck, we will get something marketable.”
He picked up a white bloom from a jar on the bench. Its petals were floppy and loose.
“You take this,” he instructed Eve,“and pull off all the petals.”
She made quick work of removing them.
“OK, now, here’s the tweezers. Take these and strip the pollen.”
He handed her a small shallow container, and carefully, Eve removed the little yellow pollen kernels, collecting them in the cup.
Dave went to a nearby bench, returning with a large potted rose.
“We can use this gal.” He grasped one of the pink flowers by the neck and motioned for Adam to come closer.“You do this one. Take off the petals.”
Adam held the bloom with a gentle hand. Deftly, he began pullingoff the outer petals, and quickly, they were gone. Because the inner ones were so tightly furled, he dipped a finger in the middle of the flower, circling again and again to loosen them.
The sight of that delicate pink flower in his hands, his middle finger circling right in its center, triggered such a riot of sensation in Eve’s body that she closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them, she found his sapphire eyes intently focused on her face.
After a heartbeat, his lashes lowered. He pushed his finger deeper in, swirling one more time. The bud finally unfurled, and then the petals floated down, a few at a time until every last one was at her feet.
•
Adam
Time passed quickly, as it always did when he visited Dave. By afternoon, when they headed for shade and refreshments, Adam was convinced Eve, too, intended to grow a garden full of roses.
She sat under a pergola, her eyes roaming lovingly over the rows and rows of flowers as she sipped her iced tea.
“How about some to take home with you?” Dave asked Eve.
She smiled delightedly.“I’d love that!”
Dave extracted his pruners from the leather sheath on his belt and passed them to her.“There are buckets right by the hose spigot. Put a little water in. The best ones blooming right now are at the very back. Cut whatever and however many you like.”
She took the pruners and turned, allowing Adam a fantastic view of her walking away in tight jeans.
For a few moments, the only sounds were those of the irrigation pumps, misting water at the base of the roots.
“You haven’t visited in some time.” Dave picked up his iced tea and took a big gulp.
Adam nodded once, swirling the cubes in his glass.
“And when you did, you never brought a girl.”
Adam nodded again.
“But you brought this one here.”
Adam shrugged.“She liked your roses.”