Page 19 of Bargain With the Boss

He gently took my elbow and eased me away from the trellis I was about to walk into. “You mentioned gardening before.” He drew his fingers down my arm to tangle with mine. “Is that where these little callouses are from?”

I tugged my hand away. “Yes. I enjoy plants. Henry taught me all about the flowers in our garden.” It had been a long time since I’d thought about the gardener from my childhood. He was long gone now, but he’d taught me all about soils and how to plant flowers gently so they would flourish. About root rot and what plants should be grouped together and which ones would strangle the others.

“Your eyes got sad.”

I swung away from him, crossing to the ninebark blooms just about to unfurl. “Henry was my happy place. He didn’t mind that I bugged him with a million questions.”

“Luna is a witch.”

I twirled around to face him. “I’m sorry?”

He huffed out a laugh. “You shared a bit, so I thought I would too.” He followed me and picked up one of the terra cotta pots, setting it on the table. Fat asters were in full bloom, their purple flowers popping against the neutral pot. “It’s getting easier for me to say witch. She was always so different from the rest of us.”

“Like pointy hat?”

He laughed. “No, she is more of an aura and tarot card reading kind. She made sure this had a soothing flow. I think that’s what she said. Natural stones and a few of these.” He touched the wind chimes full of colored glass.

I got a little closer and noticed that they weren’t glass, they were crystals. Then I noticed the heavy planters weren’t just stone but a white snow looking crystal on each corner full of hearty succulents.

The yellow and white crystals clinked musically when Xavier let them go. “I may not understand exactly what she sees in the world, but this space has been good for our clients. We’ve made quite a few deals out here.”

“I’m not sure what to say to that one.”

He shrugged. “Plants have a similar vibe, right?”

Understanding, I nodded. “That’s true.” The urge to tell him about my ideas for a gardening company surprised me, but I swallowed it down.

I wasn’t here to make friends.

Resolutely, I headed back inside. “Show me the rest.”

He nodded and followed me, closing the wide glass doors behind us. “This is our show-off space.” He led me over to the photos in clear glass frames. They hung on wires in deference toall the stone. Dozens of buildings and homes made a montage of their successes.

I stepped closer to see the smiling family outside of a quaint little bungalow, then a ribbon cutting photo in front of a jewelry store. On and on, there were all sorts of smiling faces. Not the slick photo ops of my mother’s grand openings. These were small town coded with real people.

“Everyone that buys or leases from us gets added to the FHK family wall.”

“Impressive.”

“Some of it is for the clout we need to find the next big project. Some is just to remember why we do this.”

“I have to say the idealist part of you is surprising.”

“Why?”

“Most people who come from money only care about continuing the money legacy. Not...all this.”

“Well, we’re not most people.”

I was beginning to see that.

And I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that.

How was I supposed to ruin all of this?

And why would Jude ever come back to A Home You Love after being a part of this?

“Let me show you the offices on the next floor.”