“I was set to come out here, argue with you.” She rubbed her cheek
over his shirt. She could smell soap and sweat, both healthy and male. “Then I saw you, and I just don’t want to argue. I just don’t want to fight. I can’t do what you want when everything inside me pulls the other way. Even if it’s wrong, I can’t.”
“I don’t have any choice about that.” He clipped more flowers for the basket, deadheaded others. “And you don’t have any say about this. I’m moving in. I’d rather you and Lily shift over to my place, but it makes more sense for me to move into your room for now since there are two of you and one of me. When this is over, we’ll reevaluate.”
“Reevaluate.”
“That’s right.” He’d yet to look at her, really look, and now moved off a few paces to cut more blooms. “It’s a little hard to figure out where we’re going, what we’re doing under the circumstances.”
“So you figure we’ll live together, under the circumstances, and when those circumstances change, we’ll take another look at the picture.”
“That’s right.”
Maybe she did feel like arguing. “Ever heard of asking?”
“Heard of it. Not doing it. At the nursery, you work with Stella, Mama, or me, at all times.”
“Who suddenly made you the boss of me?”
With steady hands, unerring eye, he just kept working. “One of us will drive back and forth with you.”
“One of you coming with me every time I have to pee?”
“If necessary. You’ve got your mind set on staying, those are the terms.”
The hummingbird whizzed back, but this time she wasn’t caught by its charm. “Terms? Somebody die and make you king? Listen, Harper—”
“No. This is how it’s going to be. You’re determined to stay, see this through. I’m just as determined you’ll be looked after. I love you, so that’s the end of it.”
She opened her mouth, closed it again, and took a calming breath. “If you’d said that—the I love you part—right off, I might’ve been more open to discussion.”
“There is no discussion.”
Her eyes narrowed. He’d yet to stop what he was doing and face her fully. “You sure can be a hard-ass when you put your mind to it.”
“This didn’t take much effort.” He reached down, gathered the flowers in the basket, tucking their stems into a casual bouquet. Now he turned, and those long brown eyes met hers. “Here.”
She took them, frowned at him over them. “Did you cut these for me?”
The slow, lazy smile moved over his face. “Who else?”
She blew out a breath. He’d added nicotiana to the bouquet, and when she inhaled, she drew in its rich perfume. “It’s exasperating, I swear, how you can be pushy one minute and sweet the next. They’re really pretty.”
“So are you.”
“You know, another man might’ve started off with the flowers, the flattery, and the I-love-yous to soften me up for the rest. But you go at it ass-backwards.”
His gaze stayed on hers, steady. “I wasn’t worried about softening you up.”
“I get that. You’re not waiting for me to say, all right, Harper, we’ll do this your way. You’re just going to make sure I do.”
“See how quick you catch on?”
She had to laugh, and clutching the flowers in one hand gave in and linked her arms around his neck. “In case you’re interested, I’m glad you’re going to be staying with me. Next time I have my spine tingled, I’d as soon you be there.”
“I will be.”
“If you’ve got more work to do out here—”