Chapter 31 #2
That kind of trust had never come easy for Willow, but she forced her eyes closed, allowing Scottie to guide her.
Wet gravel crunched beneath their feet.
Somewhere, a wind chime tinkled, and the rain drummed down on their umbrella.
“Almost there.” Scottie gave Willow’s hand holding on to her arm a soft squeeze. Then she paused, and the warmth of her hand disappeared.
A door creaked open, and Scottie carefully led her inside.
Humid air hit Willow, carrying the scent of earth and herbs. Where were they?
“Okay, you can look now,” Scottie said.
Willow opened her eyes and found herself in a greenhouse.
Strings of fairy lights wound over the metal rafters and through shelving racks, casting a soft glow over hanging baskets of blooming Christmas cacti, trays of herbs, and rows of terracotta pots.
Raindrops beaded on the glass walls, which shimmered in the warm lights. The patter on the roof created a soothing melody.
Farther into the greenhouse, in the middle of the walkway, a small table had been set up among the greenery. A wicker basket and two large thermoses waited in the center.
It was as magical as the rest of their date had been.
Willow stood there for several seconds and absorbed everything.
“Is this okay?” Scottie asked quietly.
Willow whirled around to face her. “Okay? It’s wonderful!” Tears stung her eyes. She really had to stop with all the crying. No one wanted to date a crybaby. But all the effort and thought Scottie had put into planning their first real date touched her deeply.
She tugged her hand free, cupped Scottie’s face, and kissed her, moving her lips against Scottie’s in a tender caress.
Scottie made a sound of pleasure deep in her throat and instantly returned the kiss. Her hands came up and gripped Willow’s hips, steadying her, and Willow realized she’d been swaying.
God, the things kissing Scottie did to her.
“Thank you,” she whispered against Scottie’s mouth.
“My pleasure. Literally.” Scottie smiled, then kissed her again before taking her hand and leading her to the table. She pulled the chair out for Willow, who gratefully sank onto it.
“What is this place?” Willow looked around again.
“It’s a plant nursery. A friend of mine works here.”
Willow grinned up at her as Scottie circled the table. “Do you always take your dates to your friends’ workplaces?”
“Not usually.” Scottie took a seat across from her.
“But a few years ago, I was invited to a wedding that rented out a large greenhouse located on an urban farm that doubled as an event space. It was super romantic, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to book something like that for our date on such short notice.
So I begged my friend to let us use one of their greenhouses for a couple of hours tonight. ”
“Whatever you had to promise them in return, I think it was worth it,” Willow said.
Scottie looked at her with a dramatically miserable expression. “I’ll have to forgo Hawaiian pizza for a month. My friend hates it with a passion.”
Willow gasped. “Oh my God. However will you survive?”
“Well, maybe like this…” With a flourish, Scottie flipped back the lid of the wicker basket and unpacked its contents, placing containers of cheese cubes, cherry tomatoes, grapes, slices of salami, veggie sticks, and a loaf of fresh bread on the table.
She poured them each a bowl of pumpkin soup from one of the thermoses.
Willow’s mouth watered. “Wow. You really went all out. This is perfect.”
They ate surrounded by greenery while the rain tapped on the roof. The glass panes around them had fogged up from the humid air, leaving them in an intimate little world of their own.
Once they had fed each other the last grape and the last bit of cheese, Scottie handed her a mug of hot chocolate, which she had poured from the second thermos.
Willow studied her across the rim of her cup. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Spoiling you for anyone else?” Scottie flashed her a grin. “Yes, that’s my evil plan.”
Willow chuckled. “That too. But that wasn’t what I meant.
This whole date, the vintage mall, this place…
You’re creating a no-tech date, aren’t you?
” Scottie hadn’t even pulled out her phone to take a picture of the wall full of vintage radios, and she had paid in cash.
And now she had surprised her with a picnic in a greenhouse instead of taking her to a restaurant where Willow might make the credit card reader glitch.
“Well, more like low-tech.” Almost apologetically, Scottie pointed at the fairy lights and the LED candles on the table. “My friend said using real candles in the greenhouse was a no-no, so I had to use these. I brought replacement batteries, though, just in case.”
Warmth filled Willow’s chest, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat so she could speak.
“You’re very sweet, and I really appreciate it.
But I want you to know that I don’t expect it for every date.
You don’t have to go to all the trouble to keep me from anything digital.
” She gave Scottie a serious look. “It’s not going to last.”
Scottie stilled.
“Creating a tech-free zone, I mean,” Willow quickly added. “It’s not like I can avoid electronics forever. On Monday, I’ll be back in the office, surrounded by computers, screens, and printers.”
“I know,” Scottie said. “It’s not about avoiding it forever. I just wanted you to have a break. One night where you don’t need to worry about a thing.”
The sincere look on Scottie’s face, the pure uncomplicated affection pierced all of Willow’s defenses.
Her eyes burned. “You really have to stop making me cry,” she got out, her voice choked with a mix of both laughter and tears.
Scottie reached across the table.
Willow took her hand, keeping the other one on the metal table.
“I’ll try,” Scottie said. “I much prefer to make you smile.”
“Oh, I know a way to achieve that,” Willow replied, trying to lighten the mood. She let her gaze flick from Scottie’s eyes to her lips.
“Getting ice cream on the way home?” Scottie asked innocently. But she was looking at Willow’s mouth too.
“I wouldn’t say no to that, but I was actually thinking of something”—Willow leaned forward—“even sweeter.” She tugged on Scottie’s hand until she was leaning across the table too, only inches separating them now. Her hot breath brushed Willow’s face.
Scottie’s pupils widened. Her tongue darted out and licked her lips.
“And something warmer,” Willow added. “Much, much w—”
Scottie surged forward and kissed her until Willow forgot about ice cream, tech glitches, and everything else.