She skewered him with a glare. “Compliments make me uncomfortable. Back off.”
“I’m not backing off. And you’ll get used to the compliments in time. Are you ready? I have a cab waiting.”
A few days before he might have been amused and a little exasperated that she could feel nervous around him when he’d known her for most of his life, but tha
t was before he’d understood how much there was about her that he didn’t know. It wasn’t about the length of a relationship, he realized, it was about the depth. Now he knew she had secrets.
And he wanted her to share them with him.
He wanted to know who had told her she was a D minus.
But right now he wanted to stop her thinking about the evening ahead. He changed the subject as they walked to the cab, recounting a funny story about a client he had met a few days ago who had wanted to plant an instant apple orchard.
“Instant? How can it be instant? Does she think you have magical powers?” The wary look in Frankie’s eyes was replaced by laughter as they stepped inside the cab.
“She saw a picture in a magazine and wanted her garden to look just like that. She’d read that you could buy mature trees, and thought that was all that was needed. We had a frank conversation.” He relaxed back in his seat, glancing out the window as the cab drove over the Brooklyn Bridge toward Lower Manhattan.
“So you told a client no?”
“I listened and then proposed a different approach. I don’t ever take a job that I know is a bad idea. In the short term she would have been a client but when her apple orchard withered and died she would have been an ex-client, and my reputation would have been mulched along with the apples.”
“And now she’s probably in love with you.”
Matt laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far, but we definitely reached a level of understanding.”
“Where does she live?”
“Maine.” Eventually he was going to bring up the subject of Puffin Island, but not yet.
“So you need to be careful which species you recommend.”
“Because of the cold climate?”
“Cold climate, short growing season and diseases.”
“That’s what I told her.” But it was good to hear it confirmed. Her depth of knowledge always impressed him. “She wants to grow Pink Lady.”
“Forget it. She can also forget Braeburn, GoldRush and Granny Smith. They don’t ripen before the first freeze so they don’t have the flavor. I’d go with Beacon or Snow. Honeygold and Honeycrisp would work, too, but whatever you’re planting you need to prepare the soil and do some significant ground work, otherwise your poor apple trees will be foundering.”
“Noted.”
They discussed it in more detail as the cab wound its way through Manhattan going north and he noticed that when she stopped thinking about being on a date she was relaxed. He also noticed that the tunic she was wearing brought out the incredible green of her eyes. Her hair fell in a tangle of fire and flame past her shoulders, and her nose was slightly pink from the sun. “I’m going to talk to some local apple growers and in the meantime, I promised to come back to her with a drawn-up plan.”
“Victoria has gone. Who is doing that for you?”
“I was hoping you would.”
“I’m already helping with your roof terrace! What do you think I am, a robot?”
“No. I think you’re capable and talented.” He thought a great number of other things, too, things that kept him awake at night and messed with his focus, but he restricted his compliments to her work. “And it’s because you’re capable and talented that I intend to pick your brains about this garden. I thought you could involve Roxy. Pass on some of your expertise.”
Her gaze softened. “I like Roxy. And you’re generous, taking her on.”
“She’s a hard worker and she deserves a break.” He leaned forward and spoke to the cab driver and Frankie glanced out the window.
“This is Central Park.”
“That’s right.”