“The roof garden!” Serena nods enthusiastically, then turns her attention to me. “If you have any suggestions, the kids will be thrilled. Don’t get me wrong, the place looks great but George was talking to me about planting…delphiniums? I have no fucking clue.” She snorts a laugh. “But my girlfriend says they’re difficult to grow. Come on, I’ll show you what we’ve got.”
She turns, and we both follow her into a long corridor. I can hear music from somewhere, and the sound of feet pounding rhythmically, like there’s dancing going on. There’s a shout, and a young girl goes running past us, nearly knocking into Apollo, who laughs and addresses her by name.
“Chloe, you never told me that math grade.”
She stops and turns, grinning. “B minus, Mr. Volos.”
“Good girl, keep it up. I want the next one to be an A.”
“Yes, sir,” Chloe says seriously, then turns away, shouting I’m coming as she disappears around a corner.
We follow Serena up a flight of stairs, then past a room where some older boys and girls are being given boxing lessons, then through a door and up another flight of stairs. When we go through a door at the top, we emerge onto the roof of the building, where planters and beds and frames for climbing plants are everywhere. There’s a section covered with a tarp on poles, where it looks like they’re growing some more temperamental vegetables, and a wall around the edge with “UNSTABLE WALL – NO LEANING” printed on it in red lettering.
“Unstable wall?” I ask, and both Apollo and Serena start laughing.
“Not really,” Serena says. “I just panic if any of the kids go too close, so I put that there to keep them in the middle when they’re up here. And they’re always supervised.”
I nod, grinning. I like Serena, she seems laid back and relaxed, but with a sensible head on her shoulders. I’m still not sure what Apollo’s involvement here is, but I’m getting the impression there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Which is both reassuring and terrifying, because what do I do if I find myself falling for him? I mean, falling for him, falling for him. What do I do if I can’t do my job?
“I should get back downstairs before they notice I’m gone,” Serena says. “Nice to meet you, Rose, take a look around and let me know if you have any bright ideas.”
She waves, and I wave back, then watch her disappear down the stairs.
“So…” Apollo says, meeting my eyes. “I’m guessing you have questions?”
“What is this place?”
He nods, suddenly serious. “I set it up twenty-five years ago, soon after I took over the family business after my father died. I care about my community, Rose. This isn’t the only thing I do, but it’s the one I can bring you to and show you around. A lot of the people in these neighborhoods are poor, there’s a high incidence of drug use. Low-level crimes are rife because of the poverty and lack of education. This place is my way of trying to improve things for each generation.”
“So it’s a community center?”
“In a way.” He frowns. “It’s…I try to make it more than that. I’m a realist, Rose, I know things won’t change overnight, but you just have to look at Serena to know what can be done.” He takes my hands in his, and I let him, but don’t fall into his arms. I can’t. I can’t risk it. “She came from a broken home, dad in prison, mom on progressively harder drugs. She’s seen more than her fair share of tragedy. This place gave her somewhere to go, funded her place at college and provided her with a job when she came back.”
I meet his eyes, and don’t let go of his hands. “You want me to see that you’re not a monster.”
“You might have heard that I am,” he says, nodding. “And I’ve done terrible things. I won’t lie about that. But nobody is one-dimensional, kora. Not you, not me.”
I freeze, my hands tensing in his. He knows. He’s telling me it’s OK that I was sent here to betray him, that he knows things have changed for me. I open my mouth, ready to tell him the truth, ready to explain it all and get it out in the open.
But before I can say anything, he continues.
“You’re more than just a florist. I’ve never seen anyone as sure and strong with me as you were last night. I’m scared I’ll never meet anyone like you ever again. I’m not sure I want to. I want you. Only you. And if I lost you now I think that would be it for me. It would destroy me.” He draws a deep breath, and I can feel him trembling. Every word he just said to me was straight from the heart. I know it. And it scares me how deeply he’s feeling these things toward me, toward someone he shouldn’t trust. “Rose, let me take you to dinner. Come with me right now, I know a place. Let me show you I can be better. Let me show you what we could be for each other.”