Page 65 of Stella

The morning breeze brought his light scent of vetiver and spearmint. I may or may not have made several candles in an attempt to get his smell. The vetiver was grassy and earthy, and the mint made it uplifting and calm, like a walking herb garden.

Halos nodded, his black hair shining in the sunlight. His brown skin looked darker against his white t-shirt. He was taller than me by almost a head, with broad shoulders and a lean build.

I wanted to bury my nose in his scent.

“What are we looking for today?” He looked at the dolly. “Are you sure you have enough lavender?”

“Never enough.” Ember picked up a topiary of a cat. “We’ve decided that, if we were in a period drama, you’d be the impoverished son of duke.”

The quiet alpha cocked his head. “Impoverished son of a duke?”

“Your younger brother framed you for stealing the family crest,” I said. My voice was only slightly wobbly. His scent always went straight to my head.

“Hmm.” He shifted some of the bags of potting soil, his smooth biceps flexing. “A dastardly plot.”

“Luna is an earl’s daughter, down on her luck.”

Halos gave me a small smile. “Father lost the family fortune, I assume?”

“Bad petticoat investments.” I shifted the topiary around, not sure what to do with my hands. I wanted to touch him, to scent him, to wrap myself around him.

His chuckle was soft and warm. Any residual tension I still carried from the unpleasant encounter with the alphas outside melted away. “What a pity.”

His lips were wide and thick. I lost myself for a moment, imagining kissing him.

“Alright, while you two met secretly in the gazebo at night for stolen moments speaking about herbs, I’m going to go check out the giant bird baths.” Ember jerked her thumb around the back.

I watched her leave. “She needs to dial back on the period dramas.”

“Makes things interesting.”

For long minutes, I reveled in his scent. We looked at plants, and I asked about recent arrivals. He wanted to see my new plans for the flower beds and I made a plan to swing by and show him.

I swallowed hard, almost afraid to ask. “Are you going to the garden show in Las Vegas?”

Ember and I always went to the massive garden show every year. Maybe this year he would go. We could carpool.

Halos shook his head. “No, we usually do the smaller shows in San Francisco.”

I nodded, trying to think of a way to ask him to come along. Of course my mind locked up and before I could say anything, Ember came back, dropping more lavender onto the dolly.

I exchanged a look with Halos. “I don’t know what she’s doing with all that lavender.”

“Candles?” Halos raised an eyebrow.

“No candles, or oils.”

“And what about you?”

My heart leapt into my throat. “Me?”

He gestured at plants. “There’s more milkweed in the south lot. If you need more?”

Did I actually need more milkweed? No. Despite the name, it was pretty, with small clusters of flowers that looked like Baby’s Breath. I had it all over the place.

But I was never going to turn down the chance to spend the morning looking at plants with the gentle alpha that smelled like my garden.

I shouldn’t let myself fantasize about him. Halos was a soft, sweet alpha who asked me about plants.

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