Page 80 of Sapphire Spring

“None.”

Paula spoke next. “I know what you’re saying about thecolor, Mason, but the shape of the succulents in these planters is going tohave more of an impact as people drive up even if they don’t rise as high.”

“What about a mix of both?” Mason asked.

“Crowded,” Paula answered with a wince.

Mason shook both of their hands. “All right, we should headout. Thanks, guys.”

The landscapers both smiled and waved goodbye.

Mason started back toward their cars. “Those guys arereally amazing. Dirty little secret of Southern Californiais it can bereally hardto get good landscaping outhere, when it comes to the fine tuning and the details. Honestly, I think it’s’causeeverything here grows soquickly and easy, you usually find guys who just plant and then trim like hellonce or twice a year. Finding a crew that’sreally artfulabout how they position and shape things over time…” When he noticed Naser’sstunned look, he fell silent. “What?”

“You’re into plants?”

“I’mcrazyabout plants.”

“Seriously?”

They stopped at the tail end of Mason’s Lexus. “Why do yousay it like that?” he asked.

“Mason, there is not a leaf of green anywhere in yourhouse.”

He seemed so shocked by Naser’s words, Naser was worriedhe’d accidentally insulted him.

For a while, they just stood there.

“Damn,” he finally said. “You’re right. I guess we’ll haveto plant some then.”

Then came another one of those quick, hard kisses on thelips.

He was pretty sure some of the guys from the site must haveseen, but Mason skipped back to his car as if he didn’t care. Naser cared, butfor all the right reasons.

The phrasenot a leaf of greenseemedto follow Mason around for the rest of the day.

An hour after lunch, Naser texted to say he’d be at Mason’shouse by six-thirty—with a surprise. Mason hoped the surprise was Naser on allfours, buck naked, with a gift bow on the back of his neck Mason could pull offwith his teeth. But he hadn’t told the guy about the secret key hidden in thelittle bed of crushed stone by the front door, so no point in getting his hopesup. As he headed home around five, Mason wondered if it was time to give Naseraccess.

If Chadwick could enter his house unannounced, why not theguy Mason had been slow-motion falling for since they were teenagers?

The interior of Mason’s home seemed not just stark, butbarren. Naser was right—impossible for anyone to believe the guy who lived herenursed a love of green things.

The house wasn’t truly his. Maybe that’s why he’d neverpersonalized it.

Mason was bound for his laptop, planning to research planttypes that could stand up to the salty ocean winds out on the patio, when therewas a harsh knock on his front door.

It was way too early to be Naser. His next thought wasChadwick,and his breath caught.

He needed to move the key. Letting Chadwick haveunrestricted access to his home right now was a terrible idea for a lot ofreasons.

Mason checked the security camera over the front door andsaw two handsome white guys he didn’t recognize standing on the other side.Despite their comical size difference, their dark blue blazers seemed to match.More intrigued than frightened, Mason opened the door.

Both men stared back at him blankly. The shorter one had acherubic face and big blue eyes. Along with a military bearing, the taller onehad dark, heavy eyebrows that gave him an automatically menacing stare.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” Mason saw the gold logo on thelapel of the smaller guy’s blazer—the logo for Sapphire Cove. “Oh my God. IsNasokay?”

Both men seemed surprised by Mason’s concern, then the blondone looked down at his jacket and shook his head. The hotel’s logo, it seemed,had given him away. Did Sapphire Cove dispatch people to notify the loved onesand friends of their employees if they were injured? A bit much for a beachresort.

The little blond guy raised an eyebrow that said this wasn’ta bereavement call. “Wethinkhe’s okay, but that’s part of why we’rehere. May we come in, Mr.Worther?” He brushed pastMason without waiting for a response. His large companion followed, eyes lockedon Mason’s with a look that said,Stop us at your own peril, buddy.Suddenlythe three of them were standing awkwardly in Mason’s kitchen as the littleblond scanned their surroundings with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips. Thebigger guy looked way more impressed.

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