Page 46 of She Wolf

“Hello, it’s lovely to meet you. I hope you enjoy your time here with us. The entire gardens are yours for the rest of the afternoon,” he tells her, shaking her hand gently.

Coralie gasps next to me. “We have the entire place to ourselves?”

“All for you, well us,” I smile.

“If you’d like to follow me.” Holton motions for us to enter and leads us through the Conservatory Gate.

Keeping hold of Coralie’s hand, we venture out onto the pathway that I assume winds entirely round the gardens before Holton swings a left and takes us towards the glasshouses.

He talks Coralie’s ear off about the Ladies’ Border lined with South African Bulbs and Japanese Apricot and I realize straight away that horticulture is not my thing. But I wanted to give Coralie romance, and I figure what’s more romantic than a garden full of flowers?

I assume Holton is heading straight for the biggest Conservatory—the one with the domed roof—but when he goes straight past it and pulls up at the squared house at the end, I’m glad I asked for this part of the day to be guided.

There must be a route you should follow as opposed to just winging it.

“Oh, wow,” Coralie breathes as she takes in the beginning of the exhibition.

Hundreds of intense magenta and fiery orange orchids cascade around towering

columns. The petals that fall, float around the smaller plants as they bob gently within the water of the fountain, and the ten-foot-tall geometric mirrored sculpture reflects the foliage around it.

It’s impressive.

“You’ve come at exactly the right time. Everything is in full bloom, as you can see.

These Orchids are called Vandas and mark the entrance to the exhibit this year,” Holton goes on, pointing out more breeds that have been planted around the edge. Daylight pours in through the glass roof and it’s stunning.

Once we’ve been shown this section he moves onto the next. The gallery, in its greens and whites offers a serine meadow-like effect and the scent of fresh and zesty citrus fills the air around us.

“I’m getting lots of ideas for the yard Gunner,” Coralie beams as she takes in the vast array the show has to offer. I’d hire Jeff Leatham if she wanted me to—he sure knows what he’s doing.

At the next glasshouse, a waiter appears relieving Coralie of her cardigan. I give him my shirt as well leaving me in just a tee.

When he offers to get us a drink, I opt for a non-alcoholic cider, Coralie echoing my choice.

“Why don’t you have a champagne or keep your beer buzz going?” I quietly ask.

“I’d rather not it’s so humid in here, I’d probably pass out,” she answers making a silly face at the end.

Giving her a smile, I nod.

And the tour goes on much the same. Holton talks passionately about the orchids. The reasons they’re featured and what the vision was. About how each plant is carefully curated from around the globe and what amazing research in Botanical science is carried out here in collaboration with other countries.

Coralie listens intently the whole time, while my only focus is on her. She’s completely immersed. There’s light in her eyes when she asks a question, awe on her face as she takes in every one of the galleries.

She practically skips through the Kaleidoscope of projected colored lights that change as we walk through the tunnel linking the last exhibit to the next, and I can’t help myself when I take out my phone and capture a few sneaky snaps of her as the colors change in the kaleidoscope tunnel.

Once the tour is over and Coralie has asked her hundreds of questions, Holton leads us away from the conservatory and over to where we’ll be eating.

The Garden Terrace room is huge, and I can only assume it’s mainly used for events, most probably weddings.

The back of my neck heats up. I’m not sure if this might be a little overkill. A wedding venue for our first date, I don’t know if I might have—

“Gunner, this room is absolutely gorgeous. Look at the views. Ah! These chandeliers are enormous and so sparkly. We’ve got this whole place to ourselves too?” She spins. Arms out wide, taking everything in.

“I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. Gunner! This is the best date ever!” She slides back over to me and lifts up on her toes to plant a soft kiss on my lips.

Even in heels she has to crane to reach me. I hold her to me and go in for another one just as Holton reminds us he’s still there with his polite cough and smiles.

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