Page 25 of The Roommate Problem
“This place is huge.” August shook his head, eyes still wide, taking everything in with a childlike wonder.
“Twenty-four acres of western and internationally inspired plant life right in the heart of the city.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “Can you believe it?”
He ignored her teasing and headed down the path toward the marigolds. Their pungent, musky, but oddly pleasant smell wrapped itself around her before they’d even gotten close to the flowers. She’d been to the gardens a few times before. Mostly for weddings. It was pricy to get married here, but Mile High Happiness had a few bigger clients over the years who’d picked the beauty of the Botanic Gardens for their nuptials.
Honestly, it’s where Mo would choose to get married if she had the option. The beauty of the flowers, the water gardens, the trees lining the walls made the whole place feel like a magical fairy kingdom in the middle of the city. She could see herself wearing a flowing gown, a flower crown in her hair as she walked toward…
The groom part was the only part she couldn’t picture.
Mo firmly believed that everyone had a soul mate. Someone to share in their happily ever after. But she had yet to find that person. Not for lack of trying. She liked to date. Meeting and learning about new people was always fun, but she hadn’t felt that…spark with anyone yet. Sexual chemistry, sure. There’d been a few she really hit it off with, but after a while, chemistry faded without anything solid to back it up.
Love.
Love had to back it up, and Mo had never been in love. But she believed down to the very bottom of her soul that she’d find it one day. She just had to keep looking.
They wandered through the gardens, enjoying the beautiful day. August stopped at every plant. He explained to her what each flora and fauna meant, giving her a much more in-depth explanation than any of the posted signs ever had. He’d hate her for saying it, but it was adorable how excited the man was about flowers. He appeared absolutely giddy every new garden section they entered.
“Okay, I have to give it to you, Moira.” August smiled at her. “This was a great idea. I can’t believe they can cultivate so many different species in one place. Especially in the city.”
She silently patted herself on the back, loving the way his face lit up like a kid on Christmas with each new path they took.
“Is that an aquilegia chrysantha? I’ve never seen them bloom this late in the season before.” He bent down close to the yellow flower, his grin a mile wide as he inspected the plant. “These little beauties do great in arid climates, but we never grew them on the farm because they’re not that popular in arrangements. Shame, really. Beautiful flower.”
She laughed, following him over to another section of the gardens. Mo listened with rapt attention as August explained not only the biology of the flowers and plants, but the meaning behind them as well.
“Oh, look.” He pointed to a cluster type looking flower with tiny white bunches of petals. “Achillea millefolium.”
She wrinkled her nose at the name. “Whaty what what?”
Gracing her with one of his devastatingly dimpled smiles, he explained, “Colorado yarrow. It was named after Achilles who used the genus of these plants to help staunch the wounds of his fellow soldiers at the siege of Troy.”
“You sure know a lot about flowers.” It was pretty darn adorable.
They made their way to the back of the massive acreage, walking along the curve of the Monet pool in the water gardens. Various types of lily pads and water lilies floated atop of the glassy surface of the manmade pond. According to August, the lilies were dormant right now, but Mo thought they were beautiful as is.
“Gran gave me my first book about flowers when I was ten, and I’ve been fascinated with them ever since.”
“Did you go to college? Wait.” She paused, tilting her head. “Do they have college degrees in plants?”
August chuckled, coming to a stop by her side. “They do. It’s called horticulture or floriculture if you want to study flowers specifically, but no, I didn’t go to college. When I graduated high school, I started working at the local flower farms. Mostly seasonal stuff, until I worked my way up to manager of the second biggest flower farm near Telluride.”
“Wow, impressive.”
“Thanks.” His gaze roamed over the gardens, a determined glint in his eyes. “I plan to grow my own flowers someday. Get a plot of land and start my own farm.”
Ambitious. She knew firsthand how hard it was to start a business. The first two years of Mile High Happiness had been very lean for her and her friends. They scraped by, working to the bone to build the steady and thriving business they had today. She had no doubts August had the same grit and gusto to make his dream a reality.
“So,” she said, taking a seat on the bench by the water. “Are you looking for a spot of land in the city? Because I know some real estate agents who are aces at finding exactly what people need.”
“I’m not staying in Denver.”
“What?” She popped up. “What do you mean you’re not staying in Denver?”
August looked at her like she was two cans short of a six-pack. “You can’t grow flowers in the city, Moira.”
She spread an arm wide around them. “Clearly you can.”
“This is different. It’s a tourist spot.”
