Free Breathe for Me by Natalie Anderson Page A

She glanced around—imagined seeing it for the first time with no clue of the reason. Yeah, it probably did look weird. She glanced at his expression, and her laughter bubbled out.
    Xander looked slowly round the room. Had he misread her personality completely? She really was a total rule breaker? She’d set up some weed growing operation in her apartment in the middle of the city? He stared at the trays and trays of seedlings and the lamps on to promote their growth.
    “You think I’m crazy, right?” She rested against the arm of her sofa and laughed some more—pretty much bent double at his expression.
    His mood soared at hearing her laugh like that and frankly, he’d been surfing a happy wave as it was. Damn it felt good. He’d have to make her laugh more. But he couldn’t look away from her walls for long. “What are you growing?”
    There were hundreds—if not thousands—of small plants lining the shelves.
    “Basil. Oregano. Stuff like that.”
    “In bulk?” She was turning her Manhattan shoebox into a market garden? “Most people put books on their bookcases.”
    “I know, I’ve had to put them in boxes.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, I need the herbs.”
    “For what?”
    She turned to him, her eyes alight with amusement and what—excitement? “You really want to know?”
    “Absolutely.” How could anyone not want to know? And he definitely wanted to know what it was that had her so enthused.
    “I’m an intern at an urban art institute—a non-profit organization that tries to raise art and design awareness in the city.”
    He didn’t get what the plants had to do with art. “I’m guessing you’re an unpaid intern.”
    “Aren’t we all?” She smiled, another small chuckle escaping.
    He smiled right back at her. “And isn’t New York already full of incredible art and design?”
    “Sure, but sometimes we need reminding. Challenging. We need to shake things up a bit.”
    “With herbs?” How was that going to work?
    “Legal ones.” She laughed. “Sure, why not?”
    He still didn’t get it. He walked over to her, unable to resist crouching so he could see into her face better. “What is it you’re planning?”
    Her smile as she looked down at him was the cutest thing. “I’m working on a series of pop-ups. Temporary shops, eateries, gourmet soup places, coffee carts. Ultimately I’d love to do a whole precinct.”
    “So its retail?” She was going to sell the herbs?
    “More than that. It’s about urban growth and regeneration. Finding something where you’d least expect it—in a construction site or something there’s suddenly something fun and whimsical but practical at the same time. Enhancing the communities we already have. Providing a focal point for a while.”
    “A focal point of herbs.” He couldn’t help the scepticism.
    But she just laughed again which made him warm to her more. She wasn’t bothered that he didn’t get it? It was nice to meet someone who wasn’t bothered about getting approval.
    “I’m putting up a temporary pizza oven. A shack really. A literally ‘living’ room. The walls are going to be made with the herbs.”
    “Uh huh.” He still couldn’t quite see it but he was trying. “Hence the need for so many.”
    “That’s right.”
    “You got people helping you?” It sounded to him like she was going to need it.
    “Team Greene.” She nodded.
    “Cute.” He chuckled. “Who’s in the team?”
    “Um.” She colored. “Just me so far. But I’m working on it.”
    “Other interns don’t want to get in on the action?” Was she gearing up for a total fail? He hoped not, it struck him she had a few burdens she was shouldering already.
    “I think I’ve won one over. But some of them think it’s not what you know but who you know.”
    The networking game. He understood it well. And though he knew shouldn’t want to help—shouldn’t complicate this—he couldn’t resist the urge riding inside. “I might be able to introduce