Free Wild Flower by Eliza Redgold Page B

known what he had to say. He’d get it right, this time.
    Now, among all the pot plants, he yanked her into his arms, like all the best Wild West heroes did with their heroines. ‘You and I are the priority. Everything else is logistics.’
    He breathed in her silky hair and inhaled the scent that had lured him on. Vanilla. He’d never get tired of it.
    ‘Come to California,’ he murmured. ‘I’m sure we can find a laser show. I don’t want a long distance relationship with you. I want a real, flesh and blood relationship. Until I can come up with some scratch and sniff software, it’s the only way. If you aren’t with me, I’ll be driven to consuming countless cupcakes. I’m serious, Dianella.’
    She yanked out of his arms. ‘I’m sorry, Wade. I don’t want to be transplanted.’
    ***
    Dianella’s heart raced. She had to be brave.
    Wade stared at her with a clenched jaw. ‘So you won’t give our relationship a chance.’
    She heaved a huge breath. ‘Neither of us can move our entire lives. We’re from different countries; we have different passions.’
    ‘We share the same passion. Can’t you see that? Not for the same things, but we’re both specialists. We both focus on small, specific, and know more about it than anything else. We’re prepared to look close and see. We can make it work.’
    Dianella gripped onto the edge of the shop counter behind her. ‘There’s only one way to make it work. I’ve got to make some changes in myself and not bottle up my feelings until they explode. I’ve got to realise that out of sight isn’t out of mind. That’s what I thought when my mum left me with Borrie. I thought she forgot all about me, the minute she’d gone.’
    ‘I’d never forget about you.’ Wade’s voice turned husky. ‘There’s another saying: absence makes the heart grow fonder.’
    She gulped. She’d misjudged him, and nearly ruined it between them. ‘I hope so, because I want us to have the kind of connection that can handle being apart sometimes.’
    ‘So let me get this straight,’ he demanded. ‘You do want a long distance relationship.’
    ‘I want our relationship,’ she whispered. ‘Our unique relationship. Together, apart, near, far, online, offline. Let’s create something new.’
    ‘A hybrid?’
    ‘A hybrid,’ she agreed.
    Wade moved closer. ‘I’m getting some ideas. We can set up a live stream. I think I’d like to see you twenty-four/seven on my mobile phone.’
    Another step. They almost touched.
    ‘Two-way?’ she queried, running a finger down his chest.
    He closed the gap between them. ‘Let me figure it out.’
    In a single swoop he grabbed her, backed her against the counter and hoisted her onto it.
    ‘Tiny is easy to miss,’ she managed to gasp as he slid his hand between her thighs.
    ‘You know I appreciate tiny,’ he murmured in her ear, his teeth on the lobe, making her shudder.
    With a sigh she leaned up and inhaled the skin at his neck.
    ‘You’re very close to me,’ he whispered.
    ‘Just checking on your Californian aftershave balm.’
    He chuckled, deep in his throat.
    ‘There are orchids in California I could study,’ she managed to say as his finger climbed. ‘ Epipactis gigantea , the stream orchid. It’s a big one.’
    ‘A gigantic orchid?’ Wade murmured in her ear. ‘You can’t miss that. But if you come to California, I have to warn you, there can be some hostility to tourists. Tramping all over the ground, taking photos of our wild flowers … they bend the stalks, and bruise the leaves and …’
    Dianella wrapped her legs around him. ‘I know a camera that won’t do any damage. It’s tiny. It’s called The Infinity …’

Epilogue
    A large family of plants unknown awaited their attention; plants quite new, of strangest form, of mysterious habits, and beauty incomparable.
About Orchids: A Chat—Frederick Boyle, 1893
    ‘I can’t believe we’re staying here at the Raffles Hotel.’
    Wade stroked Dianella’s