Return to You by Samantha Chase

there. “I realized that I never said it earlier so…thank you. I’ll pay you back. Promise.”
    Silence. He just stared at her with a lazy grin. It was then she realized that she must be interrupting his work and decided that stopping by was probably a foolish thing to do. Before she made an even bigger fool of herself, she gave a tight smile. “Well, I don’t want to keep you from your work. So—”
    â€œWhy aren’t you at practice right now?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œPractice. Don’t you normally have cheer or dance practice or something after school?”
    â€œOh, I…um…I didn’t feel like it today,” she said honestly.
    â€œUh-huh.” He continued to watch her with that grin, and she could only hope James didn’t notice her squirm in her seat.
    â€œWell, I don’t want to keep you from your—”
    â€œYou said that already,” he said teasingly.
    â€œYou keep interrupting me,” she teased right back.
    â€œActually, I’m done for the day, so you’re not keeping me from anything. I was just looking over what I’d done. Want to come and see it?”
    â€œSure.” It was no more than a whisper.
    â€œYou can pull into the driveway.”
    She pulled in where he had indicated and was surprised, again, when he appeared next to her and opened her car door. The look on her face caused him to smile. Without breaking eye contact, he held out a hand to her.
    â€œI won’t bite,” he said when she didn’t move.
    She couldn’t respond; she could only take his hand, climb out, and return his smile. They walked around the yard, still holding hands, as he explained about all of the different plants they had put in and why they were placed where they were and any other interesting facts he could think of.
    â€œWhat’s this one?” she asked as she examined and smelled the fragrant plant. “The purple flowers are beautiful.”
    â€œThat’s a butterfly bush.”
    â€œNo, seriously. What’s it called?”
    â€œSeriously, it’s called a butterfly bush.” When she still looked at him with disbelief, he caved. “Okay, butterfly bush or Buddleja davidii is a favorite shrub of mine because of its colorful flowers and ability to attract a variety of beneficial insects. It’s native to China, but it adapted to most regions of the southeast. It can be killed during a harsh winter, though. We tried to talk the homeowner out of using it, since we get some really extreme winters up here, but they were insistent. The wife saw it while on vacation, and she couldn’t be swayed.”
    â€œWon’t she be mad when it dies after one winter?”
    James shrugged. “Probably, but we explained the risks. It’s a shame it’s not sturdier. In the right climate, on a sunny day, it’s not unusual to find one of these with dozens of butterflies hovering around.” He pictured Selena surrounded by flowers and butterflies. “Beautiful,” he murmured.
    â€œI’m sure it is,” she said with a wistful sigh. “The yard looks amazing.”
    â€œThank you,” he said softly.
    â€œWell, thanks for showing me around. It was interesting; I didn’t realize that so much went in to landscaping.” She turned to walk away, but he gently placed a hand on her arm.
    â€œHey, since you’re here, could you maybe give me a ride?” James asked. Selena stared at him quizzically. “I, um, I don’t have a car. Normally I walk home or my boss picks me up, but it’s looking pretty gray right now, and I don’t look forward to walking…”
    â€œOh, yeah. Of course,” she stammered as they headed back toward her car. Selena was secretly thrilled to have some extra time with him. “You’ll have to tell me where you live.”
    It wasn’t a long drive—far too short for her liking. She had