Chapter 22

22

F aith walked back into her house and went to the bedroom. She stopped and inhaled deeply. As she leaned over the bed to make it, there was the slightest hint of Destiny's perfume. She smiled, took a moment to close her eyes, and inhaled again. There was a time when Faith used to tease Destiny about wearing perfume to work.

"I don't know why you spray that on every morning when you know it won't be long until your sweat will be mixing with the scent," Faith said.

Destiny extended her arm and sprayed the bottle near Faith. "I do it for you, babe."

"For me?"

"Yes," Destiny said, taking a couple of steps to pull Faith into her arms. "I may be sweaty and dirty later, but you'll still be able to smell my sweetness."

Faith put her arms around Destiny's shoulders and pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss. "Mmm, you taste sweet, too."

"We're going to be late," Destiny mumbled against Faith's lips.

"Mmm, one more." Faith gently sucked Destiny's bottom lip into her mouth then deepened the kiss. Their tongues met in a dance of sweetness to match their aroma and taste. Faith slowly pulled away and rested her forehead against Destiny's. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"Even if I smell?" Destiny replied softly.

Faith chuckled. "You will always smell sweet to me."

Faith smiled at the memory and once the bed was made she took a shower. While she washed her hair, thoughts of Destiny's lips against hers sent a shot of desire coursing through her body. The water pelted her now sensitive skin and she longed for Destiny's touch.

When Destiny had grabbed her and kissed her that morning, Faith had to hold back. She wanted to fling her arms around Destiny, hold her tight and never let her go, but she knew it could be too much.

The last thing she wanted to do was rush either of them into something they weren't quite ready for. But then Destiny had kissed her goodbye and that's when Faith felt it. Their hearts reached for each other and held on. Their love wound around them and pulled them closer. Faith could feel them both falling deeper in love and that made this bond even stronger.

She was sure it grew every time they saw each other, thought of each other, and now touched each other. Faith couldn't wait for Destiny to come back over this afternoon.

"I've been thinking about the presentation," Destiny said as they watched the video for the third time.

"Okay," Faith replied. "I'm all ears."

"The contractor doesn't have to know we're two small companies pooling our resources for this bid," Destiny began. "We'll be a united front when we do the presentation. There's no reason to confuse them."

"Hmm," Faith murmured. "I get what you mean, but we have to give them a name for our company."

"What would you think if we did the bid under the name of Fields of Green?" Destiny said tentatively.

A smile grew on Faith's face. She and Destiny had often talked about starting their own landscaping business together and had thrown out names from time to time. Fields of Green had been Faith's favorite. "Seriously?" she asked.

"It's the perfect name," Destiny said with a smile. "It's our names, but also our business."

"You don't mind that my name is first?"

Destiny scoffed. "No! It's the perfect name for a landscaping business."

"You know I always loved that name," Faith said.

"Let's do it then," Destiny said. "We'll use your address for the bid. The formal contract can have both our companies' names on it under the ‘doing business as' tag."

"My address?"

"We're here most of the time anyway," Destiny said. "The contact information will be done by email."

Faith narrowed her eyes at Destiny. "So the title of the company for all the slides and on the video will be Fields of Green?"

"Yeah, let me show you," Destiny said excitedly. "I changed a couple of the slides before I came back over." She hit a button on her computer and turned the screen towards Faith. "What do you think?"

Faith stared at the screen and couldn't keep the smile from her face. They had planned to join their two companies together and take on this huge project. Could they possibly pull this off?

"You're not saying anything."

Faith, still smiling, looked over at Destiny. "We always played around with names for this make-believe company." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "This is beginning to feel real. We're really doing this."

Destiny nodded. "It's all here, Faith. We've done it."

"Oh no," Faith said, shaking her head. "This is just the beginning. While you've been thinking about the business end of things, I've been thinking about the actual installation."

Destiny chuckled. "That's usually the way we worked." She smiled. "Tell me."

Faith sighed and slowly raised one brow. "We each have two teams."

"Right."

"We put one of your teams on the rock cairns, one of mine on the fountain," Faith said. "The other two teams will be on the largest building working together."

"Okay, what else?"

"We line them out each morning," Faith explained. "Then we do the maintenance for our other clients. We check in with them during the day and make sure things are on schedule. At the end of the day we let the crews off and we take whatever supplies they need for the next day to the site. We'll work the overtime."

"It makes sense," Destiny said. "We don't need to be there watching over them the entire time. Besides, we both have other accounts that have to be maintained." She stared at Faith and smiled. "It'll be like old times. We're finally back on the same crew."

"We always worked better together," Faith said.

"And got more done than any of the other teams," Destiny added.

"Do you still remember how to run a mower and a trimmer?" Faith asked with amusement in her voice.

Destiny laughed. "I should hope so since I was finishing up mowing at an apartment complex yesterday before I came over here."

Faith laughed. "I wasn't sure you still did that since you're the boss and all."

"Oh," Destiny said with a twinkle in her eye. "I know you still mow and trim. There's no way you'd let someone else do it all the time."

"I help where I'm needed," Faith said. "It is my company."

Destiny chuckled. "Okay then. Does this mean I'm on the mower and you'll do the trimming? You know how I hate to trim and you're so much better at it."

"Nice try," Faith said. "Nope, we'll be taking turns."

Destiny laughed. "Okay, it sounds like we have a plan. Now, for the presentation."

"I'm sure you have ideas," Faith said, leaning back in her chair. "Let's hear it."

"You'll stand on one side of the screen and I'll stand on the other," Destiny began. "We introduce ourselves and I'll give them an overview of the project and the vibe we're creating."

"Okay."

"Then you take over at the front of the main building."

Faith nodded. "We walk them around to the right side where the smaller building with the fountain is located. I give them all the advantages of the soothing water vibes then walk them around the back of the main building."

"I'll take it from there?—"

"Be sure and point out the little shack," Faith said with a sly look. "Don't be afraid to use it as leverage since we were trapped there."

Destiny chuckled. "Let's hope we don't have to. Anyway, I'll bring them around to the other smaller building with the rock cairns highlighting their benefits then back to the front."

"We should give them our ideas of how the landscape can change with the seasons," Faith said.

"Then we can take questions. Did I leave anything out?"

"We should probably give them a timeline," Faith said. "Contractors are always late and we don't want them to think they'll have to wait on us."

"Oh," Destiny said. "Good point."

Faith watched as Destiny added several notes in her notebook. She had missed times like these. They seemed to always be on the same page when it came to creating beautiful landscapes. Their ideas were different, but they found a way to incorporate them and make the final project even better.

Destiny looked up at her and grinned. "Do you know what you're going to wear to the presentation yet?"

Faith gave her a sexy smile. "Maybe I'll surprise you."

Destiny leaned back in her chair and raised her brows.

Faith watched Destiny's eyes roam up and down her body. That same flash of desire from this morning shot through her. Faith raised her brows in response, challenging Destiny to do more than just look.

Destiny released an audible sigh and shook her head. "If I mess up this presentation it'll be your fault."

Faith chuckled. "You won't mess it up and neither will I."

"Okay, Ms. Confidence," Destiny said. "Let's practice."

They spent the next hour working on what they wanted to say to the contractor and the group who would be deciding what company won the bid.

"That was the best yet," Faith said after their most recent run-through. "Let's not be tentative when we talk about the costs. This transformation will be worth every penny and we have to make them believe it. Do you want to go through it again?"

"You know," Destiny said, looking over at Faith. "We could practice on my parents." She raised her eyebrows with a hopeful look. "That is, if you'd like to go with me for Sunday lunch tomorrow?"

"I love your parents," Faith said excitedly. "And I love their Sunday get-togethers."

"Is that a yes?"

"Is this a date?" Faith replied with amusement.

"Mmm, I don't think so," Destiny said. "What's special about going to my parents'? We did that a lot."

"It's special to me." Faith shrugged.

Destiny's face lit up. "I have an idea," she said. "Okay, it can be a date."

Faith furrowed her brow. "What's your idea?"

"It's my turn to surprise you," Destiny said.

Faith smiled and tilted her head. "You don't have to surprise me, Des. All I want is to spend time with you."

Destiny reached over and took Faith's hand. They stared into each other's eyes and neither said anything for a moment.

A growl from an empty stomach invaded the peacefulness in the office.

Faith chuckled. "Should we order dinner?"

Destiny nodded and took out her phone. "It's my turn to buy."

"You could stay the night again," Faith said.

Destiny looked up from her phone and smiled.

Faith met her gaze and could see the back and forth in Destiny's eyes. Too soon? Faith hoped Destiny could see how much she wanted her to stay. Just having Destiny in bed beside her was enough. Oh, who was she kidding! She wanted Destiny, all of her.

Destiny exhaled and rubbed her lips together. "I want to, but…"

Faith nodded. "It's okay."

"I was wondering," Destiny said.

"Yes?" Faith replied, drawing the word out.

"Could we stay here after your birthday party Saturday night?" Destiny asked tentatively.

Faith smiled and grabbed Destiny's hand. "You can stay here any night and every night. Consider this an open invitation. However…"

Destiny raised her eyebrows. "However?"

Faith sighed and looked down at their hands. "It would be very hard for me to sleep next to you and not…"

"Hold me?" Destiny asked. "Did you not feel me holding you last night?"

"Of course I did," Faith said softly. "I grabbed your hand because I didn't want you to pull away."

Destiny reached up with her other hand and caressed the side of Faith's face. "I didn't want to pull away."

Faith nodded. "What are you ordering us for dinner?"

Destiny leaned over and kissed Faith's cheek then sat back in her chair. "Let's see? Mexican? Italian? Burgers? Ramen?"

Faith smiled and felt their love fill the room. She could be patient until the time was right because she knew Destiny Green loved her.