Heath coming with her to her new condo at all . But she guessed this was the way of it, playing the newly single slut wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She used him. He used her right back.
Her eyes flicked to the moon, wishing she were far from here and soaking in a tubful of girly scented bubbles. Today had been a total bitch. Not only had Wilson changed the locks on their condo, preventing the movers from helping her collect her things, he wouldn’t return her phone calls. Maddeningly, Molly was down to the last clean outfit out of the three she’d packed before her divorce hearing. On top of that, she had been late for work due to fighting major traffic on the way back from a South Fort Myers job-hunting excursion. Her supervisor had raised a questioning brow when Molly had finally clocked in for work, but Molly raised one indignant brow right back. He’d cut her hours, so what did he expect? She had to find another job. During her mental meanderings, she heard a man pointedly clear his throat.
“Oh, sorry.” Molly flushed, wondering how long she’d been out of it. “Mr. Valdia -”
“Surnames are so formal, don’t you agree?” he asked her, taking a step closer. “I would prefer you call me by my first name, which is Extol.”
“ Extol ,” she repeated, wondering who would name their kid that. He tilted his blonde head almost imperiously, his strangely unique eyes closing as though savoring the sound of her voice repeating his name. But she knew better. Molly’s imagination had been getting the better of her for months. And a devastatingly glorious, albeit creepy, man would not find her that savory.
“Could you tell me about this particular garden,” he asked.
“Mina’s Moonlight Garden,” she explained, gesturing to the long, rectangular reflecting pool encased by three walls of pristine foliage, “was a personal endeavor Mrs. Edison cultivated for her husband. You see, typically, Thomas Edison worked all night. Most times, only sleeping after dawn emerged over the river. In fact, he kept cots scattered about the property, so he could take what modern society would refer to as power naps.” Unnervingly, Molly realized Extol’s eyes, with their unique butterscotch color, had oddly transfixed her, causing her to speak directly to him instead of working the crowd as a whole. Not good if she wanted to up the estates’ benefactors, which would up her chances of getting her fulltime position back. In this economy, they needed every dime they could squeeze out of every generous pocket. She glanced around, smiling at each of them. “Therefore, with her gift of flora, Mina created this Moonlight Garden right outside Mr. Edison’s personal office for him to enjoy. At any given moment, he could step out under the moon’s glow and appreciate botanical nature at its finest.”
Extol seemed to be closer to her now, his body’s warmth invading Molly’s personal space. “Did Mina ever join Thomas?”
She shook her head, frowning. “Join him?”
He gestured with a long hand to the empty bench. “In this garden built just for him, did Mr. Edison’s wife, who obviously coveted the sun’s bounty, join her husband under the moon?”
A mild wind kicked up, the lush fragrance of night blooms enveloping her. Molly closed her eyes briefly, breathing in moonflowers and evening primrose. “Sure, at times.” Or so she thought, something was messing with her mind, clogging its arterial flow, and she couldn’t seem to remember necessary facts. Had to be stress, Molly figured.
“Enchanting, don’t you agree?” he inquired smoothly.
“Yes.” Molly realized that, once more, Extol had herded her, putting himself between her and the others. Raising a censoring brow, she stepped back and stared pointedly at the other prospective benefactors. “Any other questions I can answer regarding Mina’s Moonlight Garden?” In return, all she heard were the crickets, the lulling current of the