“For your garden. It’s not too late to buy more tubers, and they flower through the end of October, so it’ll give you long-lasting blooms. If you really like it, you can have it, and I’ll see if I can order more for you.”

“Really?” She took a step forwards but stopped herself. “I can have it for my project?”

I picked up a tomato plant and plucked off a sucker before meeting her eyes. “Would it make you happy?”

Gabriella nodded, and her hair fell out from behind her ear. “Very much so.”

“Then it’s yours.” I held her gaze for a moment, smiling, then looked away.

Maybe I could make her happy.

I could just give her a plant, evidently.

“What are you doing?” She walked over to me and peered over my shoulder, still keeping her hands to herself.

I looked down at her. “Plucking suckers.”

“That’s either entirely innocent or not at all, and if it’s the former, I’ve watched far too much television lately.”

I fought a laugh. “Tomato suckers.”

“Oh.”

“They’re all ready to go to their final places in the polytunnel now that they’re big enough.” I put the one I’d done down and grabbed another. This one was riddled with suckers, so it was easy enough to find one to show her. “I only grow indeterminate tomatoes, so I have to take off the suckers or you end up with a monster plant.” I took one of the main stems between my finger and thumb and turned so I was almost facing her. “You see this bit?”

“The little bit growing out from the middle?”

“That’s it. That’s a sucker. I just pinch it out and it won’t grow again.” I did just that, showed it to her, then dropped it in the bucket. “That one will just produce leaves now, not fruit.”

“Don’t you want it to do fruit?”

“I do. But you see these two stems here?” I tapped the top of the plant where the single stem broke off into two. “These are the main ones. I want these two to bear the fruit, not all the other ones that pop up. The plant will be stronger and better if it’s somewhat controlled.”

“Oh, that makes sense. You can plant the suckers, can’t you?”

I nodded and pulled off the remaining ones. “I don’t at this size because they’re too small, but there are always a few that get away from us. I put those in water, let them root, and plant them up.”

“Interesting.” Her arm brushed against mine as she looked over. “What tomatoes are they?”

“San Marzano. Plum tomatoes. Good for making sauces with.”

“Mm. Yummy.”

She still didn’t move.

I looked down at her. “Do you really have nothing else to do?”

“Sadly, I do not. That’s why I’m in college. So I can get a job and not be so bloody bored all the time.”

“You could get a job now.”

“There’s a problem with that.”