He gazed down at her, still so serious, but with a soft expression and she sighed. “I can’t. I’m busy tomorrow.”
His brow arched, obviously displeased. “Really?”
“Yes. I’m watching one of my students. We’re going to the Butterfly House at the boardwalk.”
“What time? I’ll drive you.”
“Eleven, but…no. That’s not what I—”
“You still don’t trust me.”
It was a statement, and in many ways it was true. In others, and for reasons she didn’t understand, it wasn’t.
Stephen tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Then I guess I’m going to have to work harder.”
The low rumble of his voice combined with the brush of his hand sent sparks flaring through her. He moved back, allowed her breathing room but speared her with a long, deliberate look.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gave her a wink and then he was gone.
Chapter 11
The boardwalk was a stretch of entertainment and shops, luring locals as much as tourists. Not a cloud in the sky today and the sidewalks on each side of the man-made pond were filled with both. Stephen crossed one of three small bridges that joined the two sides to reach the Butterfly House.
He entered the impressive glass atrium and was immediately hit with its tropical warmth. Trees indigenous only below the equator rose thirty feet toward the light in the center. Bushes of every shape and size filled the space, a spectrum of green against a rainbow of flowers. And butterflies. Too many to count, flittering and fluttering everywhere he looked. But he was only looking for one thing.
Peering between leaves bigger than his head, he found it, and took a moment just to watch her. He would have said Hannah couldn’t look more beautiful than she had yesterday with her cheeks flushed, her hair and cherry pink lips dripping wet. He’d have been wrong.
Even with temperatures in the eighties, she was completely covered in jeans and a long-sleeved white top. Standing in the sunlight streaming from the glass dome, she looked almost ethereal. Like some Lord of the Rings goddess, with her honey-gold hair hanging in waves to her waist and no fewer than ten butterflies on her head and shoulders. Some slowly pulsing their wings, others completely still, but all drawn to her. As he was.
A black-haired little girl of maybe six stood beside her. Tiny braids covered her head close to the scalp, each one sporting a colorful bead at the end. She stood hunched over, leaning her hands on metal walking sticks. Hard braces covered each arm elbow to wrist and a similar version ran from her hips to where they attached to special shoes.
As he made his approach, the child tried several times to hold her hand steady so the butterflies would land as they did on Hannah’s, but the jerky movements scared them away. When he rounded the corner, Hannah’s head came up, surprise clear in her pretty brown eyes.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” She laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder, rolled a bead through her fingers. “You came.”
“I did.” They shared a smile over the similar lines from their first date.
“This is Lola.”
“Hi.” The little girl spared him a quick glance before going back to the way more interesting black-and-blue butterfly on Hannah’s shirt.
“Her mom’s doing some errands while we hang out.”
“We’re hanging out in here right now,” Lola said.
He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
Hannah attempted to transfer a butterfly from her own finger to Lola’s, but the girl wobbled and lowered her hand to catch herself.
Stephen looked around for an empty bench. No luck. They moved along slowly and wobbling, sending insects scattering as they went.
“I have an idea. Is it okay to take your hands out of these?”
“If you want me to fall on my face,” Lola said with a good-natured smile.
“No, I definitely don’t want you to fall on your face. I was thinking I could hold you, if it wouldn’t hurt you.”
“No, it wouldn’t hurt me. But I’m getting too big to carry.”
“Hmm.” Stephen tried not to smile. “Well, why don’t we give it a try? I’m stronger than I look.”
Hannah helped Lola disengage her hands and Stephen lifted the child into his arms. “See, light as a feather. I’ll be your personal chariot for the day. How does that sound?”
Lola was all smiles, but the look on Hannah’s face, gazing up at him with adoration…for that he would’ve gladly carried a sack of bricks.
Now they were moving, meandering about the maze of vegetation, following the walkway, and counting the butterfly shapes hidden among the flowers. He had to squat down with the child every few steps, as she was determined to find each one, and the three of them made a game of it.
When he transferred a butterfly from his finger onto her nose, Lola giggled and squirmed. “Put it on Hannah’s nose!”
He did, and took the opportunity to brush his fingers along her neck when he swept her hair out of the way. So beautiful. And he imagined her lips wet and pink again, only this time from his mouth instead of rain.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Lola asked.
“What?” Hannah’s eyes flashed wide. “No.”
Well, that was quick. And emphatic.
With Lola directing, they walked next door to the aquarium. As much as the Butterfly House had been warm and bright, the aquarium was cool and dark.
Light shimmered in waves over the walls, creating the sense they were under the water with the sea creatures instead of only watching through the glass. Lola sat on a low bench, entranced by the sharks swimming in the tank before her.