He had it wrapped and they left the store. He’d noticed Hannah’s pace had slowed considerably over the last hour. And more, something about her gait…not quite limping, but he shortened his stride. “That pretzel stand is calling my name. Mind if we break for a quick snack?”
“Sure.”
He grabbed two pretzels and they sat on benches spaced intermittently next to the water. Urns overflowing with tiny pink and purple flowers graced each end. He took a bite, watched her do the same as the ducks begged on the water behind them.
“So, your brothers are pretty protective, huh?”
“They have their reasons, I guess.”
She reached up and slipped a hand into her hair. She had this habit of wrapping the strands around her finger, which he found totally endearing and completely hot.
“Nothing wrong with being protective. My brothers and I weren’t so easy on guys sniffing around our sister.” Well, shit. That didn’t come out right. Sounded like he was sniffing around Hannah. He barely resisted the urge to rake his fingers through his hair. He didn’t get nervous around women. Didn’t feel uncomfortable. Didn’t care enough to. But then she smiled at him like she understood, making everything better.
“Don’t worry about it. We’re just shopping, right?”
He wasn’t sure he liked how that sounded, like none of this mattered.
She turned her back and pinched off a piece, threw it into the water. It wasn’t long before the ducks waddled up the bank to ask for their snack up close and personal.
“Who was that woman you came to the barn with last week?”
He didn’t want to talk about Camila. “No one.”
“Everyone is someone.”
He sighed. “You’re right. Someone I work with.”
“Ouch!” Hannah jerked back.
“What? Did he bite you?”
She shook out her hand, gave a hesitant laugh. “Not really. Sorry. Just scared me.”
“Let me see.” He raised her hand for closer inspection.
“He didn’t mean to.”
It looked okay, but he brought her hand to his lips anyway and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. Her lips parted and she sucked in a breath. He was going to kiss that mouth and soon. But not yet. He gave her a gentle bite that made her yelp and laugh.
So beautiful and so much more. He was dazzled by it and…for a second he wondered if maybe there could be something for him between not giving a shit and caring too much. Something between meaningless sex and meaning everything.
He kept her hand, liking the way it felt in his, and they made their way over the short bridge to the other side. Large, blinking globes bordered a giant sign on their right announcing today’s feature film, the newest Bond movie.
“I wanted to see that.”
They spoke at the same time and there was an instant unity. Their eyes met and he was sure they both felt it. A split second of that unmistakable couple feeling he’d once known well. Something expanded inside his chest before he squashed it down.
He glanced at his watch as much to check the time as to push that long ago feeling aside. “Perfect timing. What do you think?”
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
Chapter 12
An hour and a half later they exited the theater to an afternoon sun slipping low behind the buildings, leaving the sidewalk in cool shadow. Stephen stepped away to drop their empty popcorn containers in a waste can and she took the opportunity to check her phone.
Three missed calls, all from Nick. Her finger hovered over the button to call him back, but she texted him instead. She didn’t want to waste her time with Stephen explaining where she was.
When he returned to her side, he took her hand and linked their fingers as he had in the movie. Warm and solid, and her heart tripped. They didn’t talk about what to do next, just a silent mutual agreement to keep walking.
There was a lot more to him than rich businessman. He’d been like a little kid in the aquarium. And smart. Really smart. Spouting off facts before even reading the placards in front of each glass case. And he made her laugh with his silly made-up nonsense; even better, he’d made Lola laugh. It seemed nothing rattled him, and as much as just being near him made her nervous, it also felt good. He made her smile.
It would have been easier if he’d turned out to be a jerk. Easier to say no, easier to protect herself. The more she liked him, the more she struggled against that niggling fear reminding her she had little ability to tell the good guys from the bad.
They watched street performers and stood in line to pet a white tiger cub from a local zoo. She didn’t even want to know how much money he’d passed the guy to get her an extra five minutes. After that, they decided on dinner, a hibachi-style place. The food was good, the table lively. She learned Stephen had a talent for catching food in his mouth. And that she had none.
They came out of the restaurant to a very different boardwalk. Twinkling lights hung like lace in ornamental trees against the dark sky. As they’d learned from their waiter, tonight was couples night, the last night of Spring Fling Week.
The sound of a band drew them in a certain direction, and Stephen took her hand again. It was becoming a natural thing, his touching her, her liking it. She felt safe and secure with Stephen’s big body shielding her from the crowd. For someone who never felt completely safe, it was amazing. Liberating. Even with her brothers it wasn’t the same, maybe because their tension radiated like a warning blast, constantly on the lookout for danger. Had they always been that way or only after? She couldn’t remember.