Page 88 of Halstead House

“What flavor?” I asked.

“All the flavors,” he replied as we rounded a corner of the house and were immediately cast into shadows. The sun was beginning to set, and the twilight surrounded us.

“What...” I opened my mouth to ask, but stopped when he bent slightly and wrapped both of his arms around my waist, pulling me close.

“Kisses or hugs?” he asked in a quiet voice.

My heart thundered in my chest as his head neared mine. “Did you sneak me off to kiss me?” I asked. Delighted goosebumps rose along my arms.

“It’s up to you. Kisses or hugs?”

I bit my lower lip as though thinking it over. “Kisses.”

“Good answer.”

His head bent over mine, and thanks to my heels I didn’t have to push up very far to meet him halfway. I didn’t care that my lipstick would be ruined, or that my chin might be red from the friction of his beard. All I cared about was that his arms were holding me tightly against him. Breathing became difficult, and I clung to him like a lifeline.

“I’d give anything to be anywhere else with you tonight,” he whispered against my ear before placing a kiss on the side of my neck.

“I don’t know, this place is kind of working out for me,” I responded on a shaky breath.

He chuckled against my throat, his warm breath giving me those world-famous tingles. “Do you have any idea how many of these I’ve attended? You’re the first person I’ve ever snuck away with.”

I reached up and stroked his jaw, loving the way his beard scratched against my palm. “Maybe we could just hide out here for a while,” I said.

In response he pressed another series of kisses to my willing lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung tightly to him. I loved how solid he felt. He was strength, and warmth, and kindness, and it felt impossible that it could be real.

After a few more minutes he sighed and straightened up. His eyes roamed over my face and hair, his hand following to adjust anything that had been knocked out of place. “You ready to go back in there?”

“Only if we can sit by Mr. J.W. and get some more lovely compliments.” I used my thumb to wipe a trace of lipstick from his lower lip before taking his hand in mine and tugging him back toward the gathering.

“He wasn’t tactful, but he wasn’t wrong.” He pulled our connected hands up and kissed the back of mine. “You’re much prettier than the others.”

I was terribly pleased, whether I believed him or not, and my smile grew large. “Flattery or truth?” I asked.

“Flattery. Every single time.”

“I’ll remember that,” I said.

“See that you do.”

CHAPTER 20

“I never pictured you as the type to sit with her feet dangling in a fountain,” I said to Eliza over a week later.

“If Mother and Father could see this, I’d be in more trouble than you can imagine.” Eliza’s voice was subdued as she tilted her head back and stretched her shoulders.

“Were your parents strict?” I asked. My toes lazily swished around in the cool water.

“No more so than any other parents of their generation,” she replied. “Less so than I imagine Lillian was.”

“My mother would never in a million years allow this moment.”

This afternoon we’d hosted a luncheon for the local historical society. As Eliza was a member, the majority of the duties had fallen to me. However, as I’d watched Eliza and the other women circle around topics, and heard sharp words fly when emotions became heated, I’d come to appreciate that she’d worked just as hard as I had.

After cleanup Eliza had suggested we sit near the fountain in the garden, a favorite place of mine, and relax for a moment. The heat was at its peak, but Eliza had taken a chair from one of the lunch tables and told me to do the same. We’d placed them right next to the fountain rather than using the bench that was set back a bit. My mouth had dropped open as I’d watched her take off her shoes and stockings, hike her skirt to her knees, and put her feet directly in the cool water.

Eliza leaned her head back and closed her eyes, her face slightly tilted up toward the sun that filtered through the tree branches overhead. After a few moments of blissful silence she asked, “How is your mother?”

---