Page 170 of Banter & Blushes

She laughed. “Oh, I know. Close your eyes.”

“I prefer to keep them open.” I planted a kiss on her nose.

“Then I guess there’s nothing to do but pick berries and?—”

“Okay.” My arms closed around her, and I cut off her sentence with a light kiss on the tip of her nose. Her eyelids fluttered as her hands found my hair, and only then did I close my own eyes, wanting to block out the nature sounds around us so I could concentrate fully on Arwyn.

Gone were the snorts of the horses, the tweedles of the birds, and the rustling of the leaves. The soft touch of her lips, her rose-scented hair, the tickle of flyaway strands against my neck, the way we fit against each other … It all consumed me.

Until the sound of kids singing pulled us from each other, and we reluctantly headed back to the horses. A camp group passed by us and continued up the trail as we collected the picnic lunch and blanket from Elvis and Buttons.

I followed Arwyn into the meadow, where she spread the blanket over the tall, lush grass, next to a sprinkling of wildflowers.

“The pink and purple are lupines,” she said. “The yellow ones are goldenrod, and that’s Queen Anne’s lace next to the daisies.”

I sank onto the blanket next to her and began to unpack the soft-sided thermal cooler. “Flowers 101,” I teased as I passed her the hand sanitizer. “Will there be a quiz?”

She nodded as she rubbed her hands with the gel. “High stakes. A kiss for each correct answer.”

“I should study, then.”

Arwyn laughed. “You do that. Oooh! Blueberries!” She opened the container and popped a few into her mouth. “They’re so sweet here. Small, but sweet.”

“Like you,” I cooed. “Teeny and delicious.” Her giggle was music to my ears as I quickly sanitized my hands and scooped up a handful of blueberries. “Open wide!’

“You’re going to—oh!” A blueberry hit the tip of her nose. She caught it on the bounce in her hands.

“I am,” I said. “Try again?”

“If you insist.” She parted her lips and tilted her head back. I lobbed a blueberry toward her, and it hit its target.

Arwyn chewed it and grinned. “Nice shot.”

“Iama professional.”

“With a puck.”

I shrugged. “I’m good at hitting targets.”

“Your turn.” She pinched the first blueberry between her thumb and index finger.

I leaned back on my elbows and opened my mouth toward the cloud-spackled blue sky. The sun was brighter than I was expecting, forcing my eyes to close against the light.

Instead of a blueberry, it was Arwyn’s mouth that met mine.

Another kissing session?

Way better than lunch.

Up here, alone in the meadow, it felt like we were in another world, and I could tell from the fervency of her kisses that she wanted to make every minute count.

Arwyn pulled away and smiled, waiting for me to make the next move. As I drew near her again, her smile faltered, and she inhaled a slow, steadying breath. It whooshed out in a soft sigh, and I patiently pressed my lips to hers once again. But this time, I deepened the kiss so that her next sigh would be all mine.

Lunch could wait.

After we tuckedthe girls into bed, I kissed Arwyn goodbye, grabbed my Edge cap, tossed it on backward, and took the resort shuttle to Paddy’s Tavern. Flynn’s bachelor celebration was already in full swing when I arrived.

It looked like every guy in town had shown up. I recognized Ryan, Easton, Damon, and Matt at the pool table—I’d met him at pickup yesterday—and a cluster of professional hockey players in a lively darts tournament. Flynn’s dad and uncle sat at the bar, and his brother and cousins were on the small stage attempting to sing a rock song I think was from the 1970s.

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