Page 97 of Pictures in Blue
He stills. “I’m not nervous.”
“Yes, you are. You’ve been fidgeting the whole movie.”
“I’m just…I want to show you what I had planned.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, we know how the movie ends. You’re the hopeless romantic in this. Show me what you’ve got, Mountain Man.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
HUDSON
“Okay,” I respond, anxious energy coursing through me at the thought of her answering the question I have been dying to ask her all day. “But first, follow me.” I grab her hand and go to the kitchen to grab two mugs and turn on the tea kettle for hot chocolate. Once it beeps, I pour the liquid into the mugs and add the mix.
“Did you just boil water for hot chocolate?” She asks like she can’t believe I would do such a thing.
“Yes?” I say, confused with her offense.
“Hot chocolate with milk is superior. I can’t believe you just made it with water.”
“I’ve always made it with water. People make it with milk?”
Running a hand down her face, she laughs at my apparent ignorance. “Oh my gosh. You may know a lot of things, but in this you are clearly sheltered. Milk isalwaysbetter.”
I smile. “Then next time you can make it.”
Next time. If she says yes.
I move closer to her until her back is pressed to the kitchen island with my arms on either side of her, keeping her close to me. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?” She looks up at me through her eyelashes, giving me a look that says she knows exactly where the rest of this night is going to go. I bend down to kiss her, pressing my lips to hers and moving my hands to either side of her face. Cradling her head here feels like the best kind of memory. Soft, warm, something I call to the front of my mind when I want to feel whole. When I want to feel like this life means something.
I break the kiss and lightly touch my forehead to hers. “For saying yes.”
“Mmm,” she responds softly, and fists her hands into my shirt to pull me closer. “Thank you for asking, even though we didn’t go where you planned.”
I shake my head. “This was better.” She tries to pull me back down to her, but I stop her. “I have one more thing.”
I grab her hand and guide her to the back porch, grabbing the drinks on the way, careful not to spill them. This is what I have been most looking forward to all evening.
“One of the best parts of the summer in Blue Grove is when it’s warm enough to sit outside at night, my favorite thing to do is lay out here with the sounds of the night around me, and look up at the sky.” We make it to the back porch where I take off my jacket and wrap it around her. The night is warm, but I know she is always cold. A few lanterns are placed on the railing where I left them earlier. I grab one and hand her the other, before reaching my hand back inside to switch off the porch light.
Her breath catches, and it reminds me of the first time I came out to this property when it was just an open field. I went once in the morning and once at night to see what the landscape was like. I stood where Avery is standing now minus the porch and stared out toward the trees. It was serene. Peaceful even then, but now, seeing her here, looking in wonder the same way I did, I don’t think I knew what peace was until this moment.
I follow her down the few steps out to the middle of the yard. She holds the lantern close to her chest like she’s afraid of dropping it, causing it to shatter.
The glow from the lanterns light up features of her face in intervals. Her hair. Her cheeks. Her eyes. Her lips. A dance across her face I want to watch every night for the rest of my life.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.
“Yes,” I say, my eyes never leaving her face. A blush creeps up her cheeks and she turns away. I pull her back with her chin between my finger and thumb. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” Her eyes are downcast, trying to hide.
“Don’t hide from me. I want to see you. Idosee you, Avery.”
