Page 86 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
In the centre of the garden he could see George and the others waiting. They all knew how much this meant to her.
“One more step, then that’s the last one.”
“I can’t believe it!”
He laughed and her head turned to his, her eyes still obediently closed. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” Except being around her made him … happy. “I love your enthusiasm.”
“Well, if you’ve done what I think you have, I love you too.”
He stilled. Eyed her.
Her cheeks were pink. “Oh my gosh. I mean that in a general way. Not specifically. Oh my goodness, that sounds bad too. Can I please open my eyes? I need to run away.”
“Nope. No running away from me ever. Okay?” He squeezed her hand.
She squeezed back. “Okay,” she whispered.
He technically probably didn’t need to hold her hand, but he pretended he did anyway. He liked the feel of her hand in his. Her skin felt soft, delicate. For a woman who’d proved herself strong in so many ways, he liked this feeling of gentleness too.
He ignored his sister’s smirk and positioned Liv to face the front, so she’d see it like in that blessed movie she kept going on about. “Ready?” She nodded. “Now on the count of three. One, two, three.”
She opened her eyes, her hands flying to her face. “Oh!”
She must’ve stood there a solid thirty seconds before he realized she had tears leaking from her eyes. “Liv? Are you okay?”
She nodded then suddenly pivoted and flew at him, her arms around his neck. “Thank you. Oh, thank you, thank you,thankyou.”
“Hey, it’s all right.”
Except it wasn’t all right. Holding Liv like this made him realize how long it had been since he’d held a woman. Since he’d held a woman he liked romantically. And in this moment, despite their jeans, her ponytail, his sweat, their observers, he could see why this scene could evoke so many copycats.
There was something magical about the play of light on the windows, and how the water droplets framed the scene. Maybe he really was under some kind of spell, for he knew a desire to crush her to himself and kiss her senseless.
She pulled back before he could get carried away and do exactly that. Her cheeks were as pink as his felt, and she pivoted sharply to face the water again.
“Looks like somebody should get in and cool down,” his sister teased. “A couple of people, maybe.”
“George,” he warned.
“Oh, it’s just as pretty as I imagined.” Liv turned to them. “Have you taken photos?”
“I was going to, then you moved,” George teased.
“Stop it. I was excited, okay?” Liv glanced at him. “Sorry.”
He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, trying not to let the disappointment at her comment show.
“Don’t be sorry,” George said. “He’s not.”
“Georgina, did you have something else to do?”
God bless Veronica for herding his sister away. That didn’t stop George from making love hearts with her two hands.
“She’s such a child,” he murmured.
“She loves you.”
