Page 63 of Freedom's Kiss
“I could give Dick Van Dyke a run for his money.”
“Those are big words.”
“And no idle boasting.”
She sat down in the sand and leaned back on her elbows. “Okay, let’s see it.”
“Oh, no. You’re flying one too.”
She lowered her eyes, then peered up at him through her lashes. “What if I don’t know how?”
She was teasing him, the minx. Well, two could play that game. “I’ll teach you.” He reached into the bag and pulled out the first kite.
She looked at it and laughed. “Elsa?”
He put on an unrepentant expression. “It was either that or Cinderella, and I didn’t think you were the waiting-around-for-prince-charming type of princess.”
“No? But I’m the born-with-powers-I-can’t-control princess?”
He winked. “You’ve already cast a spell on me.”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile tipped wider. “And what do you have? I might want to trade.”
He pulled out the other kite.
She laughed. “Spider-Man. Nice choice. But remember—with great power comes great responsibility.” Her face froze.
Concern pinched his ribs. “You okay?”
Her mouth lifted in another smile, but this one looked less genuine, more forced. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He wanted to ask again, make sure she was really all right, but she waved him away and assembled her kite, letting out the string. “So how do I do this thing?”
Elsa lay facedown in the sand at their feet. “First you need to pick the kite up and put your back to the wind.”
Olivia picked up the kite and turned her back to him. “Now what?”
“Now let the line out, and the wind will do the rest.”
She unraveled the string from around the handle faster than you could saysupercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and the kite fell to the ground. “Oops.” She looked at him over her shoulder, her lips puckered. “Maybe you should get over here and help me.”
He took a few steps forward, her back inches from his chest. This felt a little like when Kevin Costner helped Rene Russo’s golf swing inTin Cup. Wrapping his arms loosely around her, he gently gripped her left wrist and rewound some of the string with his other hand. She leaned back a fraction, enough that the material of his loose T-shirt now tickled his chest and abs but not enough thatshetouched him. His breath fanned along the hair loose at her shoulders, mesmerizing him with their small movements.
The breeze kicked up, and her hair blew back and across his cheek. It smelled of orange blossoms—fresh, life, and new beginnings. Blood pounded in his ears, but with a light touch he released her wrist and gathered her hair, pulling it across the back of her neck and laying it over the opposite shoulder. The elegant lines of her neck exposed, he exhaled, digging into that self-control he’d so recently claimed he had, lest he allow his lips to caress the tender spot just below her earlobe.
Pulling his gaze away, he reeled in the kite string until he hooked a finger over the bridle point. He lowered his head until it came abreast of hers. “You want to let the string out slowly as the wind picks it up.” He curved his right hand over hers, allowing the kite to slowly pull the string through their fingers. “Good. Now when it’s about this far away, pull on the line just a little so that it will climb up. There you go. You’ve got it.”
He stepped back to let her fly Elsa on her own, but as soon as he let go, the ice princess plummeted to the ground.
Olivia turned around to face him. “I think I might need another lesson.”
Adam looked down at the kite, then back up at Olivia, noticing the laughter she tried to suppress behind an innocent look.
He planted his hands on his hips, but laughed. “You little sneak. You can get that kite in the air all on your own, can’t you?”
She tossed him a saucy grin. “Maybe. But what would be the fun in that?”
What fun indeed. He caught her around the middle, his fingers poking her ribs, and she howled in laughter. He’d met his match in this woman. She kept him on his toes, challenged him, and lit a spark of hope inside his soul. Maybe he didn’t deserve her, deserveit. Happiness. But he’d take the grace—the unmerited kindness—as he continued to work to be worthy of such goodness once again.
