No Weddings (No Weddings #1)(41)

She raised her arms in her oversized coat, exposing her small hands. She took the Champagne bottle from me with one hand on the neck and the other cradling the bottom.

I stepped behind her, squatted, and hooked my arms behind her knees and back, lifting her into my arms.

She let out a squeal. “Put me down!” Squirming, she began to fight my hold.

I tightened my grip. “Nope. No twisting an ankle on my watch.”

After a moment, she accepted my reasoning and settled. “Where are you taking me?”

Her weight was slight in my arms, but I lifted her higher. It enabled me to lean to the side every few steps to be certain I didn’t trip on the stepping stones. They began to disappear the further we went, overgrown lawn around their edges fighting to swallow them whole.

“To a secret place where we used to play as children.”

She quieted as we wound through manicured hedges that fully screened us from the party now. Distant strains of jazz music drifted toward us. A glow from the lights and the half moon rising above the tree line provided enough light to navigate.

Landscapers might have ignored the path to a forgotten area of the garden, but when we finally broke into the clearing in the far corner of the property, the structure still stood exactly as I remembered it. As we approached the steps, Hannah shifted in my arms, facing it.

I placed her onto the wooden entrance steps, and she gasped, gazing up.

Overrun with the dormant stems of wisteria vines, the gazebo’s white bones still held strong. Shaped into a giant octagon, the structure held vivid memories of bored children seeking to escape into a fantasy land.

With a shoulder propped onto the pillar at the entrance, I watched Hannah explore. She placed the Champagne bottle on the end of the nearest built-in bench, then walked along the inner perimeter before standing in the center and looking out at me. Then she twirled, laughing.

Yeah, the place had that kind of magical effect on people.

“We used to come here and enact the scene from The Sound of Music. Of course, I was Rolfe, and the girls took turns playing Liesl.”

Hannah laughed, crossing her arms in my flappy sleeves. “They must’ve worn you out.”

“Nah.” I stepped inside.

The protection of the cover and the mass of trees surrounding us made the chill in the air disappear. Hannah remained in her spot, watching me as I approached in measured steps.

“You really don’t need this anymore.” I moved behind her, pulling my jacket from her shoulders.

“No, I guess I don’t.” Her voice softened.

I folded the jacket and laid it over an open section of wooden railing.

“Wait! It’s so dirty.” Her face fell when she realized her warning came too late.

“It’s okay. I’ve got a great dry cleaner.”

On a deep exhalation, she smiled, but then cast her face down, her shyness coming forth.

A burning sensation filled my chest, an ache I hadn’t felt in a long time. “Hannah, look at me.”

Slowly, she raised her face.

“You’re not nervous, are you?”

Her head began to shake, but then turned into a nod.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. We are two people in an ancient gazebo that I played in as a boy. And all the boy is asking for is a dance.” I extended an arm toward her.

A smile lit her face in the shadows, and she came to me, stepping into my arms. “I am not leaping between the benches like in the movie.”

I pulled her close, and she molded her body into mine, pressing her cheek into my chest. “Never. I wouldn’t dream of it.” Full body contact was all I wanted.

“Too bad it isn’t raining like in the movie.” Her absent-minded comment was toned with innocence.

“Yeah, too bad.” Mine was breathy, tinged with undertones of meaning. Imagining Hannah with her flimsy silk ball gown plastered to her body—her lack of underthings body—did things to me.

I pressed us closer together with my arms, wanting her to know what she did to me. No inhibiting denim held me restrained tonight. And I didn’t wear underthings either.

“You’re…” Her voice had dropped to a breathy whisper.

“Hard.”

She nodded.

“You started it.” Yeah. I was twelve. I blamed the gazebo.

Hannah laughed softly. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”

The slow jazzy song ended. Silence followed. We continued swaying around to our own rhythm. I felt like I could dance with her forever, hidden in our private garden, mixing great memories of my past and present.

My gaze fell on the bottle. In spite of my not wanting an intimate moment to end, the band had taken leave, and there was only so much close proximity a man in need could handle.

“Let’s make a toast to tonight.” On a deep, determined breath, I broke away, striding over to the bottle.

With a few quick twists, I pulled off the wiring and wrapper. Hannah joined me, but eyed the frayed wood on the bench.

I grabbed my jacket from the railing and spread it on the splintering surface. I bowed deeply. “A gentleman covers a puddle for the lady.”

“Most obliged.” She dipped her head and spun around. And although she could’ve sat in the center, she chose to sit closest to me, her silk-covered thigh pressing into my mine.