Broken Dove (Fantasyland #4)(65)

Oh my God.

Suddenly, the vision of him was swimming and this was because my eyes had filled with tears.

His hand gentled around mine and his voice was gentle too when he whispered, “Poppy.”

“Now that,” I started, my voice trembling, “was a marriage proposal.”

Apollo made no reply and I looked away as I grabbed my napkin to dab my eyes, hoping (even though it was doubtful), that no one was watching.

And as I did, Apollo again tugged my hand across the table and I felt his lips brush my knuckles.

I closed my eyes tight.

I was right before.

This guy just got better and better.

He put our hands to the table but gave mine a gentle squeeze.

“Is that a yes, my dove?”

I drew in a calming breath and on its heels another one. With tears under control, if not the beating of my heart, I lifted my eyes to him.

“This is going very fast,” I reiterated.

“Yes,” he agreed, not letting go of my hand or my gaze.

“It’s scary.”

“Yes,” he agreed again and I watched in fascination as his beautiful jade eyes turned hard and determined. “And this, my poppy, will be the last thing on this world or any other that you fear.”

Oh…my…God.

My stomach dropped and I forgot how to breathe.

“Now, is it a yes?” he repeated.

With effort, I pulled myself together and asked, “Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Yes,” he answered and I felt myself relax. “But only if, when that time is up, the answer is yes.”

I stared at him.

Then I couldn’t help it.

I burst out laughing.

When I was done, he was still holding my hand but he was doing it smiling at me.

And God, God, he was beautiful.

“I’ll just say that it’s only been a day where things have been cool between us and you’re already doing a bang up job getting in there,” I told him.

His eyes changed to something else altogether and he replied, “I don’t understand your language, dove, since, last night, I already got in there.”

My ni**les got hard.

Oh crap.

“Well, in my world,” I hurried to explain, “‘in there’ means…” I faltered then started giggling as I shared, “Well, pretty much what you said it means.”

His eyes lit with amusement and he turned our hands, using his thumb to stroke the skin of the inside of my wrist.

“How about we cease discussing this, I give you the time you desire and we start that time by enjoying our meal?” he suggested quietly.

“Okay,” I answered just as quietly.

His thumb gave my wrist one last stroke (which, by the way, felt unbelievably nice) then he let my hand go.

He picked up his fork.

I did too.

Then I looked at him and called, “Apollo?”

He gave me his eyes, one brow lifted, his warm with inquiry.

Yes.

Beautiful.

“Even though you knew I might lose it,” I started. “Thank you for telling me anyway.” My voice dipped when I shared, “That means a lot, honey.”

His gaze grew intense on me and I knew he wanted more.

But he didn’t ask for more.

He said, “You’re welcome, poppy.”

He didn’t push it and for that I was grateful.

And, just to say, also for that, he got deeper in there.

Chapter Twelve

Hedge Clippers

We were walking down the hall toward our room at the lodge, my hand not in the bend of Apollo’s arm but held in his, lifted up and pressed close to his chest.

The rest of the “date” had gone well. Really well. No bizarre marriage proposals. No in-depth discussions of birth control. Instead, great food, excellent champagne and the continued discovery that Apollo could be good company.

I was right. He had a great sense of humor. And I knew I was right because I made him laugh often during dinner. I also found I liked doing it. A whole lot. Mostly because I knew he’d struggled with the loss of his wife for a long time, and his rich laughter and quick smiles made me feel like I’d scaled mountains.

In fact, it was actually Apollo who led the conversation to calmer waters, asking about my world, and laughing about such things as reality television shows and treadmills.

“Why on earth would someone run on a machine and not through a meadow…or run at all unless they had to which would not be a positive happenstance?” he’d asked while chuckling and I’d had no answer because I didn’t have one and also because I was laughing too.

He’d also told me a bit more about his world, mostly about the Houses, explaining I was right about Danforth. He was of Apollo’s ilk and he wasn’t Apollo’s favorite person.

“There is nothing genuine about that man. But then, there are many in the lesser Houses where this is the case. Always scheming to better their positions or attempting to hide their weaknesses.”

That didn’t make me feel great about socializing with the upper-crust but I’d learned that knowing what you were facing was a lot better than not so I was grateful to know it.

In other words, the date had gone great. And Apollo had been wonderful.

But now the date was over.