“It’s just through the trees there.” She gestured vaguely in the direction, though she couldn’t seem to take her gaze away from the intensity of his expression. Something was happening here. Something significant she didn’t understand.
“Do you mind missing the rest of the dance?”
She would much rather walk along the lakeshore with him, holding his hand and trying to pretend he wasn’t leaving in a few days.
“I don’t mind,” she said.
“Lead on,” he said.
They slipped away from the dance floor, away from the lights and the crowd. The crushed gravel path was illuminated by small globes, their lights spilling down in small half circles.
She was intensely aware of Ian walking beside her silently, his features veiled in darkness but his hand warm and comforting in hers.
Finally the pine and spruce opened up a little, revealing a little hidden cove on the lake. They weren’t far from the wedding festivities but might as well have been in their own private world here. She couldn’t see the lights through the thick trees and even the music seemed muted.
“Wow. You’re right. This is stunning.” Ian walked to the water’s edge and gazed out across the water at the lights of Haven Point and Shelter Springs gleaming in the distance along the lakeshore.
She imagined Eliza and Aidan must come here often. A small cushioned bench had been thoughtfully provided, angled just so across the water to take in that view of the lights and the mountains. It would make a lovely place to sit on a summer afternoon and read.
She sat down, tucking her dress around her. She shivered a little, wishing she’d brought along the wrap that went with the dress. The air was cooler here in the trees, especially with the breeze blowing off the lake.
“You’re cold,” Ian said. “I’m sorry. I can take you back to the party.”
“I don’t want to go back,” she admitted softly. “This is nice.”
“It is, isn’t it? The least I can do is warm you a little.”
He sat beside her and pulled her against him, her back nestled against his chest. Everything inside her seemed to sigh as his arms came around and held her close.
This. She never wanted to move from this spot.
They sat for a long time, listening to the sounds of the night and the muted music while all the emotions she had been fighting since Ian came to town with his children seemed to bubble close to the surface.
She thought she felt his mouth brush the top of her head but told herself she must be imagining things.
“I wish we could stay here all night in exactly this spot,” he said gruffly.
“I was thinking the same thing but I’m afraid my dog and her puppies would wonder what happened to me.”
“When will their new owners be coming for them?”
She didn’t want to think about the other impending loss in her world. How would she find the strength to endure it?
“I was going to deliver them all to their new homes Monday but I’ve decided to wait until the weekend. After...after you and the children leave.”
She wanted to wait a month so she could at least have puppy cuddles to comfort her but knew everyone taking a puppy was anxious for their new arrival.
She dreaded the coming week, on so many levels.
“I was thinking it might be easier on Amelia and Thomas if I took the puppies to their new homes after you’re all on your way home. They will still have to say goodbye to the puppies but not one at a time.”
His arms tightened around her. “I’m going to have to check their suitcases carefully. I think Thomas would pack all three of the puppies in there, given half a chance.”
She smiled a little, though her throat felt raw and achy with emotions.
“I’ll miss them,” she said. “The puppies and...and Thomas and Amelia. So much.”
That was it. Her emotions bubbled over and she drew in a sharp breath, trying to close the floodgates before the tears could start.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured near her ear. “So sorry.”
She turned her head slightly, just enough that his mouth could slide to hers.
Ah. She had been waiting all night to kiss him again. His mouth was deliciously warm and tasted like champagne and strawberries.
The kiss was gentle, slow, with an aching tenderness that made more tears spill over.
She wanted to dash them away before he saw them but he must have caught the glimmer in the moonlight.
He drew away, concern in his eyes. “Are you crying?”
“A little. I’m sorry. Don’t mind them. I just... I wish you didn’t have to go so soon.”
He pulled out a handkerchief and in an echo of the sweet gesture she had seen Josh do to Gemma during the wedding ceremony, Ian gently dabbed at her eyes. “I’m going to make a mess of your makeup, I’m afraid.”
She was lost. Completely, hopelessly, utterly lost. “I don’t care about my makeup,” she murmured. “I care about you.”
There. The words were out and she couldn’t call them back.
“Do you?” he asked, his voice and his expression strangely intense. There was a vulnerability there she wouldn’t have expected.
How could he possibly doubt her feelings when they seemed so very obvious to her and she suspected everyone else who had been at the wedding?
“Oh, Ian. You must know I do.” Through the emotion choking her, she gave a raw laugh. “I might as well be honest. I’m in love with you.”
“You’re...what?”
“I didn’t want to be. I tried everything I could think of to protect my heart, but you basically made it impossible for me to do anything else but fall in love with you.”
He said nothing, just continued to gaze at her with shock and something else in his expression, something she couldn’t identify.
“You don’t have to say anything. I’ve been through this before and can assure you I’ll survive.”
It was a lie. She had never been through anything like this before. All those times she thought she was in
