One Lavender Ribbon (23 page)

He leaned back, resting his palms on the hood of the car. Upper body outstretched, he moved his arm so it crisscrossed her back so closely they were nearly touching. It brought his face near hers. “You’re welcome,” he whispered, eyes locking on her mouth. And suddenly, he
was
all there, in her space and completely focused on her as if there were nothing in the world but the two of them.

Invisible was better.

His hot breath feathered against her throat. She needed to say something. Maybe something sexy. “I don’t think it’s bad that you haven’t been back here.”
Oh, that was brilliant. The kind of words men can’t resist.

He slowly turned his eyes away from her to focus on the cemetery again.

“No?” he said. “My dad thinks it is. Of course, it’s just like him to be more concerned with the dead than the living.”

Adrienne frowned. She’d never heard Will speak of his father. For that matter, she had never heard Pops speak of his son. “Where is your dad?”

“My parents work for the Peace Corps. They’re in a place called Senegal in West Africa. They live there.” The last words were clipped, and though Adrienne was curious, now was not the time to press. The muscle in Will’s jaw flexed. He might be trying to sound flippant, but there was a distinct sadness in his tone.

A breeze moved from the hills, causing her hair to float into her eyes. Adrienne brushed at it. “Like I said, I don’t think it’s bad that you haven’t come here. The grieving process is different for everyone. The very thing that might bring peace to one person might bring despair to another. Besides, you’re here now.”

He nodded and looked at her. Will took his time searching her features, his gaze drifting down to her lips again.

The intensity of the moment was almost more than she could bear. She pressed her lips together, suddenly feeling self-conscious. It was like he was inspecting her. He seemed to have a preoccupation with her lips. That in itself made this whole exchange much more unnerving. He wasn’t stealing glances or being coy. He was unabashedly scrutinizing every inch of her face. There was a raw honesty to it that made her want to run. But even more, it made her want to stay right there.

And in that second, she made a choice. He was leaving the ball in her court.

Adrienne leaned closer.

Will’s eyes darkened. The muscles of his face tightened, but not in a bad way—in a sort of excited anticipation. He reached a hand to her cheek and brushed his thumb over her mouth, watching it slide against the skin. He swallowed, moistened his lips, and leaned in, stopping just an inch or so short of kissing her. This wasn’t him
stopping
her. No, this wasn’t stopping, this was him
taunting
her. But she held firm even though the intensity of his eyes beckoned. She didn’t move except to lick lips that had grown dry from the short little breaths she’d taken. That did it.

He closed the distance, mouth meeting and quickly taking hers. She melted into him. There was no gentle exploration. No soft kisses. He simply surged forward, his body moving, shifting so that he held her fully against him. He did this like he did everything. With purpose. With fervency. With passion.

Her eyes closed, her body consumed by such a simple thing as a first kiss. His chest rose against hers, and as she tilted her head, his arms closed around her more fully than before. Adrienne felt dizzy. She needed to breathe, but it was impossible. His hands found their way to her face and he cupped her cheeks, then pushed his face away to gaze at her. Suddenly his lips were gone from hers.

Adrienne sucked a deep breath, devouring the air around her. When her eyes fluttered open, there he was. Emerald eyes certain, unapologetic, and . . . happy. His hands were cool on her face, thumbs making tiny little circles as she tried to catch up to what had just happened. She was no fifteen-year-old. This was not her
first
first kiss. After all, she was a
divorcée
. What had he just done to her, and did he
know
what he’d done?

His eyes twinkled, and his mouth twitched on one side. Oh, yeah. He knew.

He came at her again, this time slowly, and dropped a peck on her mouth. He knew
exactly
. Then his face was gone from her direct vision. His hands were gone from her cheeks. He remained seated beside her, but the moment was all but a memory. And she was left alone with her racing heart.

“Where’s her grave?” Adrienne asked when she finally felt words were possible.

He leaned forward, dragging his arm from behind her and pointed off to the right. “Over there, under that tree.” It was a beautiful section of the cemetery, dappled with shade trees and calmingly inviting.

She turned to look at him. “Would you like to go visit it? I’ll go with you.” She took his hand in hers and added sweetly, “You’re safe with me.”

Will nodded a knowing smile at the words he’d spoken to her on more than one occasion. Though she might have been scared, she’d trusted him. Now he would do the same for her. And he’d deal with the kiss later. What it meant. Why he’d been unable to stop himself. This was definitely a gray area, and he wasn’t accustomed to gray. That was more his dad’s territory; his dad saw shades of gray where Will saw black and white. For instance, his dad thought it was okay for them to cancel out on Pops’s birthday—to him that landed somewhere in the gray area. For Will, you were either committed to the man who raised you or you were not. Missing the birthday of someone Pops’s age was unforgivable. Black and white. Period.

But with Adrienne, everything was different. He was having to find the gray space around the absolutes. She was delicate, still hurting from a bad divorce, and he couldn’t just grab and take what he wanted. No matter how
badly
he wanted it.

They walked away from the car, hand in hand, heading toward the big oak tree. The sun was hot on his back, but he barely noticed. It paled by comparison to the warmth that was seeping into his soul.

P
ops and Sara were both beaming when Will and Adrienne stepped past them into the kitchen. The older couple chatted at the table, talking faster than used car salesmen, their faces alight with the excitement of remembrance.

“We picked up dinner,” Will announced. Cold salad from Leo’s Diner. He needed cold after the heat from the sunny walk with Adrienne at the graveyard.

Kissed at the cemetery. A really romantic way to treat the lady in your life. The lady in his life. He toyed with that for a few moments. He’d used other words to describe her. First it was
meddling do-gooder
, then
intriguing woman with the sad eyes and banging body
, then
interrupter of his dreams
. Yes, he could see her as the lady in his life and like
everything
that mattered in his life, he needed more.

“Tuna salad for you, Pops?”

But Pops didn’t answer. He was engaged in a conversation with Sara, still holding her hand.

Will winked at Adrienne. “That’s great, Will,” he said, mimicking his grandfather’s voice. “I’d help with dinner, but my hands are full.”

Adrienne hit him with an empty paper bag. “Stop that,” she hissed.

Will pointed to the couple behind him, eyes wide. “What? They didn’t hear a word.”

She pointed an accusing finger at him but failed to hide her smile. “Still, it’s not very nice.”

He liked being scolded by her. With a free hand, she reached into the bag. He caught her fingers for a brief moment and squeezed. A sexy gaze drifted slowly to his eyes. Expecting to throw her off, he’d failed. She’d thrown him with that flirty dark look, though. This woman could level him with her eyes. Slam him flat on his back. On his back with Adrienne and her sultry smile lingering above him? Yeah, he could get into that.

“Be nice,” she mouthed, and he wondered if she’d read his thoughts, until she tipped her head toward Pops and Sara. Oh, them.

“They didn’t hear me.” He raised his voice. “They don’t even know we’re here. Do you, Pops?”

Finally, two gray heads turned, faces questioning. “I’m sorry, Will. Were you saying something?”

Will and Adrienne laughed.

The older couple shrugged and continued their conversation about the good ol’ days and how they missed things like pouring peanuts in Pepsi.

The moon sifted through the kitchen window, complementing the soft glow from the living room and washing the space in gentle luminous shades. Pops and Sara both looked so happy. Will understood. He was pretty happy himself. His plan to surprise Pops with a trip to the Keys was gloriously wrecked. Wrecked by the sultry brunette who had invaded his life.

He thought back to earlier in the day when they’d leaned on the hood of his car, her body so close to his. He’d stretched out to rest his hands on the hood, but it was only a ploy to get closer to her. He’d wanted to kiss her. Had to kiss her. But she was the one who had finalized it, meeting his mouth with an equal amount of anticipation. The thought stirred him.

No, he wouldn’t visit the Keys this weekend. That much was sure. Adrienne and Sara were returning in the morning. The four of them would spend the day together.

Will’s dad filtered into his thoughts. At the cemetery, he’d almost told Adrienne just what he thought of his parents and their ridiculous decision to live so far away. He just couldn’t understand how his parents could value people a continent away more than they valued Pops. More than they valued him. The rawness of the abandonment stung. After all, it had been years since they’d left this country. But he rarely thought of it—chose not to dwell on it—except when they did things like cancel a trip home when they knew,
had
to know, how important it was to Pops. It was selfish beyond belief. Pretty much the polar opposite of what they said they stood for. Sure, they were leading a life of sacrifice. And Pops was the one who suffered for it.

The smell of coffee and toasted bagels warmed the kitchen as morning sunshine poked through the windows. The foursome had gathered to make plans for the day. Pops wore a bright blue T-shirt that made his eyes even more alive, and Will was dressed in a beige polo that stretched across his fine chest.

“What about the zoo?” Pops asked.

Sara’s face lit up. “Oh, I haven’t been to the zoo in years.”

Pops’s eyes sparkled. “Remember the circus when it came to town?”

“Oh, dear.” Sara pressed her hands over her face. She peered through her fingertips. “Go on; tell them.”

Pops leaned back in the kitchen chair. “Sara snuck over to the circus grounds late at night and befriended a caged monkey.”

“Poor thing.” She faced Adrienne. “He looked skinny. I started slipping bananas and mangos into the cage.”

Pops laughed. “And two days later, when the circus started and the monkey was supposed to be performing, he spotted Sara in the crowd, broke free, and went straight to her. It took three men to pull that monkey off Sara’s lap.”

Sara shrugged. “The audience loved it.”

“Her momma received a letter stating Sara wasn’t welcome to return to the Caldwell and Cannon Circus
ever
again.”

They all laughed.

“It’s supposed to be cooler today,” Will said.

His glittery eyes were becoming easier and easier for Adrienne to read. Will was judging the older couple’s ability to walk the many acres encompassing the Naples Zoo. He questioned Adrienne with a look.

Picking up on his concern, she turned to Sara. “It wouldn’t be too much for you?”

Sara shook her head, looking decades younger than her almost eighty years. She clapped her hands together. “It would be wonderful.”

“What about you, Pops?” Will sat hot coffee in front of him.

“Sounds good to me.”

Adrienne nodded in agreement. A dot of cream cheese decorated her fingertip, so she popped the finger into her mouth. “Sounds fun, I haven’t been there yet.” The zoo was on the top of her list of places to visit. Known around the country as a top destination for seeing a variety of zoo animals and plant life, the draw had been great. But sadly, not as forceful as leaky pipes, rotting banisters, and peeling paint.