Page 19 of When You Are Mine

“Cam, did you see the elephant ears they’re selling?” Jo stood to her feet and stretched one summer-gold arm down to him. “Come on. Let’s go grab some.”

Cam looked down at Kerris, uncertainty on his face.

“She’s knocked out.” Jo scrunched her brows, obviously a little irritated. “She’ll be fine. Walsh and Sofie are here, and we’ll be right back.”

Cam allowed Jo to pull him to his feet, casting one more glance over his shoulder at his sleeping girlfriend before walking off, his arm hooked around Jo’s neck.

“Sofie!” Walsh recognized a local reporter from a few feet away. “Could we get those shots of you we talked about? With the kids?”

“I forgot, there’s some foundation kids here tonight, and theRivermont Heraldwanted some pictures of me with them.” Sofie groaned softly. “Do you mind?”

“They don’t want pictures of me.” Walsh laughed, deliberately looking away from the fast-approaching reporter. “I’m off today.”

Tossing a mildly reproachful look his way, Sofie stood and met the reporter halfway, allowing him to guide her toward the photo op. Walsh crawled over to Kerris, kicking himself for not being able to stay away from this woman for thirty seconds. He leaned down toward her ear, drawing in her sweet smell. Sun-toasted vanilla poured over her clean skin.

“I know you’re not sleep,” he whispered in her ear, grinning as her eyelids flickered.

“Well, not now,” she whispered back, eyes still slammed shut.

“Not before, either.” He laughed and sat up beside her.

She leaped to her feet and started toward the river. Walsh hesitated, not sure if she was seriously peeved about her nap, or if she was teasing. He stayed seated on the blanket, watching her. Her hair was loose today, hanging down to the middle of her back, blowing back like a dark banner in the light breeze. She wore a cotton candy pink calico skirt that belled out, hanging to just above her knees. A sea green tank top tucked into the skirt showed off her tiny waist.

“You coming, or what?” She looked back over her shoulder, mischief in her grin.

“I’m coming.” He almost tripped over his feet.

Idiot.

“Are you getting in?” He noticed for the first time that she was barefoot and heading toward the water.

“Not exactly.” She laughed up at him, eclipsing the splendor of the setting sun behind her. “I’m just wading in at the edge to gather a few rocks.”

“Gather rocks? For what?”

“Ah, grasshopper.” She bowed slightly with clasped hands at her chest. “The pupil becomes the teacher. I’m gathering rocks for a little business venture I have in mind.”

“Pardon me for stating the obvious, but you haven’t started your first business venture yet, have you? A little ambitious to already be ‘gathering’ for the next one.”

“You’ve got some nerve talking to me about ambition.” She angled a sweet smile his way.

“Point taken.” He watched her lean forward to scoop an oblong rock from beneath the glassy surface of the water. “So, what exactly are you doing?”

“Some of these rocks are so beautiful.” She smiled, holding the rock in her hand, rubbing the excess water away. “I think they’d look great as jewelry.”

He looked at the smooth, crystalline stone in her hand, swirled with black, red, and green.

“Once Déjà Vu is up and running, I’ll focus on learning the technique I need to know and figuring out how to do it. For now, I’d just like to find a pretty rock for Iyani.”

“You’re something else, you know that?”

The crowd teeming around them, the children’s laughter, the kites billowing overhead—it all went into soft focus. The world had sharply narrowed to this river princess with rocks bundled in her skirt. Walsh watched the teasing laughter in her eyes die. Her pupils dilated and her breath quickened, making him wonder if her world had narrowed down to him, too.

“Walsh,” Sofie called from the riverbank, her strident tone snapping them to attention. “I need you. The reporter wants shots of both of us with the kids.”

Walsh stepped back. “See you later.”

“Come on!” Sofie snapped, stepping down to grab his hand and pull him farther away from Kerris. “The kids are waiting.”

---