Page 111 of All Too Well
I do love him that way and in the marry-me-and-I’ll-make-you-happy kind of way too.
“We definitely are. I would do anything for you, Rose, Caspian, and even the Frisbee guys now. I’m taking them into my inner circle.”
Lachlan laughs once. “Well, they’re halfway in love with you anyway.”
“Only half?” I tease.
“Maybe three-quarters.”
“Oh, well, I need to up my game then. Time for cookies and muffins.”
He grins and then taps his thumb on the wheel. The closer we get to our childhood homes, the more anxious it appears he’s growing. Lachlan grips the wheel a little tighter, his knucklesgoing white as we turn two streets down. There’s a tension in his frame that wasn’t there before.
I hate this.
I reach over, rubbing his shoulder, and then he starts to relax. “You can drop me off at the end of the street,” I suggest.
“What? Absolutely not. The chances that he’s home, let alone outside, are very low.”
“You’re obviously anxious about the possibility.”
“I just don’t want to see him.”
“You don’t have to. If he’s outside, by some horrible coincidence, I’ll talk to him and you can leave.”
Lachlan places his hand on my thigh. “It’ll be fine, Ainsley.”
We turn onto the street we grew up on and pass Mrs. Langley’s house, which my brother and Lachlan toilet-papered after she got them grounded, which then got them grounded for longer. Then on the right is Mr. Rapanotti, who always left candy in the mailbox for us when he saw us riding our bikes.
This street is filled with memories, and anytime I come home, it feels like a part of me is settling back into place.
We stop in front of my house, and Lachlan glances back at what was his house. The front light is on in the living room, where his father is probably sitting and reading.
I glance back at Rose, who is sound asleep, emitting a soft snore, and I smile. “If we weren’t in front of my father’s house, I’d lean over and kiss you,” I whisper.
“If we weren’t in front of your father’s house, I’d do a lot more than that.”
I grin. “You’ll have to make it up to me another time.”
“Yes, because I was promised a very long present, and I’m going to claim that.”
“Long, you say?”
Lachlan chuckles. “Very long.”
“I look forward to that then.”
“Me too. Go get inside before I drive away with you.”
The idea of it makes my heart flutter. I wish we coulddo exactly that, but that threat is empty because of Rose and Caspian. “If only it were possible ... I’d let you.”
He leans forward, taking my hand in his and lacing our fingers together. “In some cultures, palms touching is equivalent to a kiss.”
The way he does it makes me believe it could be. Something so simple, so innocuous, and yet it causes the butterflies in my belly to stir.
“Again, sir, you test the boundaries of propriety. If we were in Regency times, we’d be on our way to the altar.”
“I won’t tell if you don’t.” He reaches for my other hand, mimicking our palms kissing. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
