Page 44 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
I held up the book and shook it. “Like I said, useful information you made easy to understand. I hope the part about remembering you with fondness isn’t a bad omen for the future, though.” I tapped the edge of the book on the desk until he took it from my hand and laid it down again.
“No, but I’m bad at knowing what to say and how to say it sometimes. I meant I hope I’ll always remain in your favor.” He sighed. “See, dumb.”
I slipped my arms around his waist and hugged him carefully so I didn’t knock him off balance. “It didn’t sound dumb. It sounded honest, and I like honesty.” I ended the hug and looked up into his handsome face. “Are you done for the day? It’s barely eight.”
He leaned on the edge of the desk and swung his heavy boot against the back of it. “Charity, if we’re going to celebrate your birthday, I have to stop working.”
“If you have work to do, I’ll understand,” I promised, planting my hand on his chest firmly. “It’s just another day.”
“If you believe this is just another day, then we’re definitely going out tonight. It matters to me that you were born, Miss Puck, and we’re going to celebrate June seventeenth as the day a beautiful soul arrived in this world. You might think no one cares, but I do, which means now you can’t claim no one does. Besides, if Mojo could talk, I know he would care too.”
I chuckled and hugged him again, resting my head on his belly. “Only if my birthday meant he got extra hot dogs or steak.”
Gulliver rubbed my back and feathered kisses along the bruise on the side of my head. “I think I can arrange some steak for the big dog if he stays with Thomas long enough for me to take you to dinner. Do you feel up to it or should we order dinner in and eat it here?”
I glanced over to see what Mojo was doing, and it involved having his eyes closed and snoring. “He can hardly contain his excitement. As for me, I would love to go to dinner! I’ve been resting off and on all day, and my head doesn’t hurt unless you push on the bruise. Did Mathias tell you that Honey won’t be working here?”
His finger traced an imaginary line down my cheek until it landed on my lips. I kissed it, and he bent down, adding his lips to mine for barely a breath before he answered. “Yes, he wants to keep her at his condo. I agree with him. She’s already injured, and I don’t want her here right now. Hell, I don’t want you here right now, but you’re—”
“An earwig you can’t get rid of,” I teased, pressing my forehead into his belly while I laughed.
His long, slender fingers tickled my side. “No, I was going to say you’re safer here than in Myrtle.”
He lifted my chin and stared into my soul long and hard. The heat of it filled my chest with an indescribable sensation. It was a fullness that had never been there before. There was also so damn much desire for this man who was supposed to be in my life for one night. There was a quickening in my chest to know I was still here twenty-one nights later and still gazing into the most inviting pair of eyes I’d ever known.
Tonight, his eyes were melted caramel, smoldering, and glowed with desire for a woman he didn’t want to let go. Those eyes told me being loved by Gulliver Winsome would be an experience better than all fifty on my bucket list. That idea grabbed on to something deep in my chest and wouldn’t let go.
“If I knew no one was watching right now, I’d give you a birthday kiss to remember, Miss Puck, but I don’t want to be interrupted, so it’s going to wait.” He winked that long-lashed left eye at me and stepped back. “Get your things. We’re going to dinner.”
The spell broken, I nodded and bounced up on my toes. “I can’t wait. And to thank Thomas, we’ll buy him a steak too.”
Gulliver laughed while I grabbed my bag and encouraged Mojo to get up and follow us down the hallway. “Suddenly I have to buy four steaks instead of two?”
“What can I say? I’m an expensive date,” I said, pausing on the word.
He stopped instantly, his crutches squeaking on the floor like brakes of a car. “Can we call this a date?” he asked, his hand coming up to trail a finger down my cheek.
“I think it’s probably time, don’t you?” I whisper asked.
“It’s past time, beautiful,” he agreed. “Long past time for me to put my fears and apprehension aside and show the world I’m proud to have you on my arm.”
I grasped his hand, and he almost hummed with nervousness and excitement. “What fear and apprehension? You have nothing to fear from me.”
His eyes swirled to a shade of ginger as he spoke. “Oh, but I do, beautiful Charity. I have everything to fear, including a broken heart when you drive away.”
My heart twisted in my chest so hard I wanted to gasp for air. I stepped closer to him and grasped his wrist. “I don’t want to break your heart, Gulliver, but I don’t know what my life will look like a month from now. I don’t want to get my heart broken either, but at the same time, I can’t stay away from you.”
Gulliver leaned down, his lips barely brushing mine. He always left me wanting so much more. I was constantly aware of him now that I was living in his apartment and sleeping in his bed. While he was the perfect gentleman, and indeed slept in his recliner last night, I still wanted him more than I’d wanted any man before. No, more than I wanted any soul before, I realized.
His head hanging down over me like a hawk, and his lips near mine, he whispered the words that would stay with me for the rest of my life. “Imagine what we could be together if we both let our fear go. I’m willing to try. Are you?”
He turned and nudged Mojo down the stairs toward Thomas while I stood frozen in place. We could be everything together if fear wasn’t in the way. That answer was simple. Was I willing to try? That was the million-dollar question.
♥
“It’s nice to be outenjoying the evening with you instead of locked up inside Butterfly Junction. Are we sure it’s safe?” I asked as we drove toward our destination.
“Mathias hired a team to watch us, Charity. Whether we’re in the building or out, someone is close at hand. Not so close that we can see them, but they’re there. I didn’t want to tell you, but I knew I had to,” he said, his gaze pointed out the window. “There’s a car behind us with two guys, and when we get to the restaurant, they will take up their post there.”
