Page 47 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
“Twelve years,” he corrected. “Up until last week, it hadn’t seen the light of day in twelve years. I never found a woman who deserved it or would do the beauty of the butterfly justice. That day we shared breakfast at the diner, the necklace floated through my mind. A glasswing butterfly is tiny, fragile, and oh, so stunning. That’s exactly what I think of when I think of you. You’re my beautiful glasswing butterfly. That morning when I went back to the office, I dug the necklace out of the safe knowing it had finally found a home.”
I curled my hand around it while an unexpected feeling of joy and happiness heated my body. “It has,” I whispered, twining my fingers with his. “Knowing the story behind it now makes it that much more special to me. You always surprise me, Gulliver. The first day I met you, I wasn’t so sure about you. You had more defense mechanisms than anyone I’d ever met, and I worried you would never let your guard down. You have, though, and I feel like I’m getting to know the real you. It’s incredibly special to know what this necklace means to you. Thank you for sharing the story with me.”
He hauled me up into his arms and laid his lips on mine. The kiss deepened, and neither of us cared that we were standing on a patio in a place filled with people. No one existed but us. The sounds around us faded away when his tongue convinced mine to hear nothing but what it was telling me. He could give me the moon and the stars. I wanted, more than anything tonight, to live in the moment. His groans of pleasure were enough to tell me that making love to him would fill me with a completely different emotion. Pleasure. Desire. Validation. Happiness welled up inside me and slid down my cheeks as he made love to my tongue.
Gulliver broke the kiss and held my cheek, wiping away the tears from my eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you the truth about how long I’ve had it. I’m not used to being this honest with someone about my struggles in life. You’re so different, though, Charity. You understand my struggles before I even explain them.” He wiped a bit of moisture from my temple. “This is how I know. Sometimes, your understanding spills down your cheeks.”
I gazed into his eyes, the green and gold flecks beautiful in the bright light of the moon. “Kiss me again, Mr. Winsome,” I whispered.
He obliged my request, his lips teasing mine until they opened, and his tongue danced in for a gentle caress. It was heady, sexy, and he made my heart pound and my stomach swoop when he caressed the roof of my mouth slowly and with precision. Someone cleared their throat, and he ended the kiss abruptly. We sheepishly swiveled toward the sound, and I was sure he was blushing.
Laverne stood in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said, but I could tell by the slight grin on her face that she wasn’t sorry at all. “I was hoping the birthday girl was done eating and ready for cake and a little dancing?”
“We’re done,” I agreed, “but you don’t have to make a big deal about the cake.”
“We do things right here at the Apple Orchard. Come on,” she said, waving us in.
Gulliver grabbed his crutches and gave me a smile and wink, motioning for me to go first. I followed Laverne into the barn, but my feet skittered to a halt when I saw the cake. It sat in the middle of a table and read,Happy 27thBirthday, Charity!Around it sat sheet cakes for the crowd to share with us.
I put my hand to my chest, tears on my face. “I’ve never had a birthday cake, much less one with my name on it,” I whispered while Laverne tugged me up to the table by my elbow.
She put her arm around my shoulder and squeezed it. “It’s past time then, sweetie. Ready to blow out your candles?”
Laverne passed me to Gulliver, and he rested his hand on my waist and waited while she lit the two and seven sitting on the top of the cake. The crowd sang and clapped along while the band playedHappy Birthday.Honey, Mathias, Lucy, and Kevin stood behind us singing while Gulliver sang into my ear, so I could hear him wishing me the happiest of birthdays. When the music ended, I took a deep breath and blew out the candles on the first try. Everyone cheered and clapped, while I hugged Gulliver and then Laverne, thanking her profusely. I held up my finger and jogged to the stage, asking the lead singer for the microphone. He gladly handed it over, and I tapped the top until the crowd quieted down.
“Hi, everyone,” I said nervously into the microphone. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight, but I think it would take me until midnight if I thanked everyone individually, plus I know you all want to get some dancing in.” There was more clapping and hooting until I held up my hand. “I won’t make you wait any longer. I want to say thank you for making my birthday so incredible, from the food and drink to the company and the cake. I’ll never forget tonight, and I have all of you to thank for it. Plentiful has welcomed me in a way no other town has in my life. You’re all incredibly special people, and you deserve all the happiness in the world. Thank you again!” I waved and handed the microphone back to the lead singer before Gulliver took my hand so I could jump down.
He hugged me, right there in front of everyone, and whispered in my ear, “In Plentiful, you can have your cake and eat it too.”
As I cut into the sweet treat, I had no doubt that he was right. I’d seen it with my own eyes. Unfortunately for me, my eyes were still too clouded with the past to see any kind of future with Gulliver Winsome in a town the size of Plentiful, Wisconsin.
♥
Gulliver tossed hiscrutches into the bed of the truck after he helped me in and then climbed in himself, firing up the engine. “Are you tired or are you up for a little adventure?” he asked, glancing at me before backing the truck out.
“I’m fine, and you know how I love a new adventure.”
“It won’t take us long to get there,” he promised, aiming the truck back down the old country road we’d taken on the way to the restaurant. “I want to show you something on the lake.”
“If you’re tired or would rather not...” I said, but he shook his head.
“I don’t want the night to end yet. I know it’s getting late and we have to work tomorrow, but I don’t want to go home. I want to watch the stars with you for a little bit and give you my gift.”
I rubbed his shoulder since I couldn’t hold his hand. “I wish you hadn’t gone out of your way for all of this, but I truly enjoyed myself tonight. I’m glad Mathias and Honey are both doing better.”
He took a sharp right onto a dark path and the tall grass tickled the underside of the truck. When he spoke, his tone was filled with concern. “He’s doing okay, but he’s worried about Honey. She’s had a lot thrown at her lately, and she’s not reacting well to it. That’s the other reason he’s keeping her at the condo. He doesn’t want her to be alone.”
“They have a weird vibe for best friends,” I said, and he lowered a brow at me. I held up my hands in my defense. “I’m just saying. Where are we going?”
He pointed ahead at a grass berm while he slowed the truck to a stop. “We’ll park here and walk down the berm to the beach. Then again, I might slide down,” he joked, climbing out and grabbing his crutches from the back. He picked his way around the truck to my door and opened it. “If I help you down, can you carry the bag? It’s behind the seat.”
I nodded and jumped out of the truck before flipping the lever to lean the seat forward. There was a shopping bag almost the size of me in the back, the weight of which surprised me when I hefted it up from the floor. “Where are we and is it safe to be here when people are out to hurt us?”
“Our detail is watching. Unless someone comes at us from the lake, we’re fine, but I doubt they’d know I’d planned to take you to this little beach before I did. Forget about it. We’re safe.”
He waited for my eyes to adjust to the moonlight and started hiking, pointing out what path to take to get down to the beach. It wasn’t easy for him, but the view was worth it.
“Wow,” I whispered. The stars stretched down to touch the water, and it was the most spectacular thing I’d seen since the northern lights. “This is incredible.”
