Page 56 of Charmed, I'm Sure
A laugh tumbled out, full and loud, before he croaked out, “What?”
“It’s dark, we’re driving down an unlit road leading to God only knows where, and you’ve been awfully silent on the drive. Highly suspect, Mr. Hallows.”
“Jesus, Mags,” he said with a laugh, shaking his head as he pulled into a makeshift parking spot.
“Just so you know, I won’t go easily. I’ll fight you tooth and nail. Literally.”
“It’s apicnic, sunshine. I brought you out here for a picnic. Or did you not notice the stuff I added to the cart at the store?”
My mouth dropped open in a littleobefore I promptly closed it and rolled my lips inward. Had I noticed him adding things to the cart? Nope. I was too busy worrying about my own list and running through recipes in my head to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. It hadn’t even crossed my mind as odd when he insisted on putting the items on the conveyor belt at the checkout.
“God, you are something else, you know that?” he joked, his shoulders shaking with laughter as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Sorry,” I squeaked, a laugh of my own building as I watched him dissolve into more laughter.
“Come on, let’s eat.” I watched as Taylor climbed out of his seat, walked around to the back of the car, and began pulling out bags—plural. How had I missed that?
“You comin’?” he asked when I hadn’t budged.
“You want me to getout?” Disbelief filled my voice. There was no way in hell I was getting out of this car. It was pitch black outside, and even though the car was still running with the headlights on, there was no way I’d be able to see more than my hand in front of my face.
Laughing. He was laughing at meagainas he closed the hatch and walked to my side of the car. I watched through the tinted glass as he set the bags on the ground and looked up to the sky, his shoulders dropping in what seemed like a heavy sigh before he opened my door.
Every cell in my body seemed to come alive as he reached across me and clicked the latch on my seatbelt. Butterflies awoke in my stomach, fluttering delicately as if just emerging from their cocoons, as he gently turned me in my seat until I faced him. Those same butterflies took flight as he pressed his way between my knees, his broad palms running up the outside of my thighs until he reached my hips and tugged me toward him.
My hands flew to his chest as my butt met the edge of the seat. His nose was only a hair’s breadth from mine. Add that to the flames in his eyes that made getting burned seem like a good idea, and the way he huskily whispered, “Yeah, sunshine. I want you to get out of the car,” and he had all the makings of Magnolia soup.
“Okay.” I breathed, my fingers curling into the charcoal Henley he wore. “But what about my groceries?” The words came out in a breathy exhale, my mind lost in the depths of his gaze.
“Your groceries are all in cooler bags, remember? They’ll be fine for a picnic.”
Neither of us moved, and I was pretty sure I stopped breathing altogether. At least until he scooped me into his arms and slowly slid me down his body until my feet found the ground, filling my nose with the warm scent of sandalwood and vanilla.Freaking man-candle.
All I could do was stare. Well, stare and breathe in his heady scent that made me want to force my aunt to create a candle that smelled just like him. I don’t know how long we stood there in silence. It could have been a decade for all I knew, with how my brain turned to goo whenever he was around.
“You alright?” he asked when I still hadn’t acknowledged his statement about my groceries being safe.
Alright? I wasn’t even sure I understood what that meant at that moment. His hands were warm on my waist, his hold firm, and I just wanted to melt into it. Talking became increasingly complicated the longer he held my gaze, and all I could manage was a high-pitched, “Mm-hmm.”
A small smile tugged at his lips before he pressed a gentle kiss to my brow and bent to pick up the bags with one hand while the other wrapped around mine.
Either he’d somehow planned ahead, or he had picnics often because he seemed to have thought of everything.
Giant blanket to sit on? Check.
Plastic cups and silverware? Yep, he had those too.
A food spread fit to feed twenty? I had no idea how I missed him adding all of that to the buggy.
After setting everything up, he rolled down the windows of his Bronco and turned the stereo up so that the music filtered out into the quiet as we sat in the glow of the headlights, the sound of crickets adding to the melodies. We’d just finished off the croissant sandwiches he’d bought the fixings for when the first few notes of one of my favorite songs—Neon Babyby Annie Bosko—came through the speakers. Dusting off my hands on the skirt of my dress, I got to my feet and held my hand out toward a very confused-looking Taylor.
“Dance with me?” I asked, wiggling my fingers.
A contented smile stretched across his lips as he stood and placed his hand in mine, pulling me close. As we began to sway to the music, his arm slipped beneath my sweater and around my waist, his thumb brushing lightly against the skin above the top edge of my dress.
Every stroke of his thumb set my blood on fire. Every step that somehow brought me closer, even though we were already flush against each other, made my heart race. There was something magical about being in the middle of nowhere, dancing in the grass beneath the stars with headlights as our spotlight.
Taylormade it feel magical.
