Page 69 of To Belong Together
“It wasn’t my style anyway.”
“That’s what would’ve made it so sweet.” Her hopeful smile clearly didn’t encourage him because he shook his head.
How would they get to know each other if he reverted to silence at every awkward moment? As the extrovert, she ought to help him along.
She stretched her smile even farther. “Now that I met your dad, I know why you’re so quiet. Was your grandfather even quieter?”
“Hank is my stepdad. I was quiet before he came along.” He angled into a spot, unbuckled, and got out of the car.
Erin’s pulse kicked up. The date wasn’t over? She’d expected this to end in the parking ramp. Although he had given her that mint, and if he’d meant to say a quick goodbye, he would’ve dropped her at the front instead of finding a parking spot.
Her car door opened. John held out a hand to help her to her feet.
She smiled up at him, hand halfway to his. “What’s all this?”
His mouth curved as if he were suppressing a laugh. “No man’s walked you to your door before?”
Well, no.
She laid her hand in his and stood. As he shut her door for her, the paper carrying the toast he’d planned to give shifted in his shirt pocket so that the corner of it peeked around the vest.
His decision to cut his speech short was the tip of an iceberg. Unlike all the other times, when she could only guess at the deeper meaning, this time, if she read that speech, she might understand John better. She’d be better able to cheer him out of the funk he’d fallen into since abandoning what he’d wanted to say.
Hand in hand, they followed a crosswalk to the elevator. On the ground level, a side entrance would admit them to the hotel lobby. As they rode down, she savored the feel of his warm, firm grip on her hand.
He liked her, and she liked him. He only needed a little help past his reservations.
A few steps from the elevator, they stopped at the hotel door. At this time of night, she’d have to swipe her room key to enter. She fiddled with the plastic card and chewed her lip, debating whether to pluck the toast from his pocket.
It wasright there.
“What?” John stood close, his hand on her elbow. Light from inside illuminated the blue in his eyes. He smelled of cedar and probably tasted like the mint.
The slowest of smiles tugged at his mouth, and the way he studied her face—eyes, lips, eyes again—told her his thoughts followed hers without either of them speaking a word. He wanted a relationship.
Instead of moving in for a kiss, though, he tilted his head toward the door. “I’d get the door, but you have the key.”
True in more ways than one. As much as she’d enjoy a kiss, the key to a deeper relationship didn’t lie there. It was in getting to know each other better, and she could make that happen by helping him past his hesitations.
He’d thank her later.
Erin simultaneously brushed the key card over the reader and pulled the paper from his pocket. She yanked open the door, his speech in hand, slipped inside the building, and pulled the door shut again before he recovered from the surprise and put the full strength of his good arm into stopping her.
He tugged the glass door, but the lock held.
She didn’t wait to gloat. The lobby’s main entrance loomed around a nearby corner, so John wouldn’t take long to catch up. Her heels clomped across the marble floor and into the alcove with the elevators. She pushed the button, and a set of the shiny gold doors dinged open.
Erin tilted her head toward the main doors as she stepped inside. John rounded the corner into the alcove, but the elevator rolled shut while he was still five feet away.
She’d won.
She unfolded her prize, settled against the rear wall of the elevator, and started reading.
22
The paper featured a photocopy of a page from the book, so top and center were the book’s title and a page number—Tales from Fairhill Castle, 237.
Erin chuckled at the thought of John reading that many pages from a fairytale as her eyes landed on the text itself.
