Finally, he turned and saw me then smiled. A smile I only ever saw him give me and no one else. A smile that warmed my insides by about fifty degrees.
“Hi,” I said ignoring the butterflies in my stomach.
He smiled back and I knew I was in trouble in more ways than one.
Chapter Nine
“You’re beautiful,” Orin said quietly as he cupped my face, his thumbs running the length of my jaw.
I smiled shyly at the compliment. I’d never been told that before.
“Thank you.” I laced my arm through his like we did this all the time as we make the short walk to the restaurant not bothering to worry if my small taste of independence would get back to my father. I’d be out his fair soon enough.
“Oh, no,” I said, tensing and pulling him away from the entrance.
“What’s wrong?”
“That man.” I pointed inside quickly. “Is Herbert Wilmington. He’s a friend of my father’s.”
“I see. I’m being hidden.” His brows furrowed.
“Orin, no. Well, I guess yes you are but only—”
His face broke into a wide smile. “Lizzie, I’m teasing you. Your father isn’t exactly reasonable.”
We stood at an impasse.
We couldn’t go inside but I didn’t want to go home either.
My brain went crazy trying to come up with ideas of how to salvage the night. Spending this time with Orin was what I wanted.
He was forbidden.
Yet I still wanted him.
“I have an idea.” Orin took my hand pulling me faster than my feet wanted to move.
“Where are we going?” I asked through a giggle.
I really liked this spontaneous, playful side of him.
“Come with me.”
I had a hard time keeping up with Orin’s long stride given my much shorter legs. He walked fast while it looked like I was running.
We stopped at the diner where I’d found Olivia earlier.
“Wait here,” he said suddenly then disappeared inside the restaurant.
When he returned with a brown bag in his hand, Orin pulled me by the hand again until we stopped in front of a shiny dark Packard. He slid behind the steering wheel but I stood beside it. Father had a car and while I’d been in it only on very special occasions and I was never allowed with anyone else.
“Get in,” he urged.
“I—I’m not allowed.”
“Get in,” he said again watching me with those deep eyes that made it almost impossible to say no.
Once I situated myself on the front seat, the car jerked into motion. The car had no top on then and it was an impossible job to keep my hair from becoming a rat’s nest. Though the breeze was refreshing.
Orin drove us out of town right to the edge of the lake. Somewhere quiet and beautiful and we’d be alone. After stopping, he got out without a word and took the bag with him.
I assumed he wanted me to follow so I did right up until he found the spot he was looking for and plopped to the ground. There was something freeing about not having to worry about getting dirty or what Father might say.
Still, I moved carefully to not expose myself. With the rising temperatures, I’d been allowed to wear dresses with slightly shorter hems. Thinner fabrics as well. Made things less constrictive and less stifling.
“Do you mind a picnic?” he asked.
I smiled widely at him and shook my head. “I prefer it actually.”
A half a sandwich and four bites of pie later, I watched as he finished everything else. He obviously had a healthy appetite but his body sure didn’t show it. Total darkness moved in with only the moon to light the sky. Not full but big enough we could easily see each other.
More than once as we talked, Orin brushed a strand of hair away from my face. I wasn’t entirely sure it was necessary but still very glad he did it. Each touch of his skin against mine reminded my body that I was alive. That I was a woman and he was a man.
I knew I’d miss this. There was no way Bradley would be able to come even close to making me feel like this.
The later the night got the closer Orin moved toward me until the only way to be closer would be for me to sit in his lap.
Surprisingly that idea didn’t bother me.
Excited me actually.
I had no idea what happened to the chaste, well-mannered girl my father had raised.
“You’re quite relaxed.” I folded my napkin back into shape, a nervous habit I’d picked up years before. Idle hands got me into trouble.
“Do I?”
“Yes. You’re normally more guarded.”
“I hadn’t realized but can only assume it’s your influence.” Orin swallowed, his heavy gaze landing directly on me. “It’s getting late.” His voice quite deep, husky, and his breath hit my bare neck making me shiver in the heat. “I should probably get you home.”
“That would be the proper thing to do.” I bit back a smile as looked up at him. “Do you know that you’re very bright at night?”
His laugh came out like a bark in the night. “What do you mean?”
“Most people look pale in the moonlight but you’re bright.” Like a halo surrounding him.
“Always?” he asked, brown furrowed like he was trying to figure something out.
“No, sometimes you’re brighter than others. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that?”
“No.” He fell silent, staring out over the water. Then he stood and pulled me along with him back to his automobile.
This time he drove much slower, which was fine with me because I was in no rush to return home. But we were quieter as well.
I’d steal as many glances as I dared because I didn’t want to forget how he looked, acted, or sounded that night. This night would have to get me through years of being a dutiful wife but it seemed like every time I looked his way, he was watching me. He should’ve been watching the road but the car never strayed.
When he turned into our driveway, I didn’t think to stop him from going all the way to the house.
Mrs. Atherton and the staff would likely be asleep so there shouldn’t have been anything to worry about anyway.
Orin hopped out of the car and came around to open my door before I even had a chance to.
We walked slowly to the front of the car.
I didn’t want the night to end but it had to.
“I had a lot of fun tonight,” I said doing my best to keep anything other than happiness from my voice.
“Me too,” he murmured.
“Did I say something wrong back there?”
“Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“You’ve been very quiet since the lake.”
Without answering, Orin pulled me into his arms and kissed me fully on the mouth.
Heat crept up my chest and face under the weight of his mouth but no chance would I pull away.
His lips and tongue coaxed my mouth open, the heat from his skin sinking into mine. Or perhaps my heat sinking into him.
When his tongue brushed against mine I tried to hide the flinch of surprise.
I’d been told about kissing like this. Olivia told me she’d done it a few times but had never honestly thought it sounded like something I’d like.
I was very, very wrong.
My complete innocence meant that I didn’t know what to do in return. Instead of worrying, I let him do the kissing.
When he began to pull away, a small groan escaped right into his mouth causing him to chuckle quietly.
I enjoyed that far too much and he knew it.
“Good night, Lizzie,” he whispered, his voice taking on a completely new quality that I had no way of deciphering.
“Good night,” I said back, surprised at how foreign I sounded to myself.
He kissed the tip of my nose before getting back in the Packard and driving off into the night.
We saw each other every day that my father was gone.
I’d meet Orin i
n town early then we’d spend the day having what was, for me, an adventure. It wasn’t hard to make happen because I’d never allowed to do anything.
I’d return home late where it seemed no one noticed my absence.
Orin ignited in me an overwhelming desire that I’d been told didn’t exist. It probably wouldn’t in my married life.
I wasn’t marrying Orin.
Unfortunately, I still had to deal with Bradley Johnson. I was expected to spend time with him but I didn’t want to be away from Orin.
I had the rest of my life for Bradley and only this small window of opportunity with Orin.
“So,” Orin’s deep voice broke through the relaxed walk toward my house two nights before my father’s return. “Tomorrow is our last night before we go back into hiding.”
I shook my head immediately and wrinkled my brows. “No. Remember I have to attend the Parson’s function with Bradley tomorrow night.”
His face fell. “I don’t recall that.”
“My father made it clear. I must attend in his place. ‘Start acting like a wife’ were his words.” I cringed both on the inside and the outside.
“Oh.” Orin didn’t look at me for several minutes. “Can I see you after?”
“It’ll be late.” I shifted from one foot to another.
In our weeks together, I hadn’t refused him even once and I didn’t want to now but I had a plan. A plan hatched from desperation and wasn’t about to change my mind now.
No matter how nervous it made me.
“Lizzie... ”
“Orin,” I snapped cutting him off. “Not tomorrow.”
This time he was the one to crease his eyebrows. “I am invited to that party.”
Hadn’t thought of that. Of course, he was. I couldn’t have him there.
“Please,” I begged. “Don’t come.”
“What’s going on, Lizzie?”
“Nothing.”
He came closer to me until I his breath feathered across on my face.
“Suddenly you don’t want me around?”
“What?” My eyes bulged at the suggestion. “I do. I just... it’s just... ” My toes tapped with nervous energy. I sighed deeply which came out more like a groan. “I have to get used to the life that’s been chosen for me. That life includes this type of event with Bradley. I can’t be his fiancé if you’re there watching me. This is something I have to do.”
“So this is it, then?” He moved in closer lightly tracing his fingertips up my arms leaving goose bumps in their wake.
I shivered even in the summer heat.
“I think you’re the brightest I’ve ever seen you tonight,” I said quietly before thinking about it.
The moon was almost full and he’d been walking around with a sheen of brightness surrounding him.
“But you’re going to miss tomorrow.” He raised an eyebrow as if to challenge me.
I had no idea what he meant but I really wanted to know what was so special about tomorrow.
Chapter Ten
Words stopped forming.
Something deep in my stomach began throbbing, pulsating faster than my heart.
Sick at the thought of not seeing Orin tomorrow but I had no choice. I’d miss tomorrow and the next day and the one after that.
My eyes stung. I hoped he wouldn’t see under the cover of darkness. But the moon was so bright.
Too bright. Nothing hidden.
“I better go inside,” I said softly, my voice cracking.
He didn’t agree or disagree and instead brought me even closer. His mouth covered mine with such intensity, I quickly lost my breath.
There were two things behind that kiss. A goodbye of some kind but also a reminder of what him and I could be.
Tears filled my eyes. I kept them at bay until I securely shut the door to my bedroom and I was alone. Then they fell in sheets, streaking my face and ruining the make-up I’d put on so carefully earlier.
My chest rose and fell rapidly until I was almost unable to breathe,
I wrapped myself back into the safety of a cocoon of blankets.
Our clandestine rendezvous had come to an end as I always knew it would but that didn’t make it any easier.
What little sleep I got that night was restless. I tossed and turned like a ship riding out a storm. I woke so many times through the night and at one point imagined Orin had come into my room. A dream or wishful thinking.
Or possibly a hopeful illusion.
Bradley collected me right on time the next day for the Parsons’ late afternoon lawn party.
Already in full swing when we arrived, nobody really noticed us. The problem with my situation was that I liked Bradley. He’d been a good friend since childhood when he would choose to play with Olivia and me instead of the other boys.
We chose a table away from where most people lingered. Bradley and I made easy and light conversation about nothing important. Bradley was more laid back around us girls and never tried to show off like some of the other boys.
“Are you all right?” Bradley asked while I pushed food around my plate.
“I’m fine.”
“You seem distracted.”
Of course, I was. This life of parties and socializing was the life I’d live in the future but I just wanted to be back at the lake with Orin eating a picnic. I wanted something of my own.
“Has your father said when we are to be married?” he asked instead.
“Three weeks,” I answered.
“That’s soon.” He held steady so I wouldn’t know if that was a good thing to him or bad. “Not even waiting until the end of the season are they?” he asked referring to our parents.
“I think he might be afraid that I’ll chase you away somehow.”
Bradley released an honest laugh.
“Not possible. We may not be in love, but I can think of worse people to spend my life with.”
“Me, too.” That was the truth.
We fell silent again and danced two songs to make sure everyone knew we’d been there. Neither of us would miss attending those events once we were able to make our own decisions to not go.
Scratch that, once Bradley could decide for the two of us to not go. We made our public appearance; my father would be satisfied so we were free to leave.
“Would you like to sit in the garden for a while?” I asked when we reached the house.
“Elizabeth, you don’t have to go through the motions with me. I understand what’s going on.”
My eyes opened widely. He couldn’t possibly know what I had planned.
“W-what do you mean?” I stammered.
“Your father is forcing you to marry me as my father is forcing me to marry you. I don’t mind of course, since we couldn’t work something out with Olivia’s family, it doesn’t really matter. You don’t have to pretend that this is a love match.”
“I thought it would be nice. As you said we will be married and you’ve been a good friend, Bradley.”
He agreed with my reasons and we made our way to the back garden.
Disguised from the view of anyone toward the house, the large topiaries loomed over us like buildings. I veered us to the left which led to a small crisp pond reflecting the full moon.
“It’s really beautiful out here,” Bradley said before sitting beside me on a stone bench.
I toed off my heels to rest my feet against the brick path while I worked up the courage to do what I set out to do.
“My mother did all this,” I said. “I don’t think he wanted to let it go. She was very proud of it I’m told.”
I glanced from him to my feet several times.
My heart beat rapidly, erratic and hard.
With trembling fingers, I removed the two pins holding my hair in place releasing a cascade of golden waves past my shoulders. Then I shook it out to make sure it was all free.
Bradley continued to prattle on about his job but my ears no longer heard him. My focus zoomed in strictly on
the plan I’d formed lying in bed late at night.
After taking a few deeps breaths, I interrupted his current story.
“Bradley.” I touched his arm lightly to get him to turn my way. “There is another reason I asked you out here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”
My shaking fingers undid the top button of my dress. Then the next and the next to expose the tops of my breasts which swelled and sunk with each heavy breath giving him a glimpse of my undergarment.
Bradley’s eyes grew wide as I worked my clothing.
“Elizabeth! What are you doing?”
“We’re going to be married soon,” I said quietly but had no idea what I was actually doing. I knew the result I wanted but had no idea how to be alluring or sensual.
He swung his head away so that he could no longer see me.
“But we aren’t yet.” He slid down the bench further from me.
“Bradley, either way... ”
I moved closer to him, almost giving him no escape, and kissed him the way I’d only kissed Orin.
The way I only wanted to kiss Orin.
He barely responded. Probably out of surprise. But still, I pushed forward.
I’d set my mind to make this happen and nothing would change that.
He pushed me away gently.
“Elizabeth, what’s gotten into you?”
“Please,” I begged and I hated that I did. “Trust me.”
A small smile crossed my face before I returned my attention to his lips.
I thought I felt him starting to give into me. Just a tiny amount.
He had to be.
He was a man after all. This is what I’d been told men wanted.
Suddenly, a large hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me violently away from Bradley. I did two full rotations and almost fell to the ground before finding my equilibrium again.
Turning quickly I searched for Bradley and found him being held by the throat against the marble statue.
Orin’s knuckles were white against Bradley’s neck. Bradley clawed at him but Orin didn’t budge.
Orin’s acted and looked like holding Bradley off the ground but the throat took little effort whereas Bradley was working up a sweat fighting.
For a brief moment, instead of Bradley I saw Noah’s face lying cold on the ground.
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