Moonlight Read Free Page B

supposed to rain.”
    He smiled
again but it was short lived. “Why do you worry so
much?”
    A frown
creased her brow and she stopped to look at him. Last night he’d
said that she had worry in her eyes. When she’d looked in the
mirror, she hadn’t seen any sign of it. Perhaps she’d grown used to
seeing her eyes like that and no longer saw the
difference.
    “ It’s not worry,” she said and began walking again. When they
reached the fountain, she followed the path around the rosebushes
and sat down on the same pale stone curved bench he’d occupied the
night before. She tried to figure out what to say and how to say it
without getting upset. If she started crying, he’d probably leave.
She didn’t want that. She’d come here for peace and quiet, and time
away from everyone. Now she wanted something different. She wanted
to talk. She wanted to talk to him. “It’s been hard since my
parents died.”
    He sat
beside her, concern etched on his face. “I am sorry. I did not
realise they had passed on.”
    Her
forced smile didn’t hold. It wavered at the corners of her lips and
then failed completely. Tears stung her eyes. She held them
back.
    “ It’s nothing to apologise for. It’s been a few months now. I
still miss them so much. Aunty let me come here to relax and
think.”
    “ I have seen your parents several times. They were good people.
Your mother especially so. I have only seen a brighter smile on one
person.” He turned away from her and stared at the
fountain.
    Who was
that one person?
    His
expression hid everything from her, his eyes too dark for her to
read. She wanted to know who the person with a smile brighter than
her mother’s was.
    She
pressed her hands into the bench either side of her, fingers
curling over the edge of the seat and holding it.
    “ I don’t remember another house around here,” she said, needing
the distraction from her thoughts about her parents so she didn’t
start crying. “You must have to walk a long way to get here. What’s
wrong with your own garden?”
    He looked
across at her and placed his hands down on the bench. His little
finger brushed hers, the touch making her forget everything. She
made no move to stop them from pressing against each other. Neither
did he. Her heart picked up again. This time she didn’t blame the
alcohol. There was no denying it was a reaction to him.
    “ This place is the most beautiful garden I have seen in a long
time. I like it when I can walk here.” He raised his eyes again,
head tilting back as he looked up at the moon.
    She
looked there too. It was turning out to be another beautiful night.
Her eyes lowered and her shoulders sagged when she saw heavy clouds
in the distance. Perhaps it wasn’t going to be such a quiet night
after all.
    Wrapping
her arms around herself, she wondered how long she’d have before
the rain reached them.
    “ Are you cold?” His melodic voice cut the silence, dulcet tones
caressing her ears.
    Before
she could answer his question, he’d removed his black jacket and
placed it around her shoulders. The backs of his fingers brushed
her neck, sending a shiver through her that chased away any cold
she might have been feeling.
    “ Won’t you get cold now?” she said, looking him over. The loose
white shirt he wore looked thin, barely hiding the defined shape of
his chest. She could see part of it through the low V down the
front of the shirt. It hadn’t been undone so much last night. She
frowned. Hang on. He was wearing the same clothes as last night.
Did he always dress this way?
    He shook
his head and smiled. “I do not feel the cold.”
    His dark
eyes held hers, mesmerising and sending fire into her veins. She
didn’t feel the cold when she looked at him. There was only intense
heat.
    The moon
disappeared.
    The wind
picked up.
    The
heavens opened and, for the second time that night, she
shrieked.
    She’d
barely even made it to her feet when his hand grabbed hers and
tugged her towards