“We might try again to see,” she said, without meeting my gaze.
“I’d like to.” I stepped closer and put one arm around her waist and drew her to me. Even with her dress and underdress, I could feel her curves.
She lifted her face, and I captured her mouth with mine. Goodness, I thought. I might not be able to ever stop. With great difficulty, I drew away to look at her. “We should get you back to the cottage.”
“Yes,” she said, throatily. “It’s getting late.”
I didn’t want to let her go. Would I ever get her back to the same state, or had she opened herself to me because of her grief? What would Papa or Flynn do? They’d seize the opportunity and ask for the pleasure of her company at another time. “Would you like to go for a drive tomorrow evening after I’m home from work?”
“In the shiny car?”
“Yes. It feels nice to let the breeze tousle your hair. We could drive over to the river. Lizzie could put together a picnic dinner for us.” I held my breath, expecting she would decline my offer but yet hopeful, too.
She smiled as she touched her fingertips to the collar of my shirt. “I’d like that. If it’s not too much trouble for Lizzie.”
“She’ll be pleased to do it for us.” I didn’t elaborate further. Louisa didn’t need to know how the entire household, including Lizzie, would be delighted to hear of our dinner date. They all knew how I’d pined for Louisa back in the day. Would they be surprised? I’d done nothing but say how uninterested I was in Louisa since I returned home. Tonight, however, a spark had been relit inside me. This time, I might have a chance. Please, God, let it be so.
We headed back toward the cottage. Darkness had come while we were in the barn. A cricket chirped from somewhere in the yard, accompanying the soft rustling of the aspens. At this time of night, the roses and grass still scented the air, but there was also a hint of the specific smell of the earth cooling from the sun that had beat down upon it all day. I couldn’t describe the smell, but I’d know it anywhere. The smell of home in the summertime.
Louisa tucked her hand under my arm. “I’m unsteady in the dark.”
I smiled to myself. Unsteady, or did she want an excuse to take my arm? Either way, I welcomed her touch.
“Will your mother approve of me taking you out in the car?” I asked.
“Yes, I believe she’ll be pleased.” We walked a few more steps in silence. “Do you think everyone will get carried away?”
“With what?”
“The idea of us.”
“Would that be so terrible?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’d hate to disappoint them.”
My heart sank. Did she not see how there could be a future for us? “Can you not imagine falling for me?”
“I can imagine it. That doesn’t mean we’re meant to be. You’re the type who’ll want to marry.”
“You don’t?”
“I’ve never thought I would.”
“Marrying would solve a lot of your problems,” I said. “Wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, but that’s not a good enough reason.”
“What is a better reason than being taken care of?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light but failing. “I’d like the chance to court you. What harm could come from getting to know each other better?” Already I was ahead of myself. I’d not thought a kiss could spark so many ideas in my head so quickly. I’d already moved ahead by months, hoping I could win her hand in marriage. I wasn’t a man who could protect his own heart. Not when it came to Louisa.
“Don’t you think we’re unsuited?”
“How’s that?” I asked, shocked by her statement.
“You’re a man of privilege. Even when I went to the Linds’, we weren’t rich. I’m not sure I could ever be comfortable here in your world. Your family has taken us in out of a sense of charity. How could they ever take me seriously as a match for you?”
“This is America. None of that matters. I’ll marry the woman I love, regardless of wealth or lack thereof.”
Her grip on my arm tightened.