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She really didn’t want to be walking around Near South Side alone, in a ballgown, in the middle of the night.
They walked around the building toward the south entrance, where Asa was supposed to pick her up. Or at least, that’s where she’d told him to pick her up.
The night had been really fun. The dancing, the band, the company.
She cast another sideways glance at André.
He hadn’t said much but that was typical for him.
They arrived at the bottom of the stone steps and she turned to face him, intending to thank him for the night but he got there first.
“Thank you,” he said. “For coming with me tonight. I’m not sure I would have had as fine a time had you not been there.”
“Oh.”That was nice.She smiled. “I had a lot of fun.” And then, because she could never resist teasing him a little, “Do you think all events are as fun as this one and we’ve just been missing out because we ditch early?”
He laughed lightly, looked around the stone entrance, brought his eyes back to her. “No.”
“No?”
“No. I think tonight was incredible because of you.”
Her heart stumbled and she flashed a smile. “I am pretty cool.”
She meant to sound cocky and make him laugh, but it came out entirely too soft.
He studied her in the yellow glow of the lights of the museum front.
“Nik,” he started, voice low, serious. “I’m really glad you were here with me tonight.”
“You said that.” She licked her lips and tried to look away from him but found her eyes only wanted to be on his.
His smile was small and tender. “It bears repeating.” He stepped forward and caught under her chin with a crooked finger. His gaze drifted to her mouth.
He bent toward her and her eyes closed, her heart thudding in her chest.
Did she want him to kiss her?
Was it just the formalwear and familiarity?
She should really decide what she wanted out of this moment before something happened that they couldn’t come back from.
His lips brushed her forehead and her eyes fluttered open. Both thankful and disappointed.
At least one of them knew what they were doing. Because it certainly wasn’t her.
He inhaled and his hand fell away. “Besides, I was able to practice my dancing. I had been getting rusty.”
He took her hand, a step back, and then twirled her.
She laughed as he spun her back into his arms.
“You were a little stiff at first,” she agreed, falling into an easy waltz.
He danced her around the base of the stone steps, and even though there was no music, she could hear the tune anyway.
Something special and sweet, just for them. It broke the tension of the previous moment, and she was grateful. Too many more seconds of staring into his eyes in the moonlight and she was going to start confessing things of her own.
This was better.
