Page 92 of Waking Roslyn

“Did they? Resent her?”

“I don’t know. Most of me thinks that no, they were all kind and happy for the jobs they had. But another part of me thinks there must have been some that resented her. How could they not?”

He stayed quiet, and I started to get nervous. Was he thinking about what it might be like to be with me? We cared for each other, of course. But we hadn’t spoken seriously about what our future would be, and it occurred to me that I may have just given him a reason to stay away from me.

“Where are we going, anyway?” he asked after a while, and my nerves quieted. He didn’t sound nervous or like he’d just realized we could never have a future. He sounded…like John. Curious and teasing.

“We’re going to the library.”

“Are you planning to teach me to read?” he asked with a little laugh, as if the idea were silly.

“If you’d like,” I responded in all seriousness. “We’re turning to the left now. You might want to put out your other hand so you know where the wall is.”

“This is disconcerting.”

“But you trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

A little fire lit in my chest. He said it so easily.

“Plus,” he said, the teasing tone back in his voice, “I know how much you like my pretty face.”

I laughed under my breath but didn’t contradict him.

After another minute, I slowed. “Here it is,” I said, feeling along the wall for the mechanism that would allow the wall to swing inward.

“Wait a moment,” John said, and I felt his hand settle on my hip. “Aren’t we going to utilize this passageway?”

I smiled, hearing the mischievous tone in his voice and wondering what it meant this time. “Utilize how?” I asked.

I felt him move closer to me, and while the hand on my hip moved to my lower back, I felt his other hand settle on my upper arm before skimming up to pass over my shoulder, then up my neck before cradling my cheek. “Oh,” I said. Yes, I liked this idea a lot. I tilted my face up and reached out so that I could wrap my arms around his broad torso.

His fingers moved from my cheek to my chin and I held my breath, sensing that his face hovered just above my own. Then he let out a tremulous sigh. “I’ve missed you, Rose.”

I closed my eyes as heat rushed over my shoulders and down to my fingertips. “Likewise,” I said, pushing up on my toes in the hopes that I could find his lips with mine.

“I should probably start calling you Roslyn,” he said just before pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

“I don’t care what you call me,” I said.

“You don’t?” He tilted my chin the other way and pressed a second kiss to the other corner of my mouth.

“Call me whatever you like. Just kiss me already.”

He let out a quiet chuckle. “I am, and ever will be, your obedient servant.” His lips settled against mine, finally. But this kiss was different than before. This was comfortable and soft. There was no rush. We had nowhere to go and nothing calling our attention away, and there was certainly no risk of being discovered. So we took our time, savoring, exploring, breathing each other in.

When he finally pulled his mouth from mine, he didn’t step back. Instead, he pulled me into his arms, letting me rest my head against the beating of his heart. “You,” he said after several long moments, “are extraordinary. Strong. Vibrant. Beautiful.”

“Terrified,” I said, unable to bear his flattery. I had spent so much time running from those who disliked me that the idea of turning to face them was almost inconceivable.

“Brave,” he corrected. “Bravery happens when we move forward despite the terror.”

I clung to him tighter. “What if I can’t move forward?”

“You will,” he whispered into my hair.

I just hoped he was right.