Page 53 of More than Words Can Say

Every time a man on horseback passed her shop window after closing time, Abigail’s heart rate tripled and her breathing grew ragged. When traffic in the square picked up just before five o’clock, she’d been forced to cease polishing her eatery tables and retreat to the kitchen in order to preserve her sanity. Repeated incidents of anticipatory palpitations were quite detrimental to one’s mental health.

How exactly was a woman supposed to prepare for an abduction? Especially when said abduction involved her handsome husband on a noble steed. The husband who’d left her that morning with a blazing kiss and a promise to steal her away the next time he saw her. The husband who was fast becoming the center of her world.

Needing something to occupy her hands if not her mind, she grabbed a broom and started sweeping. Dust was never fully eradicated, after all. Even if one had swept the same area a mere hour before.

She shuffled the broom in small strokes, careful not to sweep too vigorously. It wouldn’t do to dirty the hem of her second-best skirt, the same one she’d worn when she proposed to her husband all those weeks ago. The russet color hid most dirt, her clothes being as practical as their owner, but it hadn’t been pragmatism that led her to change into this ensemble. It had been pure sentiment. Zach probably wouldn’t notice or care, but putting on this particular outfit made her feel less like a Martha and more like a wife ready to be wooed. Possibly even one who would do a little wooing of her own.

Abigail had swept her way around the worktable when the sound of boots thumping on the back stoop stole her breath. Zach!

A picture of what she must look like flashed through her mind. She didn’t want her husband to find her like this, broom in hand like a scullery maid. She wanted to look enticing. Elegant. Inviting.

Dashing around the worktable, she tossed the broom at the corner with a clatter and made for the stairs. If she could just get to the top, she could turn and come down again, making an entrance like a debutante at a ball.

She grabbed a fistful of skirt, her heart pumping as she raced up the stairs. But before she could make it halfway, a strong arm snatched her from behind. Abigail gasped as her feet lifted from the stairs. Her back connected with a warm, wonderfully familiar chest, and her gasp transformed into a delighted giggle.

“Zach!” She swatted at the arm banded around her middle. “This wasn’t supposed to be a literal abduction.”

The slight abrasion of his afternoon stubble tickled her neck as he leaned his face next to hers. “Wasn’t it?”

Shivers coursed over her skin. Heavens. What was she supposed to say to that?

Thankfully, he didn’t seem to require a response. He simply scooped up her dangling legs and started marching toward the back door.

Mercy, but he was strong. One would think she barely weighed a hundred pounds, the way he carted her around with so little effort. For the first time in her big-boned, full-figured life, she actually felt . . . delicate.

Until he neared the door and made no move to put her down. Then all she felt was panic.

She grabbed him about the neck with both arms and tried to pull herself up out of his hold. “You can’t carry me outside.”

He grinned at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Wanna bet?”

“Zach, please.” She kicked her heels against his hip, her growing panic overriding her delight in his possessive display. “I don’t want to be a spectacle.”

“Not to fear, Mrs. Hamilton. I have everything under control.”

No one had everything under control. To prove that point, Abigail did the only thing she could think of to knock her man off balance. She grabbed his face, dragged his lips toward hers, and kissed him for all she was worth.

All forward motion ceased. Interior motion, however, sped up to an alarming rate as her husband turned his full attention to their kiss. Heart pumping faster than the piston on a speeding locomotive, Abby twisted in his arms to face him more fully. He complied with her unspoken request and gentled his hold. Her legs slid free, and her feet came to rest on the floor as his hands splayed over her back.

She should feel triumphant at accomplishing her goal, but there wasn’t room for triumph with all the other feelings rushing through her. Desire. Passion. Belonging. Love.

Abigail lifted up on her tiptoes and trailed her hands down from his face to his shoulders then his chest. His muscles quivered beneath her fingertips.

Zach’s lips slanted more fully over hers, drawing her into him, and all rational thought fled. Heavens, but she loved this man.

Just when she thought her knees would complete their transformation into jelly, Zach lifted his face from hers. He panted slightly, making her own breathless state much less embarrassing.

“Guess I woulda lost that bet,” he murmured with a half grin.

Abigail smiled, feeling light and flirty and happier than she’d been in ages. She danced away from her husband, catching his hand as she went. Opening the door to the alley, she tugged him after her and cast a playful glance over her shoulder as she went. “Two can play at this abduction game, you know.”

Heat shot from his dark blue eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”

Feeling like a fairy-tale princess, Abigail allowed her husband to set her upon his horse and then leaned back against him once he mounted behind her. No longer able to dredge up much concern about what others might think of a professional businesswoman in the arms of her husband in broad daylight, she relaxed and even smiled as her husband absconded with her in full view of the town.

With the sun warm and lovely overhead, they left the bustle of Honey Grove behind and meandered through the countryside. Birds serenaded them while a gentle breeze strummed the treetops like a guitar. It was the single most beautiful day of her life.

Until Zach turned his horse east along the path.