Page 86 of Watching Her

She licked her lips first, pressing her fingers against them next as she backed away. “What first?”

I shoved my hands into my pockets, somewhat mesmerized as she twirled in a full circle. “Anywhere you want to go.”

“Now I’m definitely going to be sorry I waited so long to come. One time before it closes for good. All thanks to you.”

“Perhaps now is the time I should confess my sins.”

“Yet you have so many.” She backed away, laughing as she did, even beckoning me to follow.

There was no rush. We could take our time, which was what I did in following her. Watching her.

Stalking her.

That’s exactly the way I felt. A part of me would prefer being a voyeur, doing nothing more than savoring her every reaction.

However, what fun would that be? With her, the excitement was the closeness, her reactions and her laughter.

“I made a purchase a couple days ago.”

“Oh, yeah?” She was moving quickly into the park, making it to the merry-go-round before she came to a sudden halt. This time when she turned to face me, she did so slowly. “Wait a minute. You bought the fair?”

Before answering, I closed the distance, this time enjoying crowding her space. “You mentioned how much you love amusement parks. I put money into the organization running the place, taking control while making the previous owners whole. I own other amusement parks. Why not add to the portfolio?”

Penelope wasn’t a woman who had any issue finding words, something else I admired, but when she blinked several times before looking away, I knew I’d touched a nerve. One so personal she couldn’t share her reaction with me.

I made mental note to find out about her family. Now I wanted to know every detail about her life. That didn’t unnerve me in the least. What did was being okay with the beautiful woman knowing what made me tick.

There was a terrifying and thrilling kind of surrender in letting go with her. I’d spent my life guarding my own thoughts, but with her, I wanted to be an open book. More than that, I wanted her to trust me enough to let me wander through the complex, messy, brilliant corridors of her mind. I craved learning all about her. Every flaw, every passion, every hidden depth while savoring every moment of doing so.

Until her story became inextricably woven with mine.

“I guess I owe you several moments of gratitude,” she said more in a half whisper.

“You owe me nothing, Penelope, but for you to be yourself and enjoy. One day, I hope you’ll place all your trust in me as well.”

“This is… Is this what all rich men do when they can’t get their way?”

“What’s the good in having money if I can’t spend it how I prefer, including to bring a smile to someone’s face?”

“You are very unusual. Come ride with me.” She held her hand out, laughing as she did. She seemed completely free, which was something I’d fought hard to achieve and at that moment, I realized I would never achieve. At least not with the way I ran my life.

As soon as our fingers touched, the sheer jolt of electricity could be felt down both our arms. She burst into laughter, her eyes opening wide from shock.

And she pulled me toward the carousel, laughing when I acted as if I was terrified to jump on. As expected, she selected the largest horse, a colorful brooding chestnut mare that suited her personality.

With her, nothing was done half assed. She went full throttle in pretending she was riding a live horse, which of course brought another round of highly illicit ideas.

I jumped on, trying to remember if I’d ever been on one. The music was loud, certainly nothing I would ever enjoy listening to, but she was already having an amazing time.

“You look stiff,” she mostly yelled over the organ music.

“I’m just getting used to the… horse.”

Her laugh was loud and full of joy and the way she had her hand wrapped around the pole stabbing the horse wasn’t white knuckled. She tossed her head back and forth as the sheer joy exploded from deep within. “Let your imagination flow. I’m going to teach you how to live a little instead of being a stuffed shirt.”

“A stuffed shirt?”

“Exactly. You own amusement parks, but let me guess, you’ve never been on a single ride. Have you?” Now she was crucifying me with her eyes.