Page 26 of Her Captivated Hero

He was trying to decipher how she felt about this. There was definite shock.

"My parents have never been this demonstrative. I've only seen them kiss when Dad's given Mom a present or something."

Gray just waited.

"I think I like that better. Well, maybe not the public exhibitionism, but definitely the idea that they are so into one another at that age. But is that really possible?"

"I told you I ended up almost living at the Conway's house when I was growing up. I go over and visit Mr. and Mrs. Conway every time I go to Springfield. They've been together forty years and they’re always sitting right next to one another on the couch. I can't imagine not seeing Mr. Conway's arm around his wife."

"That would be wonderful." Her tone was wistful.

It would. He'd never realized it, but the Conway's marriage had always been his absolute idea of perfection.

A server came with a tray of food. “We have the Caesar salad, pumpkin ravioli and beef medallions,” he said.

"You ordered?" Riya asked Gray.

"They had two choices for dinner. One was vegetarian, but after watching you with that meat lovers pizza, I figured the fillet would be fine.”

"You thought right."

"Do you want to put out the blanket, before I set down the tray?" the waiter asked.

"Riya?" Gray queried. When she nodded, he snapped out the blanket and covered both of them. He liked how she snuggled even closer to him. It was a Thursday night, which was the only night The Princess Bride was playing. So he had to get Dr. Patel home as soon as the movie was over, or her carriage would turn into a pumpkin.

"The movie is going to start in five minutes, we'll come by with flashlights to clear your plates. Don't worry, we'll be quiet," the server said with a grin.

Gray watched Riya's eyes dart over to the cabana, which had been blocked while they'd been served. The older couple were no longer there. Even in the evening light, Gray couldn’t tell if she was disappointed or relieved.

All of the lights around the pool were shut off, which just left the blue lights within the pool glowing. Then the movie started playing against the wall high in front of them. Gray waited to see if Riya would recognize the music, but she didn't. Finally the name of the movie appeared and she clapped her hands.

"I've heard of The Princess Bride." She pulled to the side and turned so she could get a good look at Gray. "But why would you want to watch something like this? Isn't it just a fairytale for little girls?"

"I'll tell you what, you watch it, and then tell me what parts I liked."

"That'll be easy," she scoffed.

He remembered the first time he’d watched the movie. He’d been seven years old, Aunt Kristie and Aunt Jeannine had taken him to the theatre in town. He’d gotten his own tub of popcorn, but he forgot about it as soon as Buttercup came on screen. He’d fallen in love. He loved the sword fight, been scared of the monsters, hid at the torture scene, and laughed himself silly over the silly little man. But it was always Buttercup he remembered.

Years later his aunts had purchased the DVD, and he found that he liked the movie even more. There were so many nuances to it. But it also made him sad, there he had been at seven falling in love, believing in love, and there he was at thirty-one, settling. His relationship with Felicia didn’t last much longer after that trip to Springfield.

By the time the waiter arrived to take away their meal, Riya was totally entranced by the movie, and Gray didn't think she even noticed that their food had been removed. She had a wonderful laugh, and he wasn't surprised to see her eyes shimmer with tears as the movie progressed. What did surprise him was how often he found her looking at him. She was good at it too. Half the time he didn't notice her doing it, instead he just felt her eyes on him, and he would turn his head and catch her.

"Oh, Gray," she whispered, as the movie came close to the end. "This is so poignant. It's very funny, but it's really loving."

"Are you sure it's not the two Mai-Tais talking?" he teased. The lights came on. People were all standing up and stretching. He didn't want to leave, Riya was perfectly placed against him. It had taken all of his restraint to not do more than cuddle her, but she had been so engrossed in the movie, he didn't want her to miss a moment of it.

As people began to leave the venue, and get out of the pool, Riya looked questioningly at him. "Shall we go?"

"I should have said you needed to bring a jacket."

"I'll be fine."

Gray moved the blanket and then stood up. He held out his hand. Riya took it and stood up as well. He then wrapped the blanket around her.

"Gray, this is overkill."

"Live with it, Lady."