She opened her mouth and let the fan drop. “I’m not asking you to kiss me!”
“Ah. What a shame.” Just as the music started, he bent his head toward her as if she didn’t have to ask.
Mrs. Veragas announced the next set of dances.
Rick straightened, his face a mixture of chagrin and playfulness.
Annabelle only felt the first emotion. Maybe she hadn’t asked, but she wouldn’t have complained about a kiss. Or several.
Even more people lined the walls, or settled into the provided chairs. Annabelle set her fan on a nearby table and took her place opposite Rick. When she glanced up, all six of her siblings had filed in and now flanked her grandmother.
All the nerves and worries that she’d brought into the dance with her disappeared. This was her family. They loved her, and she loved them. And Rick—well, Rick was Rick, and what he’d become was up to him.
She took his hand.
~*~
If Rick’s nerves stretched any further, they’d all pop off him like buttons and ping around the room. He imagined stepping on slick, treacherous bits of nerves and falling smack on his face.
Ah, well, wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen.
He patted his vest pocket to make sure the box was there. It was.
And Annabelle was there. Annabelle, in a red, shimmery dress, her hair tied up with green ribbons. Annabelle holding out her hand to join him in the dance.
He wasn’t exactly happy she hadn’t asked him for a kiss, but he wasn’t disappointed, either. They had time. Lots of time.
He glanced over his shoulder at her siblings. Lots of potential interruptions, as well, but never mind that. They were loveable disturbances.
He took her hand, and they stepped into the middle of the floor.
She moved closer and then away. He swirled her to her next partner and turned to his.
He couldn’t wait for the waltz. It killed him that these country dances took half an hour each to complete. By the time they’d finished the second, he felt drenched, and not just from exertion.
The music for the waltz began.
He twirled Annabelle around the room for a few minutes, gazing into her eyes, almost forgetting—but not quite—the box in his pocket. Just as the last strains faded and the other couples had already drifted apart, he put one hand onto Annabelle’s arm and stopped her.
She looked up, eyes wide. Eyes he could drown in. Eyes he wanted to smile into for the rest of his life.
“I really enjoy dancing with you,” he said. He bent close. He didn’t mind sharing his actions with the others, but not his words. “I’m sorry we don’t have any more practices.”
She dimpled. “Me, too. They’ve really been fun.”
“Yeah, well, I was thinking.” He fumbled in the pocket, fought down a threat of panic, and pulled out the box. “This isn’t what you’re thinking—probably what everyone else is thinking. It’s a promise ring.”
He opened the box, and Annabelle gasped when she saw the sparkling snowflake.
Rick gasped in a breath and then made himself say, “It means I promise to be true to you until we know each other well enough to get engaged. It means I promise not to hurt you or pressure you.” He leaned closer, his voice going lower. “It means I want the same promises from you.”
The joy on her face would have been answer enough. Her squeal, though, and the way she held out her left hand for him to slip the ring on, was better. And her whispered, “Now I want you to kiss me,” said everything.
When they pulled apart, all of two inches, he noticed applause. He ignored it.
“One teeny little problem, though,” Annabelle said. “If you want me, you have to take six more kids on. I’m not leaving them, not for anything.”
“Yeah, but that’s OK. I need a family. I’ve sort of made up with mine, but they still all live a lot farther away than I like.”
“You don’t have to wait, either.” Annabelle burst out laughing as Brody slammed into Rick from behind, and Mattie climbed up his arm.
“You gave her my ring,” he yelled in Rick’s ear. “A’belle, I picked it out. It’s my ring.”
With two kids wrapped around his waist, and a third hanging off his left arm, Rick grinned at Annabelle. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
And without asking, he took his next kiss.
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Annabelle's Angel Page 7