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“Ah…uh…how…how did you know it was me?” I finally manage, clamping my mouth shut before the drool can come out.
“I heard those ladies over yonder call out to ya. Plus, I just took one look at you and knew.” He chuckles smugly, seeming to enjoy my state of confusion.
All at once my face lights up in the type of grin I haven’t experienced all week, and we stand silently gazing at each other amidst this room full of noise.
“Well Bo, I…I…I’m so pleased to meet you too,” I say after a lengthy pause.
I never stammer. I took courses in public speaking and was tops in my class. I’ve given florist symposiums in front of hundreds of people. I take another swig of my punch. Nothing could have possibly prepared me for this.
“Would you like to step out and get some fresh air?” he asks.
“Yes! I can’t hear myself think in here,” I reply, and we begin pushing our way toward the doors. “Oh, do you think we can escape with our drinks?” I ask, not yet ready to sober up this evening.
“I’m pretty sure nobody’s payin any attention around here. Plus, invisibility’s one of my super powers,” he says as we cruise straight through the double doors, without turning so much as one head.
I can’t help but laugh at the concept of this huge man becoming invisible, as we excitedly wind our way down the carpeted hall and out into the humid night air of the well landscaped yard. We take a moment to catch our breath from laughter, like two high schoolers who have snuck out of a pep rally.
“Wow, I didn’t think you’d even be at the party tonight,” I say to break the ice again.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“Mm…I don’t know. You seem like the elusive type.” I hope he doesn’t feel offended that I wouldn’t have guessed this was his crowd.
“Dern right I am. Slippery as an eel,” he responds, sending me into yet another fit of laughter.
I don’t know who I am right now, this happy, smiling woman. I’ve been huddled inside my home and inside myself all week, in a state of panic over my horrible new life. Yet tonight I feel light as a feather, like I could accidentally float away if Bo weren’t here to catch me. Either this is one hell of a strong punch, or I’m in exceptionally good company. It must be the combination.
“Allow me,” Bo says, as he gently locks my arm in his and begins walking us through the garden.
Chapter 12
Bo
I guess I’ve been a pretty nice guy most of my life. I went through a few rough teenage years after my parents died, but got myself straightened out on time to grow into a gentleman the best I could. I never dated much, never felt like I met the right one and didn’t wanna go around takin love and breakin hearts.
But nothin could have ever made me believe a woman as beautiful as Fiona would walk into my life. After all the dreams and premonitions, I should have been better prepared. But I still wasn’t. I knew the moment she stepped through those doors who she was. When she made her way to a nearby woman that called out her name, I felt the rush of affirmation hit my heart like a golden ray of sunshine.
Tall and bronzed, with a streaming torrent of honey hair, she walks with me now…arm in arm through the humid coastal air. As if underwater, time stands still and I watch her laugh in slow motion, the sound of her voice husky and worldly, experienced and tired, musical and feminine. She’s everything.
We stop at a bench among a grouping of luscious ostrich ferns, and I offer for her to sit. She accepts, keeping her elbow locked in mine, and gazes at me through the dim light.
“Who are you?” she asks with a brilliant smile.
“I’m just a lonely country boy who loves to grow stuff and pretty much keep to myself,” I tell her.
Her smile fades and she gives me a penetrative look, as if trying to see all the way through me. Her light brown eyes are challenging and intense, sad and drained at the corners. I love her complexity.
“I’m sorry,” she says with a giggle, as she releases her arm from mine. “I didn’t mean to hold you hostage.” She suddenly appears shyer than before, yet does not break our eye contact.
“Not at all ma’am. You’re welcome to hold me as long as you please.” Her eyes melt at my interpretation of her words.
We sit quietly for a spell, not needin the interference of conversation. Once she begins to nervously cross and uncross her long, tan legs, I take the cue.
“What do you think of all of them stars up there?” I ask, turnin my gaze toward the cloudless, black sky.
“They’re breathtaking.”
“Ain’t it funny how we’ve both been sleepin under the same stars and planets ever since the day we were born? I think that’s really somethin.” She turns her eyes back to mine and gives me that stunned look again, then nods very slightly. “Would you like me to sneak in and fetch you another drink?”
