The front door opened and closed, then footsteps retreated back to the car, and then the door opened and closed again.
Soon the car engine sounded a little louder, and the lights splashed again.
Not long after that, the car disappeared from sight and sound.
"That was close," Roland said, and there was relief in his voice, although he hadn't moved away from her at all.
"Maybe he forgot something."
"That's what I was thinking. Although, at first I thought the entire family was back."
"Yeah."
They didn't say anything for a bit, and still, Roland didn't move. Her head tilted up a bit, and she realized he was staring down at her. As she watched, his throat worked as though he were trying to swallow.
Finally, his voice sounded a little raspy as he said, "Sorry I grabbed you like that."
"You needed to. I hadn't quite figured out what was going on, and if you had tried to talk to me about it, I probably wouldn't have understood at first."
One side of his mouth kicked up a bit, and for some reason, her eyes were drawn to that. She had a feeling that it was his mouth, and the closeness of his body, far more than the near miss of being discovered, that was causing her heart to race and her breathing to be so shallow.
"Nelly," he said quietly, his hand trailing down her cheek.
When had he even raised it? She hadn't noticed. Her hands rested lightly on his waist. When had that happened? She remembered thinking about it, but didn't remember moving at all.
"Roland?" Her voice was soft, a whisper in the wind.
But loud enough to shake him from whatever trance he was in, because his breath hitched, and then he pulled in a deep one before he stepped back.
"I hope I wasn't crushing you," he said, and he seemed to be trying to inject some humor into his tone.
She didn't want humor. She wanted to be kissed. Maybe. Not maybe, for sure. That was what she was hoping would happen. But he seemed... embarrassed, determined to get away from her as soon as possible, if his three steps backward, and the hand adjusting his ski mask was any indication.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked, when she didn't move.
Disappointment spiraled through her. Whatever moment they had, was gone. It was probably for the best. Although, that didn't help her to be any less disappointed.
She was the one who was extra quiet as they walked back to her car, and she drove him to where he had his pickup parked.
They parted amicably, but she felt a little unsettled, even later as she lay in bed.
Was he just unattracted to her? Or was there something wrong with her? Why had he not taken a perfect opportunity to, if not kiss her, at least profess his feelings? Maybe that was because he had no feelings toward her. It was all in her head, what she wished could be, instead of what really was.
And, the fact of the matter was, she had a really, really good friend. Instead of moping around, wishing he could be more, she should appreciate the friendship he had offered, and not constantly wish that it was more. She was going to end up ruining a very good thing.
Chapter Thirty-One
Roland handed Lilly her coat in exchange for her angel uniform.
The little girl smiled at him, and he said, "Great practice, Lilly. You're gonna be awesome tomorrow."
The little girl beamed, as her dad shook his hand.
"I appreciate you doing this along with Miss Nelly. And I really appreciate you finding a role for Lilly where she didn't have to speak, but still felt like she was contributing. It has made her smile more than anything else since she lost her mom."
Jack shook Roland's hand, as Roland nodded.
"It's been fun. I can't deny that it's a lot of work, but to see the kids, and how they've bloomed, has been so rewarding."
