“You’re not skinny anymore,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“And I’ve never understood the importance you placed on breast size.Yours are perfect.”
“Mmm.”She continued to stare at his hands cradling hers.The circling of his thumb hypnotized her until all she could think about was—
She snapped her head up and stared at him.“What did you say?”
Humor flashed in his eyes.“I said that there is nothing wrong with your breasts.In fact I’ve always—”
“Never mind.”She jerked her hands free and crossed her arms over her chest.“I get the gist of it.Thanks for the share.”
“You want to change the subject,” he said kindly, his gaze never once flickering below her face.Still she kept her arms in place.
“How’d you guess?”
“Body language.”
“Oh.”She glanced at her arms.“Pretty obvious.”
“Would you feel better if we talked about your crush?”
“No.”
“So it was my teaching you how to swim.My sculptured body.The devil-may-care gleam in my eyes.”
He was laughing at her, but she didn’t care.“Actually, you took the time to be nice.”
Now it was his turn to look uncomfortable.He leaned back in his chair and shrugged.“I was just being neighborly.”
“I know, but it meant a lot to me.You always had time to smile and say hello.That goes a long way with a twelve-year-old girl.”She bit her lower lip.Could she ask him the same sort of questions?Did it matter anymore?A slight breeze whispered against her bare arms, bringing with it the scent of night-blooming jasmine and rich earth.“When did you first notice me?”
“When you were about six months old and screaming loud enough to wake me up at four in the morning.”
“Adam!You know what I meant.”
“Yeah, I know.”He raised his arms and laced his fingers behind his head.The lights from the house highlighted the right side of his face and outlined his profile.“Charlene gave me a party for my twenty-first birthday.She went all out, hiring a band and a caterer.There must have been a couple hundred people here.”
“I remember.”It had been her first grown-up event.The first time her mother had taken her into Atlanta to buy a formal dress.The white confection of ribbons and lace had made her feel special.
“You danced with Ty,” he said.“I watched my brother lead you around the floor, but you couldn’t dance in your shoes.”
“Oh, God.”She buried her face in her hands.“It’s not fair that all my embarrassing memories are public knowledge.I’ll never live them down.I must have looked like a geek.”
“It was very charming.”
She shook her head.“Geek.”
“I found you out by the garden, walking barefoot, like a nymph from a storybook.”
She straightened, smiling at the memory.“You told me I looked pretty.”
“You did.”
“And that was it?”she asked, surprised that one of her favorite memories might have influenced him.
“You were a little young, but yes, that was it.I kept my eye on you until you were old enough for me to date.”
