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‘Go on then, if you think you can.’
He laid his index finger lightly on the side of her brow, frowning as if some great mental effort was in progress. ‘Huh...interesting. Very interesting.’
For a moment it was as if he could see what she was thinking. Impossible. Snap out of it.
‘What’s interesting?’
‘I can’t read you. I never quite know what you’re going to do next. Fascinating.’ The curve of his lips made it clear that was a compliment.
She knew that it was just Leo’s charm, his way of turning a situation around and removing the barbs. But it was still compelling, and when she looked into his eyes she felt that he really did find her fascinating. Alex swallowed hard.
‘You know what, Leo? Even if you could read minds, you still wouldn’t be able to see into the future.’
‘I think the universe has something to answer for there. We can see the past but it’s too late to go back and do things differently. And the future...’ He shrugged.
The one time frame that mattered the most was the one that Leo seemed unable to get to grips with. ‘What about now, Leo?’
* * *
If she hadn’t been so beautiful he could have shrugged now off. Leo could have forgotten her scent and dismissed the idea that he didn’t have to reach very far in order to touch her.
‘Now is...just a moment. Gone before you have a chance to even know what to do with it.’
She reached her hand out as if to catch snowflakes. Then she closed her fingers tight. ‘There. Got it.’
Time really did seem to stand still, and it was the oddest feeling. One of complete warmth, absolute safety from a world that couldn’t throw anything at him because it was suspended, waiting for Alex to allow it to start turning again.
‘What will you do with it?’ Alex turned her gaze onto him and Leo knew exactly what he wanted to do.
‘I want to tell Tara that I’m sorry I didn’t get to see her again. I want to tell you that I’m sorry...for everything. For not being there and...’
She laid one finger across his lips and it was all that Leo could do not to frame a kiss. ‘I think everything pretty much covers it, Leo. If I tell you that you’re forgiven, can we put that behind us? Where it belongs, in the past.’
Somehow that seemed possible. Anything seemed possible as long as it was contained in this one moment and couldn’t spill out into their lives. He caught her hand, turning it in his to press a kiss against her palm.
Alex smiled. ‘Captain Boone and Tara. Let them kiss goodnight and slip away into the universe? Leave us to get on with the things we have to do.’
Maybe she was right. Ten years ago he’d let the chance to kiss her slip away. He’d regretted it then and the thought of repeating that mistake now was unbearable.
‘I’d like that.’
* * *
What harm could there be? If it could help Leo to let go, why not? One of the points of fancy dress was that you got to do things you might not normally do, and if anyone questioned them afterwards you could say you were just in character. Alex extended two fingers in a rough imitation of Tara’s immobility gun, prodding her middle finger against the side of his ribs.
Leo grinned. ‘So you’ve seen that episode, have you?’
The one where Tara held Captain Boone at gunpoint, then kissed him. She’d seen it. ‘I watched an awful lot of TV when I was recovering from the accident.’
‘And now you’re putting it to good use...’ He held out his hands, as if she really did have a gun on him. But his smile beckoned her. Grabbed her and dragged her in.
She brushed her lips against his.
‘Nice. Very nice...’ She felt his words form against h
er cheek and Alex drew back, teasing him for a moment. Then she kissed him, trailing her lips from his mouth to the side of his jaw.
‘Even nicer...’ He kissed her fingers when she put her free hand to his lips, and then waited. He knew that she’d come back for more and when she did she made it a proper kiss, her hand wrapped around the back of his neck, her lips parted as they met his.
