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“That’s a relief.” Richard tugged her to the side. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Isabel hesitated, looking around again.
“Should we be going off the path? People could see us?”
“The only people around are your relatives, and they’re far ahead.” Richard’s smile was turning sly as he took her hand. “I want to show you something, and I can’t do that in the middle of the path.”
“What is it?”
“You won’t know until you see it. Now, are you normally so argumentative?”
Isabel huffed.
“You do realize that I’m trying to be a lady now, and you’re not exactly helping.”
Richard laughed. There it was again. That warm shiver down her spine. Isabel knew she should pull back and be appropriate – nobody was around, so there was no one to see what was happening, but she couldn’t. She found herself following Richard off the path and towards an oak tree with low-hanging branches. He was tugging her along so quickly that Isabel almost tripped over, her hat catching the lower branches and tugging it off her head.
“Oh!”
“Are you all right?”
“Slow down a moment.” Isabel pulled away and went back to pick up her hat. “You nearly took my head off.”
“My apologies. I just wanted to show you this.” Richard gestured at the tree. “I came upon it a couple of days ago, and it brought back memories from our childhood.”
Isabel looked up and stared. The tree was a single thick trunk and then split into four, reaching up high above them. It looked like paradise for children who loved to climb.
“Oh, this is just beautiful!” She turned in a slow circle, seeing how the branches hung low with its green canopy spread overheard. “I remember a tree similar to this back home. You and I ended up climbing it several times when we were really small.”
“I remember the last time,” Richard said wryly. “You were twelve; I was sixteen. And you fell and broke your arm. Cohen found us after that.”
“We were given the scolding of our lives and told never to go up there again.” Isabel laughed. “I didn’t go back up. I think I was getting too old for it.”
“We’re never too old for anything.”
Isabel turned. Richard was watching her with an expression she couldn’t describe. He stepped towards her, plucking a leaf out of her hair.
“I think it’s safe to say we never get too old.”
It felt like her heart was racing as Richard stepped closer to her, practically touching. She should be pushing him away and telling herself that she shouldn’t be behaving like this. It was too much.
But the closeness, the heat from his body, the look in his eyes …
Maybe just a little …
Isabel didn’t push him away as Richard cupped her head and tilted her face up. She ended up closing her eyes when he kissed her. His lips felt really soft and warm against hers.
She should have been telling him no and slapping him. Instead, Isabel found herself allowing Richard to pull her close as he kept kissing her in a way that made her head spin.
She’d had no idea that Richard could kiss like this. Or that he would do it with her.
Richard broke the kiss, stroking her cheek.
“But I think we’re perfectly old enough for this now, Isabel.”
