I could ignore the offer, move around his hand, and stand tall and proud on my own two feet, but the truth was, I wanted to take his hand. It was that simple. I wanted his sturdy reassurance that everything was going to be alright. I wanted that strength. I had no idea if it was insanity, hope, desperation, or something as simple as timeless and pure as love, but I took his hand. Decker drew me from the limousine as if I were a sophisticated and delicate treasure.
“Holy shit!” I burst out, ruining any chances of me being a lady. Two massive horses attached to an elegant carriage stood in front of us. Decker strolled forward to meet an elderly chap who at least looked old enough to carry a driver’s license. The driver of the horse and carriage offered me his hand, but Decker was having none of that.
“Move aside, Jeeves, you’re stealing my thunder.” Decker stepped forward and took my hand again as I climbed into the opulent carriage. With a simple flick of the reins, we were moving. Cushioned by urban concrete and lights, we were drawn into the dark leafy shadows of Central Park. “You pulled out the big guns, huh?” I whispered.
Decker smiled, but it wasn’t egotistical, it was hopeful. I allowed myself to enjoy the beauty of the moment, the magical essence that had me thinking this was someone else’s life, someone else’s story. But it didn’t belong to someone else, this was mine, my magical moment. When the horse and carriage finally drew to a stop, Decker’s hand, still tight around mine, we stepped to the cobblestone under the carriage, and I gasped. Small lights twinkled in a steady cadence all around us. It was as if the stars had floated down to settle in the trees for a closer look. A sculpture was lit with a soft blue lighting before us. It was a scene straight out of Alice in Wonderland.
“I’m not sure how to get you in a rabbit hole, so I did the next best thing. I brought the fairytale to you.” Decker’s whispered words at my ear caused my skin to flood with goose bumps. Soft music was playing from speaker’s hidden god knows where. A small table was set up, and to one side a chef waited for us to be seated. Night had fallen not long ago, and this section of Central Park was empty apart from us. And the chef…And Jeeves and his horses.
Decker chuckled. “Speechless, Country?” I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “I did the impossible, rendered the rambling woman speechless. I should get a wish or something, right?” I slapped his chest which immediately became caught under Decker’s much larger hand, pressed firmly against his beating heart. “If I had one wish, I would wish you would dance with me.” Melted. I had flat out melted onto the pavement. Decker gently turned me into his chest, wrapped one arm around my waist, my good hand slid to his shoulder, the fingertips of my cast hand were gently pressed under Decker’s as he began to slowly move. I didn’t want to think about the things Decker had done to cause me pain. I just wanted to think about us, here, now. I moved with him as he smoothly spun me then resumed a melodic sway.
“God I missed you.” His voice cracked with emotion and I automatically held him tighter. I shouldn’t be offering him comfort. He didn’t deserve it. He had hurt me, used me, lied to me.
“I’m angry with you,” I breathed, my own voice wavering.
“No one can be angrier with me than me. I screwed up, so bad.”
I turned my head, my cheek pressed firmly against his chest. “You warned me.” Well, there I went trying to shift the blame off him again. Bradley was right, I really did have a problem with that.
“I wasn’t man enough to do right by you and there is no excuse under the sun that can absolve me from that. You are a beautiful, vibrant woman who deserves a man who will spend every moment of every day making her laugh, not cry.”
The music had changed to a country song I knew well, Keith Urban’s “Making Memories Of Us”. I was impressed. He’d gone country in an effort to apologize.
“I actually like this song, it’s…sweet.” He seemed as shocked with the admission as I was. His hand at my back slipped a little to settle on the dip that led right over the curves of my butt.
“Hands, Decker, I haven’t given you a green light yet.” The ‘yet’ seem to floor Decker. I guess it floored me a little too. Was I really that easy?
“I really like that you used the word ‘yet’, it means I still might be able to redeem myself.” His steps seemed lighter, as if a heavy weight off his shoulders had lifted.
“Just because I haven’t said no doesn’t guarantee I will say yes,” I whispered.