He stopped us, turned me to face him, and placed his finger under my chin. Lifting my gaze to meet his, he spoke softly. “I won’t let anything happen, and I promise you’re going to love it. Just go slow.”
I nodded. Something about his tone of voice and the way he was looking at me, I knew he meant every word. And for Pete’s sake, I was spinning under a tree, not mountain climbing.
Then he leaned down and softly kissed my lips. I had to fight the urge to pull him against me to deepen the kiss. Nash drew back, staring into my eyes.
“I’ve never felt like this with anyone before, Kaelynn. I’m trying to figure out if I’m just in serious lust over you, or if you’re . . .”
I swallowed hard. “Or if I’m what?”
His voice was so low I barely heard the word come out of his mouth.
“Different.”
Different? Different from how? From who? Lily? Any woman he’s been with before? Was it a good kind of different? Or a bad different?
Crapola. I’m thinking about this all too hard.
“Hey, tell me what is going on in that beautiful head of yours.”
I smiled. “Different in a good way?”
Nash leaned down and kissed me again, then whispered against my lips, “A very good way.”
Feeling like a little girl on Christmas morning, I couldn’t help the silly grin on my face. “I feel something, too. Something amazing.”
“Well, I don’t think I can take all the credit here . . . that feeling could be me, or it could be the excitement and anticipation you have for spinning under the tree.”
He spun me around and I faced the tree. Kids and adults alike were all under the tree. Some were running, some just standing and staring up, and some spinning.
I laughed and said, “I bet it’s a bit of both.”
Nash laced his fingers with mine and walked us over to the center. We maneuvered our way through and got directly in the middle of the tree. He took my hands in his as we faced one another.
“Ready?” he asked, excitement dancing in his honey-colored eyes. The way the light from the tree sparkled in them made my breath catch.
“Ready!” I squealed back, surprised by my sudden excitement to do this.
“Lean your head back and look up.”
Doing as he told me to, I gasped at the sight. A swirl of lights captured my attention. “Nash! Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful. How many lights are there?”
“I think over three thousand.”
I continued to gaze up at the light show. Then I felt him moving, and I gripped his hands harder. We started to spin, and I couldn’t help but laugh like a little girl. The lights spun around in the most glorious way. It was stunning.
“I love it!” I exclaimed as I held my eyes fixed up. Then I felt Nash wrap his arms around me as we came to a stop. Looking down at him, I let myself get adjusted from the slight sway of everything. Then I realized he had picked me up and held me so I wouldn’t lose my balance.
“Was it worth it?” he asked, his dimples on full display in the bright lights of the tree.
“It was so worth it.”
“Good.”
Leaning down, I kissed him like my next breath depended on that kiss. Nash held me tighter against his body, and I moaned slightly at the feel of his body against mine. If he asked me to make love with him right now, I would say yes. But I had a feeling Nash Barrett wasn’t that type of guy. The fact that he picked me up and held me so I wouldn’t stumble and took me on the carriage ride first to let my stomach settle only proved what an amazing man he was. How Lily ever let him go was beyond me. Not very man was like Nash Barrett. At least, none of the men I had ever met or dated back home were like him.
“Romantic.”
“What?” Nash asked, giving me a confused look.