laughed.
‘Well, you’re cooler now, aren’t you?’ He nudged his upper arm off her shoulder.
So she nudged him back a little harder, laughing all the more when he made an exaggerated stagger to the side. ‘You’re a big kid, you know that, don’t you?’
A large hand was slapped against his chest. ‘Me? I’ll have you know I’m the responsible one—I just made sure the chances of you getting heatstroke were lessened. You’re the one who turned it into a game.’
Still smiling, but with her gaze now fixed forwards on the poignant sight of the mounted globe salvaged from Ground Zero, Kerry admitted in a soft voice, ‘It was fun.’
She dropped her chin to study the painted toenails visible in her sandalled feet for a moment before giving in to the need to look back at Ronan, who was looking at her with a strangely intense expression on his face.
‘You make it sound like it’s something you don’t normally make time for.’
She scrunched up her nose.
‘How come?’
Spoken by the man who was as free as a bird to the woman who’d been trapped by responsibility for over a decade. ‘I have fun. I just don’t—’
‘Have fun the way you just did?’
Normally the lack of smart suits and forcefully tamed hair was enough to fool the world into thinking she was more carefree than she actually was. And he hadn’t seen her in work clothes, so, ‘Do I look boring?’
‘No, that’s why I’m surprised—and now curious.’
Kerry liked that she could make him curious. In the short time she’d known him Lord alone knew there’d been plenty of things that had her curious about him, so it was a good feeling to be able to return the favour.
When she didn’t speak he asked the obvious. ‘So what holds you back?’
‘Is therapy a complimentary part of the tour?’
‘Ooh—defensive.’
How had he done that? Having used the gentle tone he just had, he’d made her feel guilty for not spilling her guts. And Kerry never did, well, not unless she’d known someone a really long time, which technically made it a moot point because anyone who’d known her that long already knew.
But she wasn’t going to ruin such an amazing day with a conversation examining the psychology of why she was the way she was in normal everyday life. So she brushed it over by nudging her shoulder against his arm again, lifting her other hand to push her fingers into the hair on top of her head and ruffling it before letting it fall.
‘What’s next? I assume from your previous disdain for people with patience that we’re not joining the longest queue in the history of mankind so we can make some kind of Irish pilgrimage to Ellis…’
The low rumble of laughter reassured her she’d managed to brush over what could have been an awkward moment. ‘You’d be correct in that assumption. But I do need to know how you feel about boats.’
Kerry stopped and turned to face him, considering a random point above his left ear while she answered. ‘Kinda depends if we’re talking rowboat or cruise ship here. Though I should warn you I hadn’t planned on the cruise portion of my fantasy list for another twenty years or so. And I was thinking more along the lines of the Caribbean for that one.’
‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy that. But I’m thinking more along the lines of the Staten Island ferry. You can see Ellis and take some pictures of Liberty while I fill you in on the associated history free of charge—I’m helpful that way.’
Her gaze shifted to lock with his, the smile immediate and reciprocated just as fast. ‘Lead on Macduff.’
He stared at her for a long moment, searching her eyes while a dozen thoughts crossed through the varying shades of blue in his. But just when she thought he might say something else, he laced his fingers with hers and tugged.
‘C’mon then, Kerry, Kerry Doyle.’
The invisible angelic midget on one shoulder said she really shouldn’t allow him to keep touching her the way he did; as if he had a right to do it and had been doing it for ever. But the equally small invisible siren in high heels on her other promptly reminded her she’d been just as keen to touch him on the bus tour. And fair was fair.
So she decided for just one day of her life she wasn’t going to over-think. She was simply going to do things because she wanted to and because they felt right. Not because she was expected to behave a certain way or because she was concerned what other people thought—the trip was the first thing she’d specifically done for herself in a long, long time, after all. And she’d earned it; she didn’t have to feel guilty about anything.
If karma was going to punish her for grabbing hold of one perfect day, then let it try—they’d be having a long talk about time served.
So she tangled her fingers a little firmer around Ronan’s—softening any subliminal meaning he might get from it by then swinging their arms as they walked down the path out of the park.
He grumbled out a warning. ‘You even think about doing any skipping to go with that arm- swinging and I’m tossing you under the first yellow cab I can find.’
‘You’re no fun.’
The look he gave her was so heated it practically melted her knees, his voice a low, deliciously sensual rumble. ‘Oh, I can be fun. Believe me. And now I know how much fun you can be, my new aim is to make sure you have as much of it as humanly possible. So consider yourself warned, young lady.’
Kerry grinned the whole way out of the park. She could quite happily have the day never end…
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