“Don’t worry, we’ll do it regularly,” Annie said with a dazzling smile.
“I look forward to it,” Olivia said before descending the porch stairs with Adam by her side.
“I’ll get the wagon,” Adam quickly said but Olivia shook her head.
“It’s such a beautiful night.” Her eyes rose to the beauty of the moon bestowing them with its bright light and the twinkling of a thousand stars. “Could we please walk back?”
Adam shrugged. “Sure.”
They walked in silence for a while, only the sound of night insects could be heard.
“Ah,” Olivia sighed with happiness after looking at the sky once more. “God is awesome in His creation. Just look at the shining stars and the moon. They’re so beautiful.”
“Yes,” was all Adam said.
A giggle burst forth from Olivia. “When I was a little girl, I used to sit outside in the night and count … well, try to count the stars. When I couldn’t count them all, I’d start imagining lines joining them together to form something.”
Adam chuckled. “I used to do that with the clouds. I formed a lot of animals in the sky.”
Olivia laughed. “I’m going to try doing it. Maybe I can form a house.”
Laughter rumbled from Adam’s chest.
Olivia was so engrossed in tracing the stars, she didn’t pay much attention to where she was going. She struck her foot on a stump and stumbled. Adam quickly caught her hand and held her.
Sizzles of sensation shot up Olivia’s body, leaving her out of breath. Her lips parted as she felt flutters in her stomach. Adam reached up and cupped her face.
His head descended. Olivia’s heartbeat faster as she believed Adam was going to kiss her.
I’m going to have my first kiss with a man I like.
Excitement ran through Olivia’s body as she waited in anticipation.
Mere inches from her lips, Adam suddenly pulled back. Olivia blinked, not believing her eyes.
Only propriety stopped her from catching Adam by his shirt, drawing him closer and placing her lips on his.
Who am I? How can I have such brazen thoughts? Oh, she had become something else fantasizing about kissing a man who hadn’t shown an interest in her. Even if he had, it was all shades of wrong.
They stood there gawking at each other for minutes on end before Adam cleared his throat.
“Watch your steps.”
Olivia nodded and in a croaked voice, answered, “Thank you.”
The rest of the journey to the orphanage was done in tense silence.
At the gate, Olivia turned around to tell Adam goodbye and nearly bumped into him as she didn’t realize that he had come forward.
“I beg your pardon,” she said and quickly created a wide distance between them.
“I’m sorry.”
Olivia didn’t know what he was apologizing for, for trying to kiss her, for pulling away at the last minute, or bumping into her?
“It’s all right,” she simply said. “Thank you for walking me home and for a wonderful evening. Goodnight.”
Adam looked as if he wanted to say something. He shook his head, offered her a small smile, and said, “Have a goodnight.”
