“Oh, Jack!”
“No! Don’t cry!”
“Stop trying to move!”
“But you’re crying.”
“There.” She sniffed. “I’ve stopped. Stay still.”
A mischievous glint in his eyes, he made a tapping motion with the fingers of his unbandaged hand, inching it over the blanket until she gave in and took hold of it.
“Better,” he said.
“You saved my life,” she said again.
He frowned at her. “Why do you seem so surprised?”
“I didn’t…I didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
Despite her best efforts, she sniffed again, the tears back. “If you really loved me.”
“What?” He stared, incredulous.
“I know you like me,” she said quickly, embarrassed. “I know you’ve always been fond of me, but when I heard about the money, I thought…I thought maybe that was why you wanted to marry me all of a sudden.”
He groaned. “Lucy…”
“In the park, you said—”
“Devil take the park!”
“You said you’ve never thought of me that way, would never want to marry me—”
“Lucy,Lucy…we’ve established I’m an idiot. Take everything I said in the park and reverse it. Iloveyou. I’d marry you without a penny. I don’t evenknowif you have a penny, and I couldn’t care less. It’s you I want, you goose. Lucy, Lucy.” More quietly, he said, “My little Minnow.”
His thumb rubbed over the back of her hand. She watched the motion of it, feeling her pulse, feeling his echoed back where their fingers touched.
“Why do you call me that?” she asked shyly, glancing up at him. Dark grey eyes met hers in warm amusement.
“Exactly because of this. Your eyes. Flashing silver like shy little fish and always darting away from me before I’ve managed to look at them as long as I want to. My little Minnow, hardly ever quite looking at me. And yet, somehow, yousee…”
She couldn’t speak. The lump in her throat was too big.
“Are you disappointed?” he asked. “Do you hate it? I should have made up a more romantic story.”
“No! I… I don’t hate it. I…don’t hate it at all. But now I know, I’ll be more self-conscious than ever.”
“Don’t be. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
She looked at him. Made herself hold his gaze. He smiled at the effort it took her.
“Minnow,” he said, softly, reverently. “Can I call you it? The only one who ever does?”
“Y-yes.” Then, stoutly, “But I like Lucy too.”
“Of course,” he agreed. “I also like Lucy. I’d go so far as to say IloveLucy. Did you really doubt it?”
