Call felt the shape of his mouth with his fingertips. “Huh. You’re right. That’s a smirk.”
Laurel waited for his hand to drop away. When he leaned back and folded his arms across his chest, she said, “I haven’t changed my mind. I did what you asked me to do. I thought about what I wanted. I thought about it a lot. Nothing’s changed. If anything, my mind’s more settled.”
Every vestige of humor was absent from Call’s features now. “You said some things out there on the trail that I’ve been wondering about.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t want to be courted.”
“It seems unnecessary, don’t you think?”
“Maybe.” He tilted his head to one side as his eyes rested on her face. Her dark gaze was without guile. She wasn’t teasing him. It wasn’t in her to play him for a fool. She hadn’t asked him for protection, probably would have resisted if it was offered, and yet he couldn’t shake thefeeling that she was vulnerable. It might have been the light spray of freckles across her nose that made her seem younger than her years and lent the impression of naïveté. Or it could have been the heavy chestnut braid that lay over her shoulder, wisps of hair escaping it at every twist that made him think of a girl just graduated from the schoolroom.
It was her mouth, though, her perfectly shaped mouth with its full lower lip, that dispelled the impression of innocence, especially when she opened it and sass spilled out. It was perhaps unfortunate for him that he liked her sass.
“You told me you weren’t looking for a marriage proposal,” he said.
“I’m still not.”
“And you had no interest in being a wife.”
“You’re remembering it all quite well.”
“There was one more thing.”
Laurel nodded. Against her will, she could feel heat creeping into her cheeks. She might wish he wouldn’t repeat it, but she couldn’t very well ask him not to. Under no circumstances would she give herself away.
“You said you’re in no danger of falling in love with me. Do I have that right?”
“You know you do.”
“Hmm. I wonder if during my absence you might have considered whatIwant.” When she had no immediate response, he cocked an eyebrow and waited her out.
“I thought those things I saidwerewhat you wanted. I thought they were holding you back and that it would ease your mind to hear me say them. I asked you once when we were sitting on the porch together if you were courting me.”
“I remember. You were teasing.”
“Doesn’t matter. You almost choked on the notion.”
“I was teasing you.”
“Really? Because it didn’t seem that way.”
“All right. Maybe I wasn’t teasing, but I’ve warmed to the idea since.”
One of Laurel’s eyebrows rose in a perfect arch. “Youwantto court me? I don’t believe you.”
“Huh. I hadn’t anticipated not being believed. Should I pick some flowers and bring them to you? Ask you to walk with me? Maybe we could actually share that porch swing in front of witnesses.”
In spite of herself, Laurel’s lips twitched. “You’ve made your point. Please stop. Please.”
Call pressed his lips together but only long enough to lull her into thinking he was done. “About that marriage proposal.” He ignored her soft groan. “As you indicated, courting generally leads to that end, so I’ve been thinking about it, and proposing marriage doesn’t sound as disagreeable as you made it seem.” He put up a hand when he saw she was about to speak. “Doesn’t mean you have to say yes. You have to keep that in mind.”
She snorted lightly. “Be careful, Call. I might say yes just to see you run for the hills. That’d be a sight.”
“I suppose it would, but you shouldn’t count on it.” He observed that Laurel took him seriously because she sobered. “As for you not wanting to be a wife, well, that’s tricky. Marriage makes a woman a wife by definition. Now I don’t hold to all the conventions, so if the woman I marry wants to call herself a companion, a friend, a lover, a partner, well, I’m good with that.” He paused. “Are you tempted yet?”
Laurel feigned surprise. “Oh, you were talking about me? I thought you were speaking about the woman you marry.”
