His eyes fell flat, and he tipped his head. “It is either that or ‘the night my life all but ended.’”
“Noah,” Hannah said, trying to stop a chuckle. “Are you perhaps being a bit dramatic?”
He squinted up into the sky. “No, I do not believe so.”
Then she did laugh, and his eyes came back to her, and he smiled. “You think I am silly, don’t you? Always wearing my heart on my sleeve?”
Hannah looked at her basket. “You said it, not me.”
“At least I have a heart,” he said in a teasing voice, nudging her shoulder with his.
She turned to him, scoffing. “I have a heart.”
“Oh, do you?” His eyes widened. “Let us take account, shall we? Going back to the infamous balcony incident where you brutally assaulted me—”
“So dramatic,” Hannah said beneath her breath.
“—was rather unfeeling if you ask me,” he continued on as if he didn’t hear her. Then his mouth quirked into a grin as he kept his eyes on his task.
“No more unfeeling than Margaret breaking your heart.” She threw a strawberry into her basket with more force than she intended, likely bruising several of them as it splattered against the others.
Noah’s hands stilled, his eyes dropping to the grass.
Regret instantly settled over her as she watched Noah’s crestfallen face. “Noah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
He plucked a single strawberry, cradling it in his palm. “I had only been teasing you.”
“Please,” she said, placing her basket aside as she turned toward him. “I suppose I did not want to—” Her words dried up. She could not say that she did not want to be seen as less than Margaret in his eyes; that she was somehow less than Margaret because of her being unfeeling. Not without questions being asked or suspicions forming. “I know you had only been teasing, and I took it too far. Forgive me?”
He narrowed his eyes—one slightly more than the other—and finally looked up at the sky with a frustrated sigh. “I cannot say no to you when you look at me like that.”
She intensified her gaze, widening her eyes. He peered back over at her. “Fine.” He took one of the strawberries from his basket. “I forgive you. Though you do not deserve it.” His mouth formed a faint smile.
“Thank you,” Hannah said, putting her hand out and giving his forearm a quick squeeze.
“Now, now,” he said, feigning embarrassment. “You cannot handle me so brazenly. People will talk.”
She chuckled. “Then let them talk,” Hannah said with a smirk. “And I’ve collected more berries than you.”
“What?” Noah leaned over, glancing at her half-full basket, and then back at his. “How did this happen?” He began furiously plucking away. “You distracted me on purpose.”
She scoffed. “I did no such thing. Have you not heard of the tortoise and the hare?”
“The hare became overconfident. Which is a mistake I shall not make again.”
“Well, you had better hold to that resolve, because Miss Baxton is coming this way.”
His head jerked up for a moment before returning to his furious picking. “You can hold her attention, can you not?”
“But where would be the fun in that?” She grinned, tucking her head lower so that Noah would be the first to be seen.
“Hannah, no,” he hissed. But it was too late. Miss Baxton was already waving at him.
“What a lovely day, is it not, Lord Noah?” she asked.
Hannah watched as he put on his social smile, standing and bending into a slight bow. “Incredibly lovely,” he called out as Miss Baxton approached them. “But I fear the day’s beauty is diminished because of all the ladies here today. How can it compare?”
Hannah could see Miss Baxton’s glowing smile even from a distance, and Hannah did her best not to roll her eyes. Not because of Miss Baxton herself, but rather Noah’s overly flattering tongue.
