Page 58 of Air Affair

Mrs. O’Donnell interrupted her moment of reverie with, “It looks like everyone is done. Would anyone like dessert? I have a lovely apple cherry pie.” She began gathering dinner plates, and Rory followed her lead, gathering the plates from her side of the table. In the kitchen, Mrs. O’Donnell murmured confidentially, “I’m so pleased to see you getting on so well with Bill and taking such an interest in his work. He’s a very good boy, and he’ll make someone a very fine husband.”

Rory had to work hard to suppress a laugh. She managed to nod and smile indulgently. Mrs. O’Donnell handed her a pile of small plates, which she took over to the table and began distributing. When she got to Hank, their fingers brushed for a moment, and she flushed with heat. Her eyes flitted to his, which were burning like coals. She jerked back as if burned, determined not to give herself away, having made it this far.

Mrs. O’Donnell doled out the pie. The children, who had kept up a steady stream of chatter throughout the meal with their mother, were suddenly silent. Mary piped up, “Thank you so much for giving Adelaide French lessons, Miss Belmont. Now you’ll be a proper young lady, won’t you, Adelaide?”

“Oooooeee,” exclaimed Adelaide.

“Can you say thank you to Miss Belmont?”

Adelaide gave her mother a resentful look and put down her fork. “Thank you, Miss Belmont, for teaching me French.” Then she dove back into her pie. Connor appeared to be wearing more of his pie than he’d eaten. Hank whispered something to him that made him giggle. It warmed her heart to see him be so sweet with the boy.

“What do you think of the pie, Miss Belmont?” Mr. O’Donnell asked. “Shannon won the trophy at the county fair last fall for this pie. We were all very proud of her.”

Mrs. O’Donnell grinned and blushed at the compliment.

“It’s delicious, Mrs. O’Donnell,” Rory said. “You’ll have to show me how to make it.” She didn’t miss Hank giving her another eyebrow from the other end of the table.

As they wrapped up dessert, Bill said, “I really should get going. I have a flight first thing tomorrow.”

“Wait,” his mother said, halting him in his tracks. “Miss Belmont hasn’t seen how pretty the town hall looks in the moonlight. You should take her for a walk.”

Bill and Rory stared at each other helplessly.

“You’d like a little walk in the moonlight, wouldn’t you dear?” she said to Rory.

“I—,” Rory began and stopped. Mrs. O’Donnell watched her expectantly. “I suppose a walk would be quite nice.” At least it would be a chance to get out of the house, and perhaps she could manage a few words with Hank.

Bill glanced at Hank with a furrowed brow. Hank was looking daggers at him. With the face of someone on his way to the gallows, Bill offered his arm and led Rory out the door and down the stairs.

They stepped into the street and Bill turned to her. “I’m sorry about my mother. She’s a bit much.”

Hank burst through the door and charged toward them a moment later. “I’ll be taking over from here, O’Donnell.”

“Yes, but you’d better let me take her back in when you’re done, or my mother will make all kinds of assumptions. You wouldn’t want her thinking you’re stealing my future bride,” O’Donnell said, smirking.

“Give me twenty minutes,” Hank said with an exasperated sigh. “I’ll meet you back here at the fountain.”

He took Rory by the hand and led her away into the dark. They stopped in the alley beside the closed greengrocer, and he pressed her up against the wall and kissed her so furiously her whole body went up in flame. He kissed down her neck and worshipped her chest before returning to her lips and plundering them thoroughly.

“Oh God, Rory. I want you so much. I spent the last three days thinking about nothing but you.”

“I want you too, Hank.” She couldn’t pretend she was any less affected. “But we can’t. Not here. Not now.”

“I know.” He took a step back. “I thought you would be there when I got home. It never occurred to me you would move out before I got back.”

“I know, but I had to get my life sorted. I couldn’t stay with you. You know that.”

“You could if you were my wife. Rory, I didn’t intend to propose in an alley. I had a whole plan that fell apart completely. I’ll do it properly, I promise, but I need to know.”

Oh no. He’s kneeling. He’s pulling something from his pocket.

“Rory Belmont, will you marry me?” A diamond sparkled in the moonlight.

Every terrible thing the gossip rags had written about her began running through her head, along with Edward’s insults, and her father’s put-downs. She didn’t deserve him, and she couldn’t bring herself to accept. But how could she explain in a way that he would understand?

She took a deep, shuddering breath, grasping for a way to answer that wouldn’t break his heart.

“Hank, it’s so sweet of you to ask. I know you’re only doing it out of a sense of obligation. I’m sorry you went to the trouble of buying a ring. But I’m not ready to get married. I only gained my independence a few days ago. I need some time to settle into my new life before I consider anything as drastic as marriage.”