Page 11 of Landing Love

“A touch of cream and a teaspoon of sugar, if you please.”

“Your wish is my command,” he said with a sweeping bow.

He returned a minute later with two cups and settled in to watch her eat. It was just as good as last time, and he couldn’t stop himself from imagining kissing her and tasting the sweet tart flavor of the cake on her lips. Such lovely lips she had—a perfect bow. He caught himself staring and shook himself.

This was a woman he could fall in love with if he wasn’t careful. It would be no good falling for her, since she certainly wasn’t ready for romance. Her grief was too fresh and too deep. What use would she have for a clown like him? He’d have to be careful not to let himself daydream about her too much. It could only lead to disappointment.

“Penny for your thoughts,” she said, looking far too sweet for his sanity.

He cleared his throat. “Bird migration,” he said, picking a phrase at random from his brain.

She burst out laughing.

Five times I’ve made her laugh, he thought to himself with satisfaction as he racked his brain for bird facts.

“Isn’t it amazing how they travel thousands of miles and then come back to the same place every year? No matter how far afield they go, they can still find their way back to the home they know and love.”

“Like you did when you went away to the war.” Her wistful look made his heart ache.

“That’s right,” he said gently. “If I didn’t come home, my mother would have found me in the afterlife and harangued me for the rest of eternity about it. For the sake of my eternal soul, I had to come home.”

She looked down at her hands in her lap and blinked several times.

“He would have come home too if he’d been able,” Bill said, needing to say something to soothe her sorrow. “I’m sure he loved you very much.” He wasn’t sure whether he’d said the right thing, but she nodded and sniffed.

“I miss him every moment of every day,” she murmured. “There’s a hollow place inside me that won’t ever be filled again. I’m not whole without him.” She looked up at Bill with sad eyes and a sad smile, as if to warn him. He didn’t need the warning. It was clear in every word she spoke that she was hurting. He only hoped he could ease the ache for a little while.

He found himself saying the trite words he’d worked so hard to avoid. “I’m so sorry for your loss. If there’s anything I can do, you need only ask.”

“Thank you. You’ve been very gallant, and I’ve enjoyed making your acquaintance, but I think I should go.”

He looked around and saw, to his disappointment, that the crowd had dwindled. He was going to have to relinquish her. “Wait. When can I come see your roof?”

“Would Saturday at 2pm work for you?”

“Perfect. I’ll be there…if you tell me where it is.” He pulled a pen from his pocket and grabbed a cocktail napkin for her to write on.

She wrote down an address and handed it to him shyly.

He folded it and tucked it in his pocket.

“I’m looking forward to those sandwiches and lemonade,” he said, then wished her goodnight.

His heart skipped a beat as he watched her go. Mrs. Prince was magnificent, and he didn’t think he would recover any time soon.

5

Ann was clearing away the last of the magazines in the parlor when a knock at the door made her jump. A male voice with a delightful Irish lilt called out, “Mrs. Prince, are you there?”

As if she’d be anywhere else. She’d been at the house for three hours, cleaning and anxiously awaiting his arrival. It might have been a terrible plan, but she had committed to it.

Smoothing her dyed black skirts, she went to the door, and there he was, as charming and handsome as he’d been a few days ago at Miss Belmont’s party. Right behind him was a woman with the same chestnut hair and sparkling eyes.

“Mrs. Prince.” Bill bowed like she was the queen of England. “Here I am, as promised, with my sister, Mary.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Prince.” Mary reached out her hand, and Ann took it, immediately won over by the woman’s warm smile. Giving Ann’s hand a gentle squeeze, Mary winked. “I don’t know what you did to Bill, but he can’t stop singing your praises.”

“Heavens. I hardly know what to say.” Her cheeks heated. “Come in. Come in!” She beckoned them inside. “I have sandwiches and lemonade in the icebox, as promised.”