Page 69 of Not Another Happily Ever After

“There are too many feet to keep track of,” he huffs out, his eyes once again trained on the ground.

I bite down on a laugh. “There are only four, Frog.”

His gaze finds mine, a wrinkle of amusement bracketing his eyes. “I assure you, Icancount, Miss Sunday.”

So there is a sense of humor under all that armor. Huh.

I raise my brow, pleased with my spoils. “We’re making progress then.”

Frog shakes his head but I can see it, the whisper of a laugh vibrating through his shoulders. The echo of a smile shining in his eyes.

“So, what now?” he asks, the trembling in his hand gone.

“Now,” I beam up at him, “we try it again.”

I lead with my left, he moves back with his right.

We shuffle to the side with the other foot and he stumbles.

“Keep going,” I gently push, not allowing him the time to second guess his next step. “Right onone, left ontwo,then together onthree, okay?”

“One.”

He steps backward, his hand gently squeezing mine.

“Two.”

He steps to the side, his palm flush against my waist.

“Three.”

We come together, and the world around us melts away.

The dark knight looks to me for approval.

I nod, my voice barely a whisper. “Again.”

Frog straightens, relaxing his shoulders. And then he takes the lead, moving me back, to the side, and finally, together.

“Perfect.”

The peaks of his cheeks pinken at my praise, but he doesn’t loosen his hold or shy away. Instead he pulls me closer, his autumn green gaze now set ablaze.

“Not quite,” he breathes out. Before I can question what he means, he releases his hold on my waist and side-steps away, still holding my hand.

I puzzle his steps before I realize where they’re leading, and the gasp that leaves my lips, does so on a twirl. Round and round he spins me, until the dark reds and purples of the forest become one with my dress.

The laugh that flies from my lips is unlike any other I’ve felt before. Reaching from the depths of my butterfly-filled belly, it makes light of my every step. When he pulls me back to him, into his warmth and cinnamon-orange scent, just as my lungs have caught their breath, I’m falling. But only for a moment before Frog’s hand finds the small of my back.

“Did you just…” I gasp, my eyes wide with surprise.

“I think I did?” Frog nods, blinking rather quickly.

I cast my head back in laughter, wishing this moment to never end. Knowing in some ways, it won’t. For a memory is a treasure the heart keeps.

And this one,this one—I stare up at Frog, his chest is rolling with laughter—is my favorite of all.

The End.