His eyes closed, his mouth moved forward, and his lips touched hers. His hand followed, curling around her neck with his thumb reaching up to her cheek. His kiss deepened, moving with careful thoroughness that searched out her strands of resistance and brought every speck to panting glorious compliance.
Far too soon, he backed away. His eyes opened, looked up, and met hers.
Lois let her hand slide down the contours of his sleeve, reaching his hand and grasping it. "Well," she puffed. "That makes everything so much more complicated."
"I think it makes everything clearer," Clark said.
"How so?"
"That was the best kiss of my life, with the most fascinatingly beautiful woman I have ever met," he said, caressing her with a smile. "What's complicated about that?"
His certainty washed over her in waves. "The best kiss of your life?" she questioned.
He nodded.
It had been the best kiss of her life, too. And as much as she wanted to dwell on the memory, mere memories couldn't compete with Clark … right there … available. "Kiss me again," she murmured.
He came to her, both hands clasping her neck, holding her with infinite tenderness as his mouth imprinted the story of his wonder and fascination.
"Clark! Clark!"
Clark's frustrated groan rose from somewhere deep in his chest, and he eased away before springing to his feet.
"Clark!" A woman Lois recognised as having been in the group with him last night was running through the rain towards the gazebo. "Clark!" she shouted. "We need your help. Shane's called off the wedding."
Part 6
The woman hurtled up the gazebo steps and came to an abrupt stop in front of Clark. "The wedding's off," she announced, pushing the hood of her coat from her head and wiping her face with her sleeve. "Shane says he won't marry Jane."
Clark pressed a brief touch to her elbow. "It's probably just wedding nerves, Belinda," he said. "I hear that happens all the time."
The woman shook her head vigorously. "No," she said. "It's far more than a few nerves. Emma called Shane's home, and one of his brothers answered. Shane wouldn't even come to the phone. He has told all his relations to go home and forget that a wedding was ever planned."
"Where is Jane?" Clark said. "Has she talked with Shane? She must be distraught."
"She is," Belinda said. "She has locked herself in her bedroom and refuses to speak to anyone. But we can hear her sobs through the door, and it sounds as if her heart is breaking."
Lois took a step closer. "Has Shane said why he doesn't want to get married?" she asked. "He must have given a reason."
"All he has said is that Jane is not the person he thought she was," Belinda replied. "And he is adamant that there will be no wedding."
"Does Jane know why?" Clark asked. "Has she said anything at all? Has she talked to Shane? Does she want to talk to Shane?"
"The impression we're getting is that she was half expecting this," Belinda said forlornly. "We told her it was probably just nerves, and she burst into tears and said we didn't understand. When we offered to take her to Shane's so they could talk, she said it wouldn't make any difference."
"Was there an argument?" Clark asked. "Did something happen at the party last night?"
"I was busy helping clear away the rest of the food," Belinda said hesitantly.
"But?" Lois prompted.
"Carol said that Anna said that Jane had received news that her father wasn't able to come."
Clark adjusted his glasses. "Maybe it's none of our business," he said.
"If we don't do something, there's going to be no wedding," Belinda said flatly. "Is that what you want?"
"No," Clark said quickly. "But what I want isn't important."
"What they want is important," Belinda said, "and I thought they desperately wanted to be married."
"We all thought that," Clark said.
"Until this morning, and suddenly …" Belinda raised her hands in frustration. "Emma and I thought that if anyone could talk to Shane, it would be you."
"Me?" Clark said, sounding surprised. "What about his brothers? And his parents?"
"They're too close," Belinda said. "And they haven't been able to do anything so far. They hardly know Jane. You know both of them, and they respect you. We think you are the best person to try to find out if this can be made right."
"Of course it can be made right," Clark said. "They are perfect together. Last night … They just seemed so happy."
"That was last night," Belinda said. "This morning, Shane won't budge and Jane seems to have lost all hope."
Clark swept his hand through his hair. "I don't understand. I thought -"
"Which is why you need to talk to Shane." Belinda cast a glance over the food dotted across the rug. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, giving Lois a rueful smile. "I know you're busy, Clark, but we've been trying to talk to Jane for over two hours. And Shane won't say anything to his brothers except that there will be no wedding. We didn't know what else to do."
"How did you know Clark would be here?" Lois asked.
"Well, that wasn't hard," Belinda said with a small shrug. "We all saw what happened last night. When Clark wasn't answering his phone this morning, it seemed likely he was out with you. None of the good cafes is open yet, so the obvious place was the park. And it's raining; hence the gazebo."
"Oh," Lois said, wondering exactly what they concluded had happened last night. "OK."
"Will you come?" Belinda said, addressing her question to Clark.
"I'm not sure what I can do," he said doubtfully.
"Shane might talk to you," Belinda said. "Please try, Clark. You're the one person who knows them equally. They both like you a lot. If we can find out why Shane has cancelled the wedding, perhaps we can try to do something to help."
Clark looked at Lois, his expression twisted with indecision.
"I think you should go," she said. "If there's a chance of helping them, you should go and try."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Clark nodded and turned to Belinda. "You go back to Jane," he said. "I'll drive over to Shane's house and see if he'll speak to me."
Belinda's smile stretched to include Lois. "Thank you," she said. "We have to try something. I really don't know what could have happened. They seemed so much in love."
"They are in love," Clark said firmly.
"I'll wait at Jane's," Belinda called as she ran down the steps and towards her car. "You know her number."
Clark turned to Lois. "I'm so sorry, Lois," he said with a helpless wave towards the remains of their picnic.
They stared down at the food as disappointment skulked around them like a dark cloud of dashed hopes.
"It can't be helped," Lois said briskly, crouching low and reaching for the nearest container. She fixed its lid in place, startled to discover that an unyielding wad of emotion had pushed up into her throat.
She swallowed roughly, admonishing herself for being silly.
Shane and Jane would be all right. A solution would be found. The wedding would probably go ahead, and this story would be told to their children as a tiny, even humorous, glitch in an otherwise perfect day.
But, if Lois were honest, the sudden knot of sentiment wasn't just about the broken dreams of the bride and groom.
Belinda's arrival had shattered an exquisite moment with Clark, cooling the atmosphere of closeness so completely that they were now hastily clearing away the evidence of their date in silence.
The moment had been lost … but it wasn't irretrievable.
It could be restored.
If Clark wanted it.
If she wanted it.
Did she? The possibility of never again kissing Clark Kent was far more devastating than the prospect of them returning to the wondrous moment when his mouth had caressed hers with such lavish attention.
Lois stole a glance into his face. It was set … a little closed … as if he, too, was using the need to pack away as a shield for his disappointment.
I counted down the hours to seven thirty.
He'd sacrificed a few hours of sleep to plan their date in minute detail. He'd arrived at her hotel an hour early.
And just when everything had been going perfectly …
Lois cleared her throat and smothered her uncertainties with a dose of common sense. If this thing between them could be side-tracked by a single interruption, it wasn't worth pursuing.
But why had Clark gone so quiet?
Was he reconsidering?
Did he regret kissing her?
Was he backing away?
That thought hurt like a spike to the core of her heart.
Only one container remained. Lois reached for it, and her fingers smacked into Clark's wrist.
"Sorry," he said, their hands hovering like two bees assessing the same flower.
Lois snatched at the remaining container and threw it into the basket. As she straightened from her crouched position, she tried to muster a pretend-nothing-happened smile.
He slowly stood. "I'm so sorry, Lois," he said. "I can't believe I let Belinda talk me into abandoning our date."
"But if the wedding never happens, wouldn't you always worry that you could have done something?"
"That's better than worrying that I've blown my only chance with you."
His apprehension glimmered from behind his glasses, curling around her heart and melting more of its crusty edges. "You haven't blown anything," she said.
He lifted his hand, ran it through his hair and left it perched at the back of his neck. "Lois …" She'd meant her words to be reassuring, but it was clear they hadn't had the intended effect.
"What's wrong, Clark?" Lois asked. "Everything was going well. Nothing's changed. Maybe it's changed for Jane and Shane, but that doesn't have to affect us."
Clark stared at his feet. "Right now, I would give anything to go back to the moment before Belinda arrived, but …"
"But?"
His hand dropped listlessly to his side. "But as much as I enjoyed kissing you …"
He wanted more. She gulped, not sure how she felt about progressing beyond kissing. She scrutinised his face. Found comprehension there. Breathed again. "It's not enough, is it?" she said. "Not for you?"
Clark shook his head. "I was trying to … I hoped … but the first thing comes along, and I …" He grimaced. "I really wanted you to know how important this is to me."
"You think I didn't get that?" Lois exclaimed sharply. "You think I haven't realised how much this means to you?"
He shrank back half a step. "I'm sorry, Lois," he said. "You made your feelings perfectly clear right at the beginning, and -"
"I did?"
"You said you don't believe in love. You don't date. I am trying to respect that, but then I look at you and …"
"And?"
His gaze came steadily, simmering with hope. "And I can't help wishing -"
"You said you wanted me to see what you can see," Lois said. "I can see it. I can. Every moment I spend with you makes it more difficult to avoid, but -"
"But nothing … none of this … changes that it's not what you want."
His statement - so cold and final - shocked her into silence. He stood there, watching her, his shoulders rigidly straight, his expression cloaked in despair.
"Is that why you told me to go to and speak with Shane?" Clark asked. "So our date can be over with?"
"No!" Lois shuddered through a long breath, calming her rampaging heart. "No. If I didn't want to be with you, I would just say so."
"You did."
His words felt like a slap to Lois's face. She recovered, hastily dragged something coherent from the chaos churning through her mind, and said, "I thought I didn't want this. Actually, that's not completely true. I had given up on what I really wanted because I no longer believed it was possible."
"If there's no hope - I know you already tried to tell me that, but you came with me this morning and you said you wanted me to kiss you - but if there's no hope of anything long-term, I'd …" He swallowed roughly. "I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me, straight out, now."
Lois had said she was afraid of being vulnerable, but she'd rarely felt as vulnerable as Clark looked now. It was as if he'd placed his heart in her hands and ceded all control of it to her. "I'm confused, and I'm scared," she said.
"Lois, I can't promise that I won't do something stupid," Clark said. "But I can promise that your happiness will always be important to me."
His words drifted over her, loosening tightly bound shackles. She rummaged through her inner commotion, looking for jewels of truth. "I can't make any sense out of what I'm feeling, but …" She moved closer to him. "But I'm drawn to you, Clark, and I can't imagine getting on a plane tomorrow and going back to Metropolis and forgetting you."
His smile came tentatively, flickering like a flame infused with new belief. He waited, saying nothing, allowing her to direct the way forward.
Lois reached for her bag and took out her notepad and pen. She quickly jotted down her address and phone number. She ripped the page from the pad and held it out to Clark. "Call me," she said. "When I get back to Metropolis, call me."
He took the paper. "That will be OK?"
"Will you call me?" she asked, hardening her tone so he knew she was serious. "Or am I going to sit by the phone waiting because your attention has moved on to something else?"
"What time does your plane land in Metropolis tomorrow?"
"Ten past seven."
"I'll call before eight o'clock," he promised.
"Des Moines time?" she asked.
He grinned at that. "Metropolis time." He carefully placed the paper in his billfold and took the pen and pad from her. "Here are my details. You can call me anytime."
"Thanks," Lois said, replacing the notepad in her bag when he'd finished writing.
Clark looked through the rain to the car. "Would you like me to take you back to your hotel?" he offered.
"Would you mind if I came with you to Shane's?" Lois asked.
"Of course you can come," he said, looking surprised. "If you want to."
"It will save time. We can go from Shane's to the place with sensational coffee. Or we can continue our picnic. There's plenty of food left."
Clark's smile burst forth, warming her from the inside out. "Perhaps it's just a simple misunderstanding with Shane and Jane," he said. "Perhaps it won't take long. Perhaps there will be plenty of time for lunch before we need to get ready for the wedding."
"Is that what you really believe?" Lois asked. "That the wedding can be saved?"
Clark's spurt of optimism drained away. "I …" He shrugged. "I don't know what to think."
I would gladly risk it all for a woman I loved.
From a remote corner of Lois's heart came the compulsion to beg him not to give up. To plead with him to stand firm. To be strong … for them … for Jane and Shane, too. "Clark …" She shuffled forward ...
... And stepped right into his embrace.
She snuggled into the soft sweater as his arms enclosed her.
It felt like … He felt like …
Home.
He felt like home.
He felt like the place she had sought and never found in work or stories or busyness or success or bad relationships with unworthy men.
He felt like the answer to every lonely cry from her heart.
He felt like he was hers.
Now. In this moment.
And for a whole lifetime of moments in the future.
Lois regretted every one of her former relationships. Every single one festered like a lesion on her scarred and hardened heart. But, as she stood enfolded in Clark Kent's arms, the realisation came that if she turned her back on this chance - this man - her regret at her lack of courage would far, far outweigh her mass of regrets at her past lack of discernment.
Not trusting Clark would be far worse than trusting all those other men had been.
He was different.
His head came down, and she felt the touch of a kiss to her hair.
It's not enough, is it? Not for you?
A short fling would never be enough for Clark. He understood there were no guarantees, but he hadn't allowed the potential for heartache to deter his dreams.
She sighed.
"You OK?" Clark asked.
OK? She was a lot better than OK. She was enveloped in the strong and gentle arms of Clark Kent. "Uh huh."
"I wish we had time to dance," he said.
"There's no music."
"I don't need music to dance with you."
His foot slid sideways. She followed.
And they danced to the melody floating up from a heart no longer comatose.
||~||
The tide of questions lapped against the shores of Clark's mind, but he diligently ignored them, determined to let nothing diminish these moments with Lois.
Holding her in his arms, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair, listening to the patter of raindrops on the gazebo roof - it surpassed every one of his dreams.
It's not enough, is it? Not for you?
He'd guarded that truth for fear of alarming her, but she'd perceived it anyway.
And she hadn't run away.
He'd offered her a way out, knowing he would forever count it as the worst moment of his life if she'd taken it.
But she hadn't.
She was dancing with him.
Close. Nestled against his body. She felt relaxed in his arms. As if she wanted to be there.
He wanted nothing more than to dance with her for hours, but his sense of responsibility was tugging on his conscience with ever-growing persistence, reminding him of his promise to Belinda.
Clark's feet stopped. "I suppose we should …"
Lois inched away from his chest. "What do you think Belinda meant when she said they'd all seen what happened last night?" she said.
"I don't think they assumed we spent the night together," Clark said quickly. "I deliberately went back to the party so everyone knew that I hadn't stayed with you."
"Belinda was sure you'd be with me this morning."
Clark chuckled, trying to hide his consternation at where Lois's questions might be heading. "Lucky guess," he said lightly.
Lois fleeting smile soothed Clark's qualms. "It was more than a guess," she said. "What did she see to make her so sure we'd be together?"
He should have learned by now that evading Lois's questions wasn't easy. "Maybe she saw a man helplessly captivated by a beautiful stranger," he said with forced nonchalance.
Lois's smile expanded. Her hand slid from his shoulder to his chest and stayed there. "You are an amazing man, Clark Kent," she said. "No one has ever touched me the way you do. You make me want to believe again."
"Are you still scared?"
She nodded. "But I'm more scared of running away than I am of staying."
"I am more scared of hurting you than you are," he said. "Please believe me."
"I do," she said with a smile and a touch to his face.
His thoughts turned to kissing her again, but she backed away, her attention moving to the remnants of their picnic.
He loved her. He'd loved her from the first, and he could feel that love permeating his heart, layer after layer, advancing and taking every part captive for the cause of loving Lois.
Of winning her love in return. And of nurturing and protecting that love every day of his life.
