Knowing that Ariadne’s shop was closed on Sundays, Dio had made arrangements for a picnic with her. He wanted to escape his small apartment and enjoy the sunshine with her. After realizing that he was hopeless when it came to putting together a picnic basket, he had a local deli arrange a basket for him. Half an hour later, Ariadne had met him at his apartment and they’d hailed a cab to take them to Hampton Park near the Citadel.
“That was a nice idea of you,” she now praised him as they lounged on a blanket he’d spread out. They rested under the shade of a large oak tree. Several yards away, other people were doing the same, and kids kicked a soccer ball around while others played catch with a baseball.
Dio rubbed his belly and chuckled. “Food is always a nice idea.”
“You do like your food,” she agreed and brushed some crumbs off her shorts, drawing Dio’s eyes to her long and shapely legs.
He laughed. “You weren’t exactly picking at yours either.” He liked that she didn’t eat like a bird, but had devoured her lunch the same way he had.
“You never complained before.”
“And I’m not complaining now either,” he quickly quashed any doubts she might have had. “You have a fabulous figure.”
A blush crept up her face, and she quickly looked away.
“It’s true,” he assured her. He reached for her hand and pressed his cheek into her palm. “Tell me a little more about you.”
“There isn’t that much to tell. You’ve seen my shop. I don’t know what else I can tell you.”
Dio rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his elbow. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Ariadne shook her head. “I’m an only child. My parents always wanted more kids, but my mother had a hysterectomy a couple of years after I was born. Cancer.”
“I’m sorry. Is she all right now?”
“She’s doing fine. Goes for regular checkups. She’s a survivor.” There was a hint of a smile on her face.
Dio brushed his knuckles along her cheek. “So you come from strong stock.”
She laughed. “I guess you could say that.”
“Where do they live?”
“In Idaho. That’s where I’m from.”
“That makes you a country girl.”
“You mean gullible?”
“No!” He’d meant nothing of the sort. On the contrary, his thoughts were going into a different direction: she seemed so pure and innocent, so goodhearted. “What I meant was that you have values, you know, a strong sense for right and wrong, a good heart.”
“Is that how you see me?” There was a curious expression on her face.
Not entirely. He also saw her as enticing and sexy, but he kept those thoughts to himself. After their passionate interlude in the storeroom of her shop, he figured that he should be a bit more subtle about how much he desired her. “I see you a lot of different ways.” And right now, his mind saw her naked and writhing beneath him in ecstasy.
Dio wiped a pearl of sweat from his brow.
“You’re an interesting man, Dio,” she suddenly said.
“Thank the gods for that! Otherwise you would have probably picked somebody else over me.”
“Picked?”
“From all the other offers you’ve had. I’m sure I wasn’t the only guy who made a play for you.” With her beauty and her luscious figure, he was surprised that he didn’t have to fight other contenders off with a stick.
She looked away. “I didn’t date much before we met.”
While the thought pleased him, it also made him curious. Then he remembered something. “Because you’re religious?”
He noticed her flinch almost imperceptibly. Then she shrugged. “I didn’t meet any guy who I thought was worth it.”
Her words made him grin. So she thought he was worth it. His gaze strayed past her as he let the words sink in deeper. A movement caught his eye just as a cracking sound reached his ears.
“Ah, shit!” he cursed and jumped up in the same instance.
Ari jerked her head in the direction Dio was running and immediately saw what had him act in such a panic. A young boy, probably not older than six or seven years, was dangling from a tree branch of a massive oak tree. The branch had already snapped where it was connected to a larger limb and was now holding on by a strip of bark—as was the boy.
“Mom!” he yelled. His feet were motoring as he tried to reach another branch, but he was too short and not strong enough to pull up his weight.
Ari estimated the distance to the ground as she sprinted after Dio. The boy was at least fifteen feet if not more off the ground. How he’d gotten up this tree in the first place was anybody’s guess.
Another cracking sound made her heart stop. The branch broke off completely, crashing down with the boy.
Dio’s body was a blur as he lunged underneath and caught the boy in his outstretched arms then rolled out of the way of the branch that crashed down on the spot he’d just occupied.
Breathless, Ari reached the place where Dio had landed with the boy at the same time as a couple of other people did.
“Mom!” the boy wailed. Thank God, if he could scream he had to be all right.
“Are you okay?” she heard Dio ask him, his voice urging. “Are you hurting anywhere?”
She watched as Dio gently lowered the boy on the ground next to him.
“Sammy?” a woman’s voice penetrated, the shrillness evidence of the panic she was in as she pushed through the onlookers.
“He’s all right,” Dio calmed the woman at the same time as he ran his hand over the boy’s head, smoothing down his ruffled hair. “Aren’t you, Sammy?”
Ari’s heart melted at the tender gesture.
“He could have broken his neck,” a male bystander offered.
Dio shot him an annoyed look. “Luckily, I got there in time.”
The mother pulled her son into an embrace, squeezing him tightly to her chest. “Oh, Sammy, how often have I told you not to climb those trees?” There were tears in her eyes now.
Sammy lowered his gaze. “Sorry, Mommy.” Then he turned to Dio, pointing at him. “But he caught me.”
Ari could fairly hear the admiration in his voice, and her own heart filled with pride. Dio had saved the boy.
Sammy’s mother set her son down but kept him close as she stretched her hand toward Dio who’d gotten to his feet and was brushing leaves and dirt off his shorts and shirt.
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
Dio simply took her hand and shook his head. “Anybody would have done the same. I was just faster.”
Faster? Ari had never seen anybody run as fast as Dio. And the way he’d grabbed the boy with such precision and was still able to avoid the tree limb hitting him was a move worthy of an athlete.
Ari put her arm around his waist and hugged him close.
“What’s that for, baby?” He chuckled and drew her fully against him.
“That was amazing!”
He put his finger under her chin and tilted her face up. “Just practicing for when we have our own. I’m sure the boys will get into plenty of scraps they’ll need to be rescued from.”
Ari felt tears well up. “You want children?”
There was a jolt in his body as he pulled back slightly. “You don’t?”
“No, I do. I can’t wait to have kids,” she hastened to correct him. “I just never thought that you really wanted any.” The subject had never come up during their two weeks of dating, but somehow she’d always assumed that he wasn’t interested in children.
“I love kids. They are like little wonders. I want a large family.” He smiled at her, then winked good-naturedly. “Now, how about a little kiss for your hero?”
She couldn’t argue with that and looked deep into his ocean-blue eyes. This was the Dio she’d fallen for, the one who made her laugh, the one she desired. “How about a big kiss for my hero?”
When his lips met hers, she forgot everything around her. Now she had only one wish: that all this was real and not a deception. And that she’d never lied to him.