82Georg and the Gazebo
Georg stood there for a moment before speaking to her, "I thought I just might find you here," He hadn't meant to startle her, but he could tell by the expression on her face that he was the last person she had been expecting to see.
He motioned for her to sit and then moved towards the bench. He couldn't believe how nervous he was and he still wasn't sure how she felt about him. He took a sweeping look around the grounds before sitting himself, making sure to leave some space between them. He felt like a teenager again on his first date. He knew that this was the point of no return. He needed to find out if his future could possibly be wrapped up in this beautiful woman sitting before him.
He turned to her and smiled, trying to ease the tension between them and praying silently that she could not read how nervous he was. He couldn't help but notice how apprehensive she seemed and he wanted nothing more than to reach out to her and ease all of the pain he saw in her eyes, but he refrained, not wanting to scare her too much.
The palms of his hands were sweating and he tugged at his ear anxiously before speaking to her. He had to know what she was thinking, did she miss him or was it just the children she came back for? Was she being distant because she would miss the children when returning to the abbey or was there more to it? Could she possibly dare to love a man like him? He had so many unanswered questions floating around in his head and he wasn't even sure where to begin.
He knew he loved her. He loved everything about her, the way she loved his children, her voice, for making him see that his children needed him, her innocence, her love for life, her energy, her passion, her soft touch when she had danced with him, her deep aqua blue eyes that shined brighter than any star in the night sky, for standing up to him, and for bringing music, love, and laughter back into his home and heart. He needed her and expressing his feelings to her was more than worth the risk.
He finally found his voice and began to ask her why she had left and comeback. He knew she would tell him that she had missed the children, but before he could think about what he was saying he blurted out, asking her if she only missed the children. His heart lifted a little and began to beat slightly faster when he realized he had caught her off guard and she responded with a no and then a quick yes.
It's now or never Georg, he thought. He fumbled around for the right words to say, not knowing quite what to say next. What's wrong with me? Come on Georg your not a young school boy anymore and this isn't your first love, but he knew in his heart that Maria was different. She was like a delicate flower who was only beginning to bloom. He was more than likely the first person she had ever experienced anything like this with and he knew he had to be gentle with her.
He felt like a bumbling fool, why was this so hard to just come out and confess? He didn't want her to leave again, he wanted her to stay with them always. He gave up trying to say what he really wanted to tell her and changed course by asking her if she would change her mind and stay. He couldn't even look her in the eye when he asked, but at the last minute he turned and looked at her with a hopeful expression on his face.
She rose to move away from him and he instantly felt the distance between them, but when he heard her cheeky response about the baroness making things fine for him, he knew that all his questions had finally been answered in that one moment. He could hear the jealousy and hurt ring out in her words and wanted nothing more than to ease it and let her know that he was her's if she wanted him. He called out to her using only her name, the word fraulein wasn't needed anymore.
He stood up and made his move towards her, finally revealing to her that his engagement to Baroness Schraeder had been broken. He felt his heart skip a beat when she said how sorry she was to hear that. Could he have been mistaken about her feelings and not read them accurately? The words flew out of his mouth questioning her sincerity. When she looked up at him in surprise, he could see nothing but hope replacing the previous affliction in her eyes.
It's now or never, he thought as she gave him the final ounce of courage he needed to confess his feelings to her. He slowly walked around her as he told her in not so many words that he was in love with her. He looked at her and he could feel his heart racing with excitement. He looked in her eyes and then he slowly shifted his gaze to her lips. He couldn't resist them anymore and before he knew he was reaching for her chin and slowly drawing her closer to him.
His lips finally met hers in the gentlest of kisses and he could taste the sweet innocence of her soft, delicate lips. His head became suddenly lightheaded and he could feel her respond to him. He had dreamed about this, but nothing in his dreams could have prepared him for the surge of feelings that flowed through him in that moment. His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest that he knew she must have heard it and he was filled with a warmth that he knew could only come from her.
He parted from her all too soon and upon gazing into her eyes he could see the same longing and desires that he had, reflected in her's. He reached for her shoulders to tenderly move her closer to him, needing to touch her and feel her close to him. He tenderly planted a trail of kisses across her forehead until he felt her knees buckle and her body collapse into him, comfortably snuggling against chest.
He loved the feel of her fragile frame in his arms, but he gently lifted her back away from him, wanting to see her eyes as he said the words that he had been wanting to say to her all night, "I love you." She leaned into his touch again and he wondered at how fortunate he could be to have found that kind of love, not once in his lifetime, but twice.
He shuddered to think how close he had come to losing her. None of these feelings had ever been elicited in him by Elsa, she had been fun when he needed someone to help him forget, but it was Maria who had helped him to remember that he still had a life to live. She had opened his heart up again and had given him a reason to love, both his children and her.
She told him that she had started loving him the moment she heard him blow that silly whistle. He winced at the memory and how ludicrous he must have seemed to her. She was lovely in every way, inside and out. There was no doubt in his mind that she was sent to them by God to make their family whole again. She was the missing puzzle piece and he knew he wanted to marry her sooner rather than later. He had already wasted too much time sulking in the past. The children, they would ask the children for their permission to share her with him.
He couldn't take the temptation any longer as he gazed down into those blue eyes he could get so lost in so he closed the gap between them one more time and this time she threw her arms around his neck drawing him down towards her where there lips met once again with a kiss that was much more intense than the first. His heart was wildly beating as he felt her moist lips connect with his and his whole body shuddered as they melted together and he could feel her hands exploring his hair.
He didn't want it to end and he certainly didn't want to part from her, but he knew that they would need to return to the house soon so he gently pulled away and they began the deliberately slow walk back to the house. He marveled that he could be so blessed to be given someone that he totally did not deserve.
A few years ago it felt like a door had not just been closed, but rather slammed in his face and now he was standing in front of the biggest window he had ever seen with a view of the future that included the beautiful woman standing next to him and he was ready to openly leap through it with her, facing whatever might come there way together.