Huh? She looked at Hatter. What was... didn’t the mouse know... he was the mouse?
Hatter patted Leonard’s head with the indulgent grin of a proud parent. “Leonard’s my chef, and friend. Are you not, wee one?”
His voice had gone soft, gentle. The cadence left her spell bound, watching as a shaft of light suddenly filtered through a hole in a fluffy white cloud, illuminating his features. He looked like an angel.
But only the fallen would make her fell the sudden violent lust rushing hot through her veins. She swallowed hard.
“Right o’, guv’nor,” Leonard chirped. “Indeed.” Black beady eyes glanced up at her.
Alice tried to see him as Hatter did. Soft brown fur, long whiskers twitching with each breath. The little eyes turned soft, filled with light as he reached his hand out to her. “Oh aye, yer majestic Hatter, she is a lovely one. Ain’t she?”
His hand was still open, plump pink fingers curled toward her, and she realized he wanted to shake hands. She smiled. He really was kind of cute. Alice gave him her finger and he shook it.
“I loved your food, Leonard.”
He beamed, winked at Hatter as if to say I-told-you-so, and turned back to her.
“I’m a bit of a foodie myself,” she said.
“Are ye now?” Leonard twitched in delight. “And do ye prefer the sweet to the savory, as I do?”
“She owns a Cupcakery.” She glanced up at Hatter who’d answered for her. “The creations would make you green with envy.”
How did he know that about her? Had all the other Alices baked too? She bit her tongue at the irritating thought.
Leonard gave her a sage nod of respect. “As it should. As it should.” He raised his arms high above his head, exposing sharp teeth and a pink tongue as he gave a mighty yawn. He smacked his lips and patted his head. “Perhaps, Alice girl, we’ll swap recipes.”
“Did you make the curd too?”
For a second the sleep left his eyes and he nodded. “Me mum’s recipe, God rest ‘er soul.”
“Best I’ve ever had.”
“True enough.” The little mouse accepted the compliment with the air of one who knew they weren’t idle words, tapped the side of his nose and then yawned again. “Had meself a frightfully long night, Miss. Apologies,” he slurred the last and then sank gracefully back down into the pot.
She giggled. “What in the world could keep a mouse up all night?” She looked at Hatter and the laughter died in her throat. He was giving her that look again.
The look that stripped away all pretense, that said he was looking at her soul. A woman could melt into that look, lose herself and never find her way back home. She gripped the edge of the table.
“Have you eaten enough, Alice?”
She shivered, warm, but not because of the sun. His voice, rough, scratchy, set her body on edge. Alice nodded, not able to speak.
“Come.” He pushed away from the table and held his hand out to her.
Holding his hand felt as natural now as breathing. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, she moved into step with him, getting inside his bubble just so that she could feel the heat from his body.
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t move away.
“Where are we going?”
He was leading them deeper into the garden; a black wrought iron fence in the distance drew closer. The garden slowly morphed from swaying flowers to towering tree trunks whose overhanging branches obscured the sky.
The moment they stepped through the gate, it was like someone had grabbed an enormous window shade and drawn it across the sky. The sunlight melted into moon glow. Stars studded the sky like thousands of glinting diamonds. The royal blue veil of the heavens was broken only by an occasional fluffy white cloud floating past. The night smelled of heat and exotic spices. Somewhere, frogs croaked a gentle song. She shivered.
“Where are you taking me?”
He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. Her heart thudded. “A secret,” was all he said.
It was becoming hard to remember why she needed to go home. Why staying here was a bad idea. When he looked at her like that, like she was a precious jewel and he was the dragon sworn to protect it, she forgot lots of things.
Something in her recognized that for the first time, she was truly beginning to feel alive. That the world before was the dream, and this one was the truth. That she’d finally come home. Scary how good the thought was.
A small clearing opened up, revealing a placid lake that stretched a good distance in every direction. Bugs darted and zipped over calm water while small bubbles popped at the surface. Cattails swayed gently.
“It’s beautiful.”
He shook his head. “Not this.”