If asked, by anyone, Anne canât say she really knows where this teasing attitude has come from. Itâs true that sheâs always been rather carefree, comfortable in her skin for the most part, but thatâs been around her family and those sheâs super comfortable around. Mostly, people who look like her. Rarely has she ever felt so comfortable with someone like him, but once they got past the few rough parts in their first few moments after meeting, sheâs felt herself relax more and more around him. It helps to see him operating within the business, she thinks, and simply how he is with PTâs kids as well. Heâs a natural around them, and it warms her heart to see the young girls climb all over him like heâs a favorite uncle of theirs. In some ways, she guesses he is.
   Her tongue presses against the roof of her mouth as her hand settles into his, his grasp warming her skin as she sinks into the crowd of performers, the noise of her circus family almost drowning out his words. She can hear WD somewhere around the edge of the crowd, and Lettie is laughing as she clinks her glass along with someone else not far away, but her attention is focused on the man in front of her. Anne had never thought that sheâd find someone who she found as intriguing as him. Something about him simply drew her in, despite the fact that when they first met, she could have sworn he would be the exact type of man sheâd never go for. Anneâs not deaf, after all, and sheâs heard the stories about him, the gossip circulating quickly during his first few days with the group. But nearly about him has proved her wrong about all of her assumptions, despite the couple of times things have been tense and rocky. Even then, he somehow still manages to prove her wrong, something she would have never expected.
   The corner of her lip twitches into a small, hidden smile at his words, and she almost rolls her eyes at him, because sheâs sure thatâs exactly what he expects from her. That sort of line, though nothing sheâs heard from him before, is probably exactly what sort of thing his playboy nature would have said before â and on many women, sheâs sure. But instead, she simply allows her lips to curve into the smile sheâd held back, her tongue darting out to run along her lip.
   âIâm sure you can.â
   The words are out before she can think to take them back, and for once, she doesnât second guess herself around him. Here, in the tent, surrounded by their friends and her makeshift family, she doesnât feel the need to anymore. Hereâs where she can finally allow her walls to come down, and to do whatever sheâd like without fear of consequences. The alcohol in her system, though barely half a glass, warms her from the inside out as well, and she uses that to help herself feel bolder than she might normally be. Anne lets her smile turn into a cheeky grin, her dark eyes sparkling under the lights overhead.
   âAfter all, if you can handle Lettie, Iâd say thereâs next to nothing you canât handle.â
âNo truer words spoken...â
His words seemed to linger, fade even, as his focus fell away from his dictation. Rather, the sparkle in her eyes seemed to hypnotize him under the wild stage lights controlled from above them. Of course heâd seen her under of them prior to that moment, flying and soaring in the air like the unique pink bird she was envisioned by many as, but to really look at her....was like time stopping around them. It even took him back to that very first moment he saw her on his first day at the show.
It all happened so fluidly as the tempo seemed to pick up, Phillip using her hand to twirl her around in numerous circles before feeling a nudge from behind him. He stumbled forward, usually never losing his footing and especially in front of a beautiful woman, only to lose his balance briefly as he grasped onto her waist to stop her from tumbling too. His eyes grew wide as he focused on just how close their faces, their noses almost brushing, were to one another and how his hands still grasped so tightly at her sides even as the danger had surpassed.Â
Taking a dry gulp, sucking his unsureness back into his chest, he slowly brought one of her hands up to his chest, a slow satisfied grin growing over his smooth jaw. It didnât ever take Phillip Carlyle too long to regain his composure, a twinkle to his eyes showed his confidence. His fingers gently grasped around hers, dancing back and forth as he still held them together close..now spinning in a slow circle as the rest of the merry circus lot, bewildered and distracted, danced wildly in their own worlds. Just as Phillip and Anne danced around in theirs.
