Not breaking their kiss, Angie rose and straddled Rollie’s lap.  This time, it was the Aussie who groaned.  He clutched Angie to him, moving against her.  He’d already gone way past the point where he had the power to stop.  The fire in his blood had burned away everything except the desire, the need to make love to Angie.

Rollie slid off the bench and lay down with Angie on the grass.

“Oh, God, Rollie.  Please, please,” Angie begged.

With desire raging through them, Rollie and Angie began removing each other’s clothing, their mouths and hands on each other’s bodies.  At last, they were naked, Rollie’s body covering Angie’s.  His mouth fell upon hers again, claiming it as his own.  Then his head lifted and he met her eyes.

“Angie,” he whispered.  “God, I want you.  I want this so badly.  I’ve wanted it for such a long time.”

“I want it too, Rollie.  Please don’t stop.  Make love to me.”

With a feeling of joy, Rollie and Angie joined together, finally reached the completion of a journey that had begun the day they met.  Experiencing feelings deeper than anything they’d ever known, they made love, giving to each other all that they were.  It was as if, with the merging of their bodies, their souls had fused as well.  And they knew, without a doubt, that this was meant to be.

At last, it was over.  Taking in deep, ragged breaths, they lay in a tangled heap.  It was a long time before either one of them could move.  Finally, Rollie lifted his head and gazed at Angie.  His eyes filled with tears as he stroked her cheek.  Soon, he was crying, the wetness sliding down his face to fall on hers.  Her own tears mingling with his, Angie pulled his head down to rest under her chin.

“Shh.  It’s all right.  It’s all right,” she murmured soothingly, stroking his shoulders and back.  She closed her eyes and took a deep, contented breath.  Their lovemaking had been amazing, beyond anything she had ever imagined.  For so long, she had wanted this.  So many times, she had tried to find the courage to tell Rollie how she felt, always failing.  But, now, here they were, having just made love in a place she’d never have thought they’d experience their first time together.

Rollie held onto Angie tightly.  He was still in awe of what had just happened.  He had never expected it to be this way.  He’d imagined dozens of ways in which their first time might happen, both slow and gentle and fast and passionate.  But this, this had left his mind reeling from the suddenness of it and the sheer power of what they’d just experienced.  It had never been like this with anyone, ever.  Laying here with Angie in his arms made him feel like he could do anything.  At the same time, it made him feel so humble that he wondered how he could have been so blessed.  He had loved Angie beyond reason for so many years, and, now, he loved her even more, something he had not thought possible.

Rollie raised his head from Angie’s chest and looked deeply into her eyes.  His breath caught when he saw something there that he’d wanted to see for a long, long time.  She was looking at him with love in her eyes.

The Aussie brushed away the wetness from her face.  Then he kissed her forehead, eyes, cheeks, and the rest of her face, ending with a slow, gentle kiss on her lips.

“I love you, Angie,” he whispered, a slight tremor in his voice.

Fresh tears pooled in Angie's eyes at finally hearing the words she had wanted so much.  “I love you too,” she told him with a tearful smile.

Rollie closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, his throat tightening with an overflow of emotions.  She loved him.  She loved him as he loved her.  His most fervent wish had come true.

Holding her close, Rollie rolled onto his side.  They held onto each other in silence for a long moment.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Rollie said at last.

“Neither can I.  Of all the places I could imagine us crossing the line, I’d never have dreamed that it would be in the garden of a haunted house.”

Rollie searched her eyes.  “Do you regret it?” he asked, careful to keep his tone neutral.

“No,” Angie replied quickly, tightening her hold on him for emphasis.  “It was more perfect, more wonderful than I could ever have hoped for.”  She smiled.  “Besides, our lives are far from normal.  Why should our first time together be any different?”

Rollie smiled back at her.  “You have a point there.”  He chuckled.  “Actually, I often had fantasies of us doing it for the first time on the set of one of our movies.”

Angie laughed.  “Me too.”

Rollie grew serious.  “I love you, Angie.  I’ve loved you from the day I met you, with your golden pigtails and big blue eyes.  And I’ve been in love with you from the day you turned eighteen and I looked at you for the first time as a woman.”

“And I’ve been in love with you from the moment I laid eyes on you, standing with my father on the set of Gangster Alley.”

Rollie shook his head.  “We’ve wasted so much time.”

“It doesn’t matter now, Rol.  And it wasn’t wasted time.  We’ve had our friendship all these years, and that’s something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.”

“Neither would I.  It’s why I never told you how I felt.  I didn’t think you felt the same way, and I was afraid that if I told you I was in love with you, our friendship would suffer.  You have no idea how much it hurt every time you went on a date or got involved with another guy.”

“Probably about as much as it hurt me whenever you found a new girlfriend.”

“We’ve both been pretty blind and stupid, haven’t we.”

“Yeah, we have, but not anymore.”

Their lips came together in a slow, deep kiss.  They began caressing each other, hands and lips wandering and touching, exploring places that they did not take the time to discover before.  The minutes passed in joyful exploration.  For the second time, they made love, immersed in the ecstasy yet again.

Afterwards, Angie curled against Rollie, resting her head on his chest.  She gave a deep, contented sigh.  “You think we should consider continuing this back at the motel?” she asked, sliding her fingers over Rollie's chest.

“I don’t know.  I really like it here,” he replied, running his hand through her hair.  “It’s so peaceful and beautiful.  It was Hannah’s special place.”

Angie lifted her head from his chest and studied him.  “Are you saying that because of what Fred told us or is there something more to it?”

“It’s more than that.  Last night, after I woke up and found myself in the house, I ran blindly, not paying any attention to where I was going.  I ended up here.  This place took the fear away.  I felt calm, at peace.  Then I saw something.”

“What?”

“Hannah and the children.  They were happy, laughing and playing.  And Robert was happy too.”

“You saw him?”

“No, but I felt him.  He wasn’t like the way he was at the end.”  Rollie looked around.  “It’s just as Fred said.  This garden is like a place of peace and happiness that has no part in what happened in the house.”

Angie looked at the beauty around them.  “You’re right.”  Her eyes returned to Rollie’s.  “I’m glad that we shared our first time here . . . and the second.”

Rollie grinned up at her happily.  “Shall we go for three?” he asked, his eyebrows waggling.

“Now, that’s what I call an excellent idea,” Angie replied, swooping down to take his lips with hers.