Aimee is the name of my heroine in Fortuna. Do you know what the name Aimee means? It means dearly loved. Do you think the name fits? This scene is at a 19th century garden party.
Cade indicated a
built-in bench, which circled the inside of the gazebo. “Would you like to sit
down?”
Aimee sat and gathered
her skirts around her, admiring the rustle of her long, crinoline petticoat. She patted the space beside her. “Sit beside
me.”
Cade bowed. “You honor
me, Miss Sherwood.”
“You may call me Miss
Aimee, sir.”
“Miss Aimee, then.” He
raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.
Aimee’s heart took off
in a mad gallop. She felt heat rising from her chest and knew it colored her face
an inconvenient shade of red. Oh! My! Goodness!
All he’d done was kiss her hand, and she was melting. If only she hadn’t left
her fan at Miss Gladys’ table.
Cade kept hold of her
hand even though she’d expected him to let go of it. His calloused fingers felt
so male, so strong, so warm that another wave of heat washed over her and
almost took her breath away.
“You look beautiful
tonight, Miss Aimee. There’s not a woman at the party who can touch you.”
Was it her imagination
or had he moved a bit closer to her?
“Your eyes sparkle like
blue diamonds, and I love those curls of yours. You’ve captured the sunshine.”
He reached for her ponytail and bounced her curls in the palm of his hand.
Breathe. She mustn’t
forget to breathe.
He had moved closer. She could smell the spicy odor of his shaving
cream now. It was the same stuff Rocky used. She’d always liked it, but before
this night she’d never realized how sexy it was.
In the background she
heard a buzz of quiet laughter from the partygoers, but they seemed to be in
another world far away from her and Cade. Her eyes fluttered shut as he
squeezed her hand and leaned toward her.
“Hey, hon, so this is
where you got to.”
Rocky! Aimee gasped and
jerked her hand from Cade’s, praying that Rocky hadn’t seen them holding hands.
Not that they were really holding hands, but . . . okay they were holding
hands, but . . . “Er . . . isn’t the gazebo beautiful?”
Rocky nodded. “Yep, it
sure is. Are you ready to get some refreshments?”
“Yes. Cade, thanks for
showing me the gazebo.”
Cade stood and bowed.
His eyes bored into hers with such intensity that Aimee barely restrained a
gasp. “It was my pleasure, Miss Aimee.”
“Great
characterization,” Rocky praised. “I’ll have to find out how they did it in the
eighteenth century.”
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