Page 41 of His Unforgettable Bride
He heaved a sigh.
Juliet’s nose wrinkled with concern. “Are you all right?”
“I am trying to be.” The last thing he wanted was to dwell on his troubles, for he had done little else for too long.
She held his stare, the compassion in her eyes warming his heart. Even drenched, she was so beautiful.
His gaze skimmed over her face and then dropped lower. Her wet cloak and garments clung to her body, revealing every curve of her shapely frame. He suspected he had met his share of beautiful women. Yet something also told him Juliet was different, special, and one of a kind, like a rare and precious gemstone. And never any man’s dalliance.
Regardless, a flicker of heat flamed to life low in his gut—a flame he would never allow himself to fan but one he probably would not be able to extinguish.
He shifted his attention back to her face, finding her eyes had rounded, and something was glimmering there too. Was it interest? Did she find him as attractive as he saw her?
Her headscarf slipped from her fingers and pooled near his feet. He stooped to retrieve it, and she did likewise. Her warm breath grazed his ear as their fingers brushed, sending sparks along his skin.
“Step back five paces, young people.” Tabitha’s firm order echoed in the room.
Juliet straightened quickly and hopped back.
He chuckled at the sisters’ reaction to his nearness to Juliet. Were the ladies extra cautious, sensing he had developed an attraction to her? If so, they were not mistaken.
Her heart was as beautiful as her face, yet his life was incredibly uncertain. He could not, and should not, pursue anything other than friendship with any woman, at least for a long, long time. If he had committed a crime, his first action would be to turn his life around.
“It’s not a laughing matter, Gray,” Juliet whispered, snatching up the scarf and retreating at least a dozen paces.
He had the urge to slowly run his forefinger from the middle of her fair forehead to the tip of her exquisite chin. “I hate disagreeing with a lady, but you are wrong.”
“Juliet.” Tabitha removed the barrel lid next to her and lowered it to the ground before straightening. “Please collect Mr. Kelly and take an umbrella this time. Perhaps we can forge a beneficial arrangement with the man.”
“However,” Livy added, “we must meet him, evaluate his character, and learn more about his skills before proceeding with any arrangements.”
Gray could only pray that the sisters would find the arrangement suitable because he strongly suspected he needed every ounce of help he could find.
Thirteen
Nothing marks the gentleman so soon
and so decidedly as quiet, refined ease of manner.
Standing before the church, the one downtown with the pretty stained glass, Juliet discreetly covered her yawn with her hand, trying her best to appear ladylike. Thoughts of Ruby’s arrival yesterday had crawled through her mind nonstop during the service, and she’d barely slept last night.
Gray stood beside her and raised a brow. “Bored beyond belief?”
“Heavens no.” She glanced around, hoping nobody overheard his comment.
Livy and Tabitha conversed with friends closer to the wide front steps and in the shadows of a giant fir tree. Soon, they’d all trek back up the hill for the noon meal.
Juliet drew the fresh Sunday morning air into her lungs.
Gray did likewise. “Not that I was studying you, but you appeared a dozen miles away during the sermon. Some might say two dozen.”
“I have much on my mind, I suppose.” She couldn’t tell him about Ruby but wished to confide in someone. Too bad her bride-ship friends lived elsewhere.
She raised her eyes to heaven. Then toward a noisy group of women on the front lawn, where the sun beamed brightly on their yellow, green, and pink dresses and hats. Juliet smoothed down the folds of Tabitha’s borrowed garment without drawing attention to herself. Snippets of the ladies’ conversation reached her ears—tearoom,grand opening,dance, andcan barely wait.
Gray leaned closer and whispered, “You are distracted again.”
“No, I’m not.” Daydreaming was ill-mannered, according to Tabitha. The sooner she steered Gray’s thoughts away from her, the better. “Do you think Mr. Kelly can teach you all you need to know about carpentry?”
