Page 28 of A Sight to Behold
“I wouldn’t dare infringe upon more than you are willing to give.”
She gave him a stunned look. “I beg your pardon.”
Nick shut his eyes. “My apologies, what it sounds as though I meant is not what that sounded like.”
“I wish it were,” she mumbled, probably unaware that he’d heard her. But he had.
His heart began to pound even harder. He needed to get away from her as quickly as he could before…No. Don’t even think it.He cleared his throat and opened his eyes, focusing on a point over her shoulder. “I have something to give you, however.”Nick pulled out the leather etui holding her new glasses from his pocket. He opened it and revealed the delicate spectacles. Wendy often made them for him since she’d mastered the craft just as well as he, but not this pair. These were special. “I made these myself and hope they will fit you well.”
“I don’t expect any glasses to suit me, Dr. Folsham,” Pippa said with audible reservation in her voice.
Understandably. She had no idea her world was about to change. “It’s not about that as much as the actual fit. They need to sit just right on the bridge of your nose and behind your ears. The temples of the glasses mustn’t press too hard behind your… May I?” He flipped the temples of the glasses open and brought them to her face. She blinked at him shyly and then shut her eyes, trusting him. The exotic scent of the tropical fruit, the shimmering light that had dried the mist on the windows, and the thin, flyaway hairs around her face that Nick brushed behind her ears before he fitted the aluminum-framed round glasses on her added to the allure of the moment.
Seconds stretched into moments of far greater importance than the fleeting fractions of a minute and Nick wished this moment could last forever. If only he could make it so.
Chapter Fourteen
With the handsomedoctor’s hands adjusting the glasses behind her ear, Pippa forgot all about the rain, the pineapple, and everything else. Goosebumps on her neck were the evidence of the effect Nick’s touch had on her skin. She felt his dexterous fingers pushing the itchy, unruly hairs away from her cheeks and then he laid cold pieces of metal on the folds behind her ears. He was close and Pippa could feel his breath brushing against her cheeks, scented with a sweet mix of the pineapple and something else, masculine and tempting. As the warmth of his body curled against her front, notes of citrus and sandalwood and a manly soapy scent enveloped her senses and Pippa thought she could sway on a bed of sensual delight in his presence. His scent pulled her in, and she let out a sigh. With her eyes closed, she was even more attuned to his touch, the gentle but deliberate wiggling of the bridge of the glasses between her eyes.
“What do you think?” he asked, sounding hoarse all of a sudden.
Pippa opened her eyes.
At first, everything was blurred.
She blinked.
Then again.
And suddenly the colors were brighter, the edges of the leaves sharper, the droplets from the drying mist on the windows vivid, with sharp definition of light and shadow. For a moment, it appeared that she stood at the edge of a step, clear above, blurred below, but then the world came alive around herin a way that it hadn’t in a long time. She pivoted, taking in the gorgeous hues of emerald green and fuchsia from the orchids. And then, she noticed the phalaenopsis’ bent of the branches closer and the dark, waxy leaves further in the back. She bent down to pick a blossom, reveling in the sight of the thin, stingy petals that she hadn’t been able to see before. Most of all, she reached for the petals and didn’t need to fumble to find them. Everything was where she saw it. Then she noticed her little patch of sprouting Brussel sprouts. Thin white stems with adorable little round leaves, each a set of two, stood tall, as if they had goals to exceed their current height of an inch by sheer willpower.
“Oh no!” Pippa exclaimed when she noticed the bunny wiggling his nose and whiskers as he chewed. “If you eat the sprouts, then you won’t have the adult plants to eat later!”
He hopped into the leaves and Pippa chuckled.
“Amazing!” she said, laughing, delighted even though she was barely able to trust her own eyes.
“It was easy, just two prisms,” the doctor said.
Pippa straightened and turned to him. What she saw made her freeze.
She’d thought him handsome, a blur of wheat-colored hair and chestnut-brown eyes, a broad-shouldered form with white flashing teeth and pleasantly shaped face with high cheekbones and a firm chin, but…she hadn’t seen him quite likethisbefore.
Well, to be truthful, the first time in the patisserie, she hadn’t seen him at all, and had nearly run him over. The second time, she’d seen him up close in his office. He’d been even harder to see then, mostly a delicious smelling blur with a wonderful deep voice and gentle fingers that had warmed her senses and given her chills all the same.
But now, she could see him—reallysee him—and her stomach flipped about inside her like a hungry butterfly in a fragrant garden.
He was easily the most impressive male specimen she’d ever seen, farsighted or not. Especially now as his handsome features were undeniable, as if emerging from the canvas of a painting. His hair, a captivating shade of dark blond, was styled in a side part with seemingly effortless finesse and the light wave of his hair was even more golden and inviting than before. It caught the light in a way that suggested sunbeams had been woven into each strand, giving it an ethereal quality that Pippa longed to touch.
Meanwhile, his eyes, dark and enigmatic, sparkled in shades of mysterious browns. They shimmered with an intensity that riveted her to the spot, holding her gaze as though whispering untold secrets. She blinked, unable to take her eyes—herneweyes, thanks to Nick’s skill—off him.
Nick’s features brightened as he smiled, and his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.How is it possible that he can become even more attractive?But it was true. He had a smoldering expression that radiated warmth, setting her heart ablaze. The play of his sculpted, firm lips hinted at a man who was charming and approachable, yet now he held himself at a respectable distance.
She didn’t like it. He was too far away. Pippa swallowed and stepped closer. His smile brightened, and now she could see the dimples on either side of those lips and the straightness of those perfectly white teeth, gleaming with pristine brilliance. All of him gleamed with pristine brilliance. To see him for the first time was to understand the true meaning of captivation. Like looking into the sun, perhaps. She blinked.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked.
“Too far,” she managed, still caught up in the shock of seeing such male perfection in her orangery. Pippa couldn’t ignore the feeling of unease as she stared at him from mere inches away. Would she not have asked him to call her Pippa if she’d known how striking he was? The thought lingered in her mind, weaving its tendrils around her thoughts like ivy on a tower from which she feared she’d never escape. She had never been one to seek attention, and the sudden attention from such a striking man left her embarrassed and feeling exposed in a way that she had never experienced before.
