Love Letter Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology Book 6)
Page 28
Gwen and Mrs. Quinn were too absorbed in their game to notice much else. Once outside, Calvin offered his arm. Lucy took it— the second time that evening— and they walked slowly through the garden of roses. Most of the plants were fading with the cooling weather, and Lucy had a sudden desire to see what the gardens would look like in the spring.
It shouldn’t have surprised Lucy to realize that they were walking toward Blackberry Hollow, as if their feet had their own minds. The sunset broke through the clouds, piercing the gray horizon with a deep orange.
When they arrived, Lucy reluctantly released Calvin’s arm. “Have you eaten the blackberries here?” she asked to break the silence.
“I used to, as a boy,” he said. “My mother made the most delicious pies with them. Her parents could never keep her away from the kitchen as a young girl, and she learned to make pies from the house cook.”
“This place was probably a lot different when your great-grandfather and Lucille used to meet here.” Lucy turned to watch the mottled sunset. A breeze picked up, cool, and with the promise of impending rain.
Calvin turned to watch the horizon as well. “I think Blackberry Hollow is similar to how it was back then.”
Lucy nodded. Standing here felt so natural, in the middle of England with Calvin, as if she’d known him much longer than a couple of weeks. She felt connected to him somehow. She didn’t think that even Robert knew as much about her in their year of acquaintance as Calvin did in two weeks. Still, Calvin lived here, and she lived in New York.
“It’s ironic, really, that we are standing here now,” he said.
Lucy looked over at him. His eyes were darker beneath the cloudy sky—like deep pools of blue. “How so?”
“Because just as my great-grandfather wanted to kiss Lucille, I want to kiss you,” he whispered.
Lucy’s body heated, like it was on fire. “I don’t know…”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak, just watched her.
Letting Calvin kiss her would change everything. It would make all that she had felt and thought about him real— no longer in her imagination or part of her dreams. It would mean that he felt the same way she did about him. It would mean that he wanted her. And it would prove she wanted him.
“I want you to kiss me,” she whispered back, swallowing against the tightness of her throat. “But…” She inhaled. So many thoughts were tumbling in her mind, yet her body wanted to be near Calvin. To have him touch her, kiss her. Yet… there was Robert. He didn’t make her think any of the things she’d thought about Calvin.
His hand threaded through hers with an intimacy she didn’t know could exist from holding a man’s hand. They were connected, a part of each other, although only their fingers were touching. Still, he waited; she both loved him and hated him for that. It meant she had to decide. Whatever happened next was her choice.
“Maybe just once,” she breathed.
Calvin didn’t hesitate to accept her offer. He released her hand and cradled her face, his fingers warm on her cheeks. Her eyelids fluttered shut because she wanted to feel every move, every breath. His lips brushed hers, barely touching them at first. Then he drew her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, blending her body with his.
The first drops of rain fell, but she hardly noticed them. Calvin’s mouth parted as he kissed her more deeply, and she responded, the intensity sending heat all the way to her toes. Lucy felt as if she were floating above the ground and burning up at the same time.
When Calvin lifted his head, breathing hard, he whispered, “Lucy…”
“Calvin…” This time she kissed him, pulling him against her again, and clutching at the curling hair above his collar.
There was no complaint from him, and Lucy couldn’t imagine ever returning to Robert, or to any other man, after kissing Calvin like this. When they were forced to break off to catch their breath, Calvin said, “That was more than once.”
Lucy smiled, holding onto his jacket, which was getting damp from the rain, because if she didn’t hang onto him, she might not be able to remain upright.
“Before you leave, I need to say something,” he said, his breath warm against her neck, contrasting with the cool air.
She wanted to kiss him again— to not talk about anything that might come between them, especially about her return to America or the man who waited for her there.
“I want to kiss you every day for the rest of my life,” Calvin said, his lake-blue gaze holding hers.
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she blinked them away. “Calvin…”
His hand touched her cheek, wiping away raindrops. “I want you to stay here. I want to court you properly. And then I’ll ask you to marry me.”
Her tears wouldn’t stop, and blinking did no good. The tears blended with the faster falling raindrops. She tried to speak, but her voice refused to make a sound.
“I’m falling in love with you, Lucy,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.
She closed her eyes and felt the warmth from his breath, the strength of his arms around her, the beating of his heart. She let his words wrap around her heart. A future with him would be completely different than anything she’d ever imagined, could ever have dreamed of. But he had stolen her heart.
She had fallen in love with Calvin Bevans III.
And now she had to tell Robert.
She took a shaky breath. “I must write to Robert.”
Calvin stiffened, and Lucy realized he expected the worst. She continued. “To tell him I’m in love with another man, and that I’m not coming home.”
He kissed her neck, her jaw, and then her mouth.
She laughed, and when his kissing slowed, she said, “What are we going to tell my mother?”
He pulled away, his gaze soaking her in, his hands moving up her arms and resting on her shoulders. “We’ll tell her that you belong here, with me, and we’ll invite her to stay.”
Lucy lifted up on her toes and brushed her lips against his, tasting his kiss mixed with rain.
She had never expected to fall in love with Calvin— but now that she had, there was no going back. “All right, Mr. Bevans. Let’s get inside before the rain makes us unrecognizable.” She grasped his hand and tugged him toward Quinn Manor— and their future together.
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HEATHER B. MOORE is the author of ten historical thrillers, written under H.B. Moore; latest release Finding Sheba. She writes women’s fiction under Heather B. Moore; latest releases include Ruby’s Secret (The Newport Ladies Book Club series) and Esther the Queen. Her romances include Heart of the Ocean, the Aliso Creek Novella series, and A Timeless Romance Anthology series, and the upcoming The Fortune Café. Heather also owns and manages the freelance editing company Precision Editing Group.
Heather lives in the shadow of Mt. Timpanogos with her husband, four children, and one pretentious cat. In her spare time, Heather sleeps.
Author website: www.hbmoore.com
Blog: http://mywriterslair.blogspot.com
Twitter: @HeatherBMoore
Facebook: Fans of H.B. Moore or Heather Brown Moore
Coming May 2014
Six Western Romance Novellas
By
Carla Kelly
Sarah M. Eden
Liz Adair
Annette Lyon
Heather B. Moore
Marsha Ward
For more information about our anthologies, visit our blog:
http://timelessromanceanthologies.blogspot.com/
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