Lucky Bride by Ana Seymour

Author:Ana Seymour
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9781459267879
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1996-12-02T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Parker followed her out the door. “I want to thank you again, Molly,” he said to her back. “It really was a wonderful Christmas Eve. I’d never expected to be so content tonight.”

Something in his voice made her turn around to look at him. “Because you missed your family back in New York?”

“That and…other things. Christmas could have been tough for me this year. Instead, I felt…welcome. As if I was among good friends.”

His usual glib confidence was gone. A sudden glint of pain in his dark eyes made Molly answer softly, “I think we are your friends, Parker. I hope so, anyway.”

A little timidly, she put a hand on his forearm. Under the thin material of his shirt, it felt rock hard. She started to move away, but his hand came up to capture hers, keeping it there, pressed against him. As the night wind raised chill bumps on her bare chest, her heart started to pound.

“I think so, too,” he said. “We’re certainly good enough friends for me to claim your first waltz tomorrow.”

She could feel the pounding all the way to her ears. She swallowed and said quickly, “Oh, no. I don’t dance. Unless it’s a reel.”

“Nonsense. How could you not dance?”

She pulled more forcefully and her hand slipped out from under his. “I just don’t, is all.”

Parker took a step back and put his hands on his hips. “You mean to tell me the men in this territory would let a pretty girl like you get away with sitting in the corner like the little old ladies?”

He looked so dumbfounded that Molly couldn’t help believing that he meant what he said. He considered it amazing that men wouldn’t want to dance with her. And he considered her pretty. She felt a quick flush of heat on her cheeks. “I get asked sometimes, but mostly I imagine it looks too ridiculous to see two sets of trousers out there dancing with each other.”

“You’ve always worn trousers to the dances?”

She nodded.

He was quiet a long minute. “Now, why exactly is that, boss lady?”

His tone was kind, gentle. Molly couldn’t detect any pity, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. She stiffened. “It’s what I wear. And why I wear it is none of your business.”

He nodded. “You’re right. To tell you the truth, I think you look darn cute in those pants. But you’re not going to wear trousers tomorrow, right?”

“Well, I have to win my bet with Susannah.”

“Right. So tomorrow you’ll dance more than the reels.”

The cold had finally reached inside her and she began to shiver. She turned away toward the barn. “I don’t know how,” she said dismissively over her shoulder.

In one long stride he caught up to her and stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “If I can learn to rope cattle, I guess you can learn how to dance.”

She glared at him. “Will you stop yammering at me, Parker, and let me get my work done? I’m freezing to death out here.

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