John and Emma by Amy Quinton

Author:Amy Quinton [Quinton, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amy Quinton

Eight

Later That Day

Early Afternoon

Two days ago, Aunt Harriett informed Emma that Dr. Hartwell—John—would be giving a lecture she referred to as the Magic of Numbers with Discussion Following, which, up until this morning, hadn’t seemed at all in keeping with the man’s serious mien. Nor his reputation, which had been on the tip of everyone’s tongue all weekend.

But then he’d admitted to sleeping in the nude.

Emma tried to control an unexpected shiver, but the memory of his whispered words made her toes curl.

She’d replayed his confession in her mind, and then tried to picture him sleeping naked, only, oh, three or four times today.

Three or four dozen times, that was. Sigh.

His admission turned nearly everything she thought she understood, upside down. Now, the Magic of Numbers with Discussion Following seemed so very possible, promising even. He could validate her theories. Whereas everyone else teased her for her belief in magic—in signs—yes, she knew most laughed behind her back, whispered behind their fans, or humored her, even those that did so out of love—he might actually believe her, and better yet, offer proof through mathematics and science to authenticate her findings. No one would ever snicker behind her back again.

They could explore new theories together.

Unfortunately, now, when it was more important than ever for her to be on time, she was, as always, late. Extremely late.

As Emma raced down the last set of stairs, she could hear the distant rumble of his voice, his cadence steady and sure. His voice rolled over her and through her, tingling her senses, and she fought off another impromptu daydream of him sleeping in the nude.

Emma shook her head and skidded around the last newel post, dashing across polished marble, her slippers sliding in all directions, as she raced to the ballroom temporarily converted to a lecture hall.

She skated to a stop just before the open double doors and paused to smooth her skirts and tuck her errant curls behind her ear. Nothing more she could do about that unless she wanted to miss his presentation altogether, which would never do.

She drew in a deep breath and peeked inside. The doors opened at the back of the room—thank goodness. The audience faced forward, enraptured, and John looked the opposite way. She spotted an empty seat in the second to last row, only three seats in. If she took care, she could sneak in and disrupt nothing.

She inhaled, another deep breath—it was now or never—and stepped into the room…just as John looked right at her.

She froze, and his voice slowed to a stop midsentence. As the audience began to squirm, she waved and threw him her best smile, then mouthed, ‘I’m sorry,’ as she made her way to the vacant seat.

His piercing gaze following her, drilling into her, then, he reached up and removed his glasses, that ever-present flannel emerging from his pocket, and she ducked her head to hide an even bigger smile as she scurried to the second to last row… no point in trying to tip toe now.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.