A Headstrong Woman(79)
“Jonathon…” it came out rather breathless. Alexandria’s heart was racing, her palms sweating, and she couldn’t hold a train of thought. It was both a frightening and exhilarating feeling rolled into one.
“Yes?” Jonathon’s voice was low.
“I…” Alexandria frowned and wet her dry lips. What had she been about to say? Jonathon reached up to push a stray strand of hair from her face and Alexandria felt her heart leap into her throat; it was pounding as though it wanted out. Hot and cold, that’s how she felt; hot and cold all at the same time.
Jonathon lowered his head and brushed a light kiss across her lips; he intended to stop there, instead he found himself claiming her mouth with his as he pulled her closer; his arms closed around her waist. He kept the kiss light.
When he finally released Alexandria, she was torn as to whether or not she was relieved. His kiss had been nice, too nice.
“That was a mistake wasn’t it?” Jonathon asked her. Alexandria nodded. “Yeah, I guess it was,” Jonathon sighed.
“It…it was just a kiss, a kiss between two lonely people, that’s all, we’ll forget it ever happened,” she said and moved around him to hurry into the house. Jonathon pushed a hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. Forget? He wasn’t certain he could forget… or that he wanted to.
***
“How do I look?” Anna asked her sister. Anna was wearing a dress from the new dressmaker in town. The skirt was in the latest style with wide China blue and white vertical stripes, narrow at the top and widening as it reached the hem. A wide white belt defined the waistline below a tailored jacket. The jacket was china blue with a yoked collar and sleeves that flared from the shoulder before tightening at the elbow. Under the jacket, Anna wore a white shirt with horizontal ruffles. A straw hat with a blue ribbon overlaid with white lace around the band sat at a saucy angle on her head.
“You look beautiful,” Alexandria assured her sister. She did and it made Alexandria feel even more morose than she had before coming down stairs. She had spent a sleepless night tossing and turning in her bed after leaving Jonathon.
“If this doesn’t get his attention I think I’ll give up,” Anna commented as she gathered her basket to take it to the wagon.
Alexandria colored and let the comment pass.
“Come on, Lilly,” she called to her daughter. She stepped onto the porch as Jonathon was helping Anna into the buggy.
“Good morning, Alexandria,” he greeted her and offered her his hand as she approached.
His eyes were intense as they searched her face and she knew he was looking for her reaction to their kiss the night before.
“Good morning, Jonathon,” she forced herself to meet his gaze.
“You ladies, look lovely this morning.”
“Thank you,” Anna smiled and lowered her lashes.
Alexandria felt like a mule beside a thoroughbred.
“I’ll see you ladies in town,” Jonathon tipped his hat, swung into Raven’s saddle, and started out ahead of them.
“I think he noticed!” Anna exclaimed as Alexandria set the buggy in motion.
“That’s nice,” Alexandria forced a smile.
Alexandria had trouble finding a place to park the buggy when they arrived in town and had to park well away from the festivities. She didn’t mind the walk. She turned and started carefully backing down.
“It amazes me that you ladies don’t break your necks in these ridiculous skirts you wear,” A familiar voice said as she found herself airborne and placed firmly on the ground.
“If we didn’t have to go to such ridiculous lengths to catch a husband we might dress more sensibly,” Alexandria quipped and forced a smile; she was determined not to let the events from the night before ruin her friendship with him. She could joke and pretend it had never happened; she could.
“You ladies could run around in sack cloth and we’d still pursue you,” Jonathon informed her as he helped Anna from the buggy and lifted Lilly out.
“There you are!” Shirley exclaimed as she hurried up to her daughter. “What took you so long?”
Alexandria frowned. She hadn’t known that she was expected. Her mother was already pulling her down the boardwalk and muttering something about a shop closing if they didn’t hurry. They entered a small narrow building and were greeted by a woman equally as tall as Alexandria.