Kissing Comfort Read Free Page A

after woman was led in a graceful arc past the beveled windows, blurring the definition of each gown until Comfort saw them as a single piece and held their luminescence in her eye as she would a rainbow.
    One corner of her mouth lifted as she saw her Uncle Tuck taking his turn across the floor with Mrs. Barnes. He was duty bound to do so, as Uncle Newt had already danced with the widow. It wasn’t competition that prompted each of them to invite every eligible woman to dance; rather, it was the very opposite of that. Neither wanted to show the least favoritism or become the subject of speculation in regard to any particular female.
    Smile fading, Comfort turned away from the house. Torches lighted the circuitous path to the fountain situated squarely in the center of the wide expanse of lawn. She considered leaving the portico for the relative privacy of the garden, even moved a foot in that direction, but then came up short as she realized she didn’t want to be that alone. For a moment she let herself do more than hear the three-quarter time of the waltz; she let herself feel it. She swayed, feet rooted, her side-to-side bent so slight as to merely suggest motion. Raising her head, she studied the night sky and found calm and order and the peace that had been snatched from her when Bram made his ridiculous announcement. And it was a ridiculous announcement. Spectacularly so.
    She couldn’t bring herself to place all the blame on his shoulders. Hadn’t she gone along with him? Trusted him as if she had no mind of her own? Where was the sense in that? His own mother would have counseled her against it. Abraham DeLong meant well. That was at the crux of the problem. He always meant well. Comfort rarely felt as easy in anyone’s presence as she did in Bram’s. That was his effect on people, his special talent, and tonight, when she’d needed to keep her wits about her, he’d managed to make her forget the most fundamental truth: there were invariably unforeseen consequences for following Bram’s merry lead.
    The doors behind her opened. Comfort stiffened as the music momentarily swelled, and she wished that she had acted on the impulse to leave the portico in favor of the fountain. It was too late, of course. She was standing in a pool of torchlight and couldn’t hope to slip unnoticed into the shadow of a marble column.
    â€œSo this is where you’ve gone,” Bram said, closing the doors.
    Comfort shrugged and purposely did not glance over her shoulder. If she didn’t look at him, the odds improved that she would remain firm. Bram’s reckless smile had caused hearts stouter than her own to seize.
    â€œYou’re angry.” He stood directly at her back and placed his hands on the balustrade on either side of her. If he dropped his chin, he could rest it in the curve of her neck and nuzzle her ear with his lips. He did neither of these things. “I can tell you’re angry.”
    â€œThen there’s no need to comment, is there?”
    He chuckled softly. “How is it possible that you can be flush with heat and frigid in your sentiments? Butter won’t melt in your mouth, but I could boil water for tea on the nape of your neck.” Bram tilted his head to gauge her smile and saw that there was none. “Oh, you are mad.”
    Comfort lifted Bram’s right hand from the balustrade and stepped sideways to elude capture. “I thought you understood that was a given.” She turned and showed him her most withering look. True to form, he remained undaunted. Worse, she was afraid his smile was actually deepening. “You might have warned me that you intended to announce our engagement.”
    â€œYou would have had no part of that.”
    â€œPrecisely.”
    â€œThen I fail to understand how informing you would have helped. Everything would be just as it was at the outset of the evening when there was hardly an utterance that did