“Don’t apologize for caring about the boy. He’s lucky to have you looking out for him.” He took her arm and started walking. “I hope your shoes are comfortable, because Damon’s band is playing tonight and everyone will be dancing.”
“They fit like they were made for me.”
“They were.” He gave her a wink that made her heart skip. “Relax, Faith. You’ll enjoy the party.”
She heard the gathering before she saw it, and when the judge’s house came into view, she gasped in astonishment. Chinese lanterns lit the whole vast lawn and the people promenading the grounds. Tables were set under awnings and on a large front porch that Faith’s mother would have coveted. Off to one side was a carriage house, strung with lights and filled with music from the string quartet.
Duke ushered her onto the lawn, tall, composed and sure of himself. She clung to his arm, scared stiff that she would be exposed as an imposter.
Judge Barker and his wife greeted them. Faith assured the judge, who had witnessed her scare at the circus, that her back was good as new. He encouraged her to enjoy the evening, then took his well-dressed wife off to the dance floor where Faith saw several men, including Kyle and Radford Grayson, dancing with their wives.
Everyone in the village seemed to be there, talking and laughing, milling around and filling the grounds so completely, Faith felt a frisson of panic. Judge Stone could be lurking in this crowd and she wouldn’t even know it. Already she’d seen four men with full white beards and snowy hair straying from beneath their hats, and it scared her witless that she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t Stone until the man was within feet of her.
She moved in a stupor, too scared to let go of Duke’s arm. Maybe it was just the party and the crush of people that upset her. Maybe Stone would never find her. She’d been careful not to leave a trail he could follow, but the man was as sly as a fox.
Duke poured her a glass of strawberry punch and took a glass of wine for himself. “I’d prefer ale,” he said, “but I think the church society would frown if I rolled in a keg for the boys.”
“Wine will do nicely,” she said, then pulled the glass from his fingers and swallowed the contents. With a wobbly smile, she gave him back the empty glass. “I’ll try the punch now.”
“You’re a surprise a minute,” he said, giving her a warm, flirtatious grin.
“Just trying to keep your interest, Sheriff.” And keep herself from panicking. She didn’t belong with these people. How could she court and possibly marry Duke when she didn’t fit into his world?
He set his empty glass on a tray, the move bringing his mouth near her ear. “If you arouse my interest any more, we’ll have to leave the party”
Her breath sailed out and heat rose to her face in a volcanic rush. “I need another glass of wine.”
His low, seductive laugh sent a tingle of awareness down her neck and spine and caused longing to pool within her. Did he know what he did with that suggestive, intimate voice of his?
He pressed his palm to her waist. “Dance with me.”
“My legs are shaking too much.”
“If we don’t move, I’m going to kiss you.”
“Oh, Lord. Bring the wine.”
His wonderful, rich laughter turned all eyes on him—on them—and Faith wanted to duck under the lace skirt of the beverage table. But Duke’s long fingers circled her hand and he led her to the floor.
With a confidence she envied, he slipped his arm around her waist and fit his hand to hers. A half-smile touched his lips as he took a step and drew her into a waltz. Faith’s mother and aunts had taught her to dance, but this was Faith’s first waltz with a man. Duke’s hard shoulder and firm hand held her steady, his muscles flexing with every step he took. Warmth filled his eyes, and something more passionate and intense showed in his gaze as he drew her closer, moving his tall, hard body in perfect rhythm to the music.
The sweet sound of violins and the darker strains of a cello washed over her. With each turn he pulled her closer until his long legs brushed her skirt, and the crowd around them slowly disappeared. Faith was floating in a dream, living in a world she’d scarcely dared to imagine, anchored in the strong arms of a man who stood for truth and justice and everything honest and good in life.
Hints of his cologne and soap teased her nose, and she wanted to move closer, to press her lips to his neck and taste his warm skin. The lanterns cast a soft glow across the taut, freshly shaved skin of his strong jaw. He was all muscles and angles, tall and rock solid, beautiful and majestic like a mountain.
He drew her closer on their next turn and brushed his lips to her ear. “This song is ‘Kissing in the Dark’ by Foster and Cooper. I sent Damon’s bandleader a note earlier and asked him to play it when I brought my lady to the dance floor.”
His lady? She was his lady? “It’s . . . beautiful,” she said, enjoying the song and the seductive mix of intimacy Duke brought to it.
“So are you.” The look in his eyes made her feel beautiful. “I’m glad you like it.”
“The song? Or kissing in the dark?”
His laugh drew so many curious looks that Faith lowered her chin and used his wide chest to shield her burning face. As soon as the song ended, she nudged him off the dance floor. She couldn’t remain in his arms a moment longer. He made her dreams seem possible, and she couldn’t bear to believe, only to have her hopes crushed in the end. Because he could walk away.
But she couldn’t let him walk away, even knowing she didn’t belong in his world, that this decent, honorable man deserved a better woman than she, because Adam and Cora needed him and the life he could give them.
And who was she fooling but herself? She was falling bonnet over boot tops for Duke Grayson.
