Neither have I.
Strangely wonderful was the affect those words had on her. She felt flushed, giddy, and shy all at once. Her blue eyes tore themselves from the flowers and the waterfall and the jungle bursting in colorful richness to instead sweep toward Braylen, finding him watching her with such gentility and honesty on his handsome face that the emotions within her only intensified. A shy smile skirted the edges of her lips as she looked away, fighting the urge to giggle (such a silly, girlish thing to want to do!) before she was able to glance back at him again.
She’d never truly put much thought into appearances, the suitors at home had looked to her with interest for the powerful position her father had held. Her father had looked toward them with the desire only to agree upon one when it benefited him. There was no thought to Abigail and meeting a handsome stranger who would tell her she was pretty were daydreams she’d never thought might become a reality.
“I would love to stay, Braylen,” she said, and her eyes were full of him now, unable to look away. “And not just because you are as handsome as you are kind,” her lips tugged into a playful grin, “and I am looking forward to learning more about you,” could she dare say she hoped they might become friends? That Abigail, a girl who was never promised love, wondered if such a beautiful and rare thing lay in her future as she lived in Paradise? “I came here because this place reminded me of my birth home, but I’m beginning to think it’s so much better than that.”
|