When Two Hearts Meet (Brightmore #2)

Chapter Five

For Anita- Congratulations, my friend! Many, many happy years ahead for you both :) xxx

Chapter Five

It was such  an extravagantly romantic gesture that Oriana was unable to prevent herself being swept away by it. Despite efforts on the contrary, as she steeled her heart against the improbability of hope that Cole Stanley- with all his brash mannerisms and appalling forwardness- would become a possible suitor, she still felt her heart trip over itself when he emerged from the bushes.

His energetic thrashing in the thorny foliage had enticed him to remove his coat and swing it across his forearm, his shirt glaringly white against the healthy swarthiness of his skin. Clutched in the hand of his scarred arm was a neatened bouquet of colourful roses. It seemed the good captain hadn’t merely chosen one colour, but a myriad of multi-hued blooms smiled gallantly from his fingers. They were predominantly pink but in amongst those petals shone a yellow bloom, a red one and even a coral coloured rose.

Her eyes settled on the roses only a moment before she met his gaze and her heart stopped beating altogether. There was something different about him that she hadn’t seen or recognised the previous day when they had first met. His eyes no longer seemed cynical or hard, but rather they gleamed with silver amusement, flirtatious and appealing. It wasn’t as determined as the look he’d worn the previous evening when he seemed intent on making her as uncomfortable as possible. Now he appeared approachable, charming, and damn near likable.

Oriana faltered, drawn to the light smile that tugged the implacable contours of his wide mouth, the deep grooves embedded in his cheeks. Again she was overcome with his overall magnetism, his overwhelming masculinity oozing from his very shoulders which were so broad and so wide they appeared strong enough to carry the heaviest of parcels.

“Pink,” he said, as if confirming a truth he had trouble believing, “most certainly, pink.”

“I beg your pardon?” The blooms were pressed into her hands and Oriana noticed he had taken the time to tear off the thorns on the stems.

“I could not decide what colour you were,” Cole told her thoughtfully.

“I am a colour?” she asked, bemused.

“Yes.” Without her consent, he took her free hand and significantly linked their arms together, leading her further away from the castle- from safety.

“I’m not sure I quite understand, Captain Stanley.”

“Every woman has a colour, a colour that appears to dominate their very livelihood. For example, Lady Ashcroft is partial to white, is she not? And if she is not wearing white, then it will be something of equally light contrast.”

He had a point about Danielle, Oriana thought, recalling that the young woman preferred white roses to most. Even the table setting the previous evening had been white and there had been white carnations in the vase in the centre. More often than not, the ribbon in her hair was white, too.

“And I, you assume, must be pink?”

His silver eyes raked her form from head to toe, his face turned partly to the side to better observe her. She could feel his gaze slither over her body as if he were skirting her curves with the tips of his fingers. Oriana stifled a shudder.

“A soft pink, yes. Delicate and fragile.”

“I am not delicate and fragile.”

“Curb your tongue- I meant the colour, not you.” His smile was crooked, as if he was amused at her self-righteous defence. They strolled slowly through the rosebushes, guided by the curves and turns of the neat cobbled path that wind through the lush growth. Bees occasionally made them aware of their presence, alighting on a flower and then quickly taking off, swishing past Ori’s face and disappearing into another bush. The sun was warm against her skin, not so hot to become uncomfortable, but enough to ensure she wished she hadn’t brought along her shawl. “The colour,” Cole continued after a short pause, “is also a variation of red, so that although it may appear gentle on the surface, it has undertones of strength, volatility, and even temper.”