Joshua's Grace

Chapter 7 (1)

He wasn't sure what to expect, but he hadn't expected to have his breath knocked out of him, to feel as if his heart was about to explode and his lungs collapse. At this rate he would be hard before he even strung a sentence together.

He stammered through his greeting. "Ev, eve..evening."

Grace threw him a questioning look, because she couldn't understand his problem. "Come in a sec, would you." She invited as she held the door open, "I was just on the phone. I won't be long." She waited for him to step into the house and then indicated for him to take a seat. Once he was seated she moved quickly to the phone.

With her back to him she picked up the phone, "Mum, Joshua is here, I'll have to go." She listened attentively before she said, "Yes, I will, yes. Love. Bye."

She turned back to face him. "Sorry about that." She said when he still hadn't spoken. Her voice pulled him back to the present. He attempted a smile. "Are you ok?"

"Just poleaxed." He replied without thinking. "What?" Grace was puzzled by his reaction.

He shook himself, smiled ruefully and admitted candidly, "You're gorgeous."

She erupted into nervous laughter. "Yeah right." It wasn't a ploy for further compliments. With two breathtakingly beautiful sisters, she genuinely had never considered herself gorgeous. 

He came closer. "Honestly." His hands caressed her upper arms, sparking a frisson of electricity that she came to associate only with his touch. She took a breath, inhaled the woody scent of his aftershave mingling with a scent she only associated with him, and felt her heart skitter. His hands dropped to encircle her waist. "Stunning would be closer to the truth."

She laughed nervously and tried to lean out of his hold. "Now you're laying it on a bit thick."

He could hear it in her voice. She didn't believe him. He took her chin in his hand, and tipped her face up so that his eyes would endorse what he had to say. "I can't believe you don't know how beautiful you are." He was surprised to see her squirm.

"Thank you." She replied shyly. Her confidence, her ego and her self esteem suddenly buoyed with the unexpected praise.

He shook his head, she was full of surprises. "You are." He reiterated frankly. He bent his head and brushed his lips lightly against hers. Once more the jolt that he associated with touching her seemed to ignite his body and make what was already hard now painfully hard. "And if we had the time I'd stop here and prove it to you." He stepped away. Took a breath. Grace smiled tremulously at the promise she heard in his voice. "We'd better get going, we're late."

"I'll just get my shawl." She retrieved the filmy length of material that was lying on the arm of the couch and followed him to the door.

He drove them to Hamilton, but because they were late, all the near parking bays were taken and they had to park a long way down a rather busy River road. They had to walk several hundred metres to reach the paddle steamer moored on the Waikato river. He held her hand. She let him. It felt right. Joshua relaxed a fraction, their first date was going well. 

It was just approaching eight-thirty and they were the last couple to board the boat. Grace hitched up her long straight black silk skirt as Joshua handed her onto the gangway to the boat.

The skirt, with a slit from the hem line to almost mid thigh, was topped with a strapless boned filmy gold bustier. Once again his eyes were drawn to the bare golden shoulders and slender neck. At her neck was a simple twisted coil of fine pearls. Her hair was pinned expertly in a riot of curls, with a few tendrils escaping to soften the look. Fine pearl threads hung from her ear lobes and the only other jewelry she had on was her watch. She looked elegant and beautiful. And she was with him, he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his lips. She was with him, on the boat. She hadn't backed out. Progress.