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“Because I do not want to step on your foot.”
“You won’t. You are not even standing close enough for it to happen.”
“Trust me. It has happened. More than once,” she grumbled.
“If it does happen, it’s only because you are looking at your feet. You should look at me.”
Olivia raised her gaze to his. Her cheeks were rosy, her hair was escaping her coiffure, and her amber eyes twinkled with defiance. She pursed her puffy lips, causing an uncontrollable urge to lean in and kiss her. Jarvis caught his breath.
“See?” he asked, his throat dry. “It isn’t as hard as it seems. Let’s try again. Without the music.”
Olivia smiled and took her place opposite him.
Jarvis bowed before her, and she made a theatrical curtsy. Jarvis smiled, and they started moving.
Three steps forward, a full spin. Their gazes collided as they faced each other once more. Jarvis almost forgot the full force of Olivia’s direct gaze. Her eyes were burning with the intensity of her emotions. Or perhaps he saw his own emotions reflected in her eyes. No matter what it was, he couldn’t avert his gaze.
Their hands touched, and it was like a lightning bolt went through his body. They’d touched many times before, but somehow, combined with her gaze, when she looked at him as though he was the only man that mattered, it almost undid him.
They stepped around each other, their scents mingling, the warmth of her palm spreading through his entire body and traveling down to his groin. His heartbeat accelerated, his senses reawakening.
How had he gone so long without Olivia’s direct gaze on him, without her touch? More importantly, how was he to go through his entire life without her once she was married?
Married. To another man.
Jarvis almost faltered.
Unaware of his inner turmoil, Olivia halted in her tracks and grinned widely. “That was excellent,” she said. “Except that you are possibly the only person I can look into the eyes of for a long time. What am I to do with every other man? What am I to do with Bradshaw?”
Jarvis swallowed his disappointment. He had been dancing with Olivia, dreaming of her touch on his skin, memorizing every line of her face, and in the meantime, she was thinking about ensnaring another man. Well, he’d known what he’d signed up for. And if he was to keep Olivia safe, he needed to see this through.
He scratched his jaw in thought. “Well, you can’t keep looking at your feet. You lose your balance too easily that way. Besides, you need to seem confident, and for that, you need to keep your head high.” He looked around. “How about you look over people’s heads?”
“Pardon me?”
“You can’t look people in the eyes, or you falter. You can’t look down, or you stumble. How about you look up? Not at the ceiling, but just above people’s heads, so that you’re still aware of what is going on around you, but you’re not bothered if people stare at you.”
Olivia frowned. “That might actually work.”
“Let us try one more time. This time, find a spot on the wall just behind my head. And perhaps it will help you concentrate.”
“All right.” Olivia gave him a shy smile and positioned herself in front of him once more.
They started dancing, and it seemed like the world had disappeared. Olivia didn’t look him in the eye, but her radiant smile was enough for him not to dwell on the matter. From time to time, she would glance at him, and her smile broadened. Jarvis grinned at her as Olivia twirled.
“I am dancing!” she giggled.
“Yes, you are.”
“Look! I could never twirl like this when I was looking down!” She twirled again, but her momentum carried her forward, and she stumbled.
Jarvis quickly caught her against his chest.
“That was marvelous!” Olivia grabbed onto his shoulders and attempted to stand upright.
At the same moment, Jarvis ducked, and somehow his lips hit against her eye. Olivia stumbled, and Jarvis grabbed her by her waist to steady her. Their faces were still mere inches away.
Olivia’s lovely scent penetrated his senses and enveloped him in a hazy fog. Olivia breathed heavily from dancing and twirling; her lips were parted, her breasts rising and falling with every breath. Jarvis’s heart beat so fast and hard he thought it was going to jump right out of his chest.
