Waylaid In London

Chapter 12

Making her way up the front steps of Ben and Polly's house, Kathryn nervously glanced at her watch again. She was technically still early but had arrived a little later than she'd liked. That was all due to agonizing over what she should wear. She'd changed her outfit several times before finally deciding on a light blue, long-sleeved dress with darker stripes in a geometrical pattern that fell to just above her knees. It was a fairly conservative type of outfit. She had a couple more revealing and low-cut outfits that she'd almost chosen, but with Jamie being from the eighteenth century she expected him to be appalled if she'd shown up in one of them. She nearly couldn't believe she'd focused so much on impressing him.

Finding the door locked, she pushed the button for the doorbell. Seconds later the door opened and she nervously smoothed her hair down, expecting to find Jamie on the other side. She was surprised to find Victoria there instead.

"Oh, Kathryn! Wonderful to see you again!" the other woman exclaimed, giving her a warm smile and then stepping aside to allow Kathryn entrance.

"Wonderful to see you as well, Victoria," she said, returning the smile. She blinked and found a tall, slender man with black hair, smiling at Victoria's side.

"This is my fiancé, Terrence," Victoria said, gesturing to him. The man kindly reached forward and shook her hand.

Kathryn followed them further through the entryway and into the lounge, her brow furrowing with disappointment upon not finding Jamie there. "Pity I seem to have missed Ben and Polly," she said instead.

"Oh, yes, Jamie said they had left for their party a bit earlier than planned."

Kathryn nodded and felt an amused smile tugging at her lips. "Where is that man anyway? Did he--"

Before she could continue, she heard the sound of footsteps and looked up to find Jamie approaching from the corridor. She couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face just from catching a glimpse of him. He made his way further into the room and her grin suddenly vanished as her jaw went slack.

She found herself dumbstruck by how handsome he was. Not that she hadn't found him handsome before, but tonight he seemed even more so. He wore a black Jacobite shirt with the lace-up front and ties at the cuffs. She had remembered seeing those before during a family holiday to Scotland. She marveled at how nicely it showed off his well-toned body. Of course there was his usual kilt and his neatly combed hair was nicely styled. He appeared to have had his fringe trimmed a bit. She adored his overgrown mop which made him resemble a sheepdog at times, but it now revealed his eyes nicely. Taking in his appearance on the whole once again, she felt that familiar tingle shoot up her spine. This time she welcomed it.

She broke her concentration and realized he was regarding her expectantly. Sheepishly she cleared her throat and her eyes found the floor.

She heard the scuffle of boots and lifting her gaze found him mere feet away from her. He looked even more amazing up close. Her gaze once again fixed upon his eyes and she saw what a lovely shade of hazel they were. They reminded her of a gemstone she'd once seen in a museum. She remembered it was called Citrine and was a lovely gold, yellow and gray-brown all in one.

"Kathryn?"

She felt her face grow hot and a girlish giggle escaped her lips. How it mortified her. "Sorry," she said automatically and then forced herself to behave as she looked at him. Damn it, Jamie. You're going to kill me at this rate.

"You look so pretty tonight."

She self-consciously dropped her gaze to her hands for a moment. "Thank you, Jamie," she said shyly, looking back up at him. "And you look very handsome."