Edge of Time (Langston Brothers Series) (17 page)

Craig’s eyes widened in surprise and Marissa
grinned, devilishly pleased
by his reaction.

“Don’t tempt me, woman.” He clutched an arm more tightly around her waist, pulling her against him as they turned
.

A
burst of
surprised
laughter b
ubbled from her throat
and she
reveled in the ease with which he laughed with her.
Their eyes locked and a moment later his heated gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips tingled in response, silently yearning for his kiss.

Without any other warning, Craig bent his head,
claim
ing her
lips in a
deliciously tender
kiss
for all of Charleston to see
.

*
 
     *
 
     *

If looks could kill Marissa would have been struck down on the spot. For the first time Kirsten Jamison’s conviction that Craig would be hers wavered. Her family needed his money…
desperately
… and with his equally rich brothers gone and likely
dead fighting in the war he was
her last hope to land the La
ngston fortune. If that blond
bitch got h
er hooks into him first… Well, she wouldn’t allow it
! Even if it meant stooping to even more ruthless means of persuasion, she intended to become Kirsten Langston. She certainly wasn’t opposed to a shotgun wedding if it came to that.

Turning to a table with three of
Charleston
’s most notorious gossips Kirsten dimpled sweetly and drawled, “I do declare!  A man like Dr. Langston carrying on with a woman of
her
reputation in public,” Kirsten smiled wickedly as the three women took the bait.

*     *     *

Oblivious to the whispers of treason and indiscretion whipping th
rough the room behind her back—
all fueled by Kirsten’s poison tongue, Marissa’s
believed she might actually be floating
as Craig gallantly pressed h
is lips to the back of her hand. He
r
eturned her to Genie’s care before crossing
the room to get some punch.

Genie smiled warmly at Marissa. “Mrs. Long, have you met my niece, Marissa?”

“
Ah, s
o you’re the young woman who’s snared the most eligible bachelor in Charleston.”

“I beg your pardon?” Marissa asked as the old woman’s gaze raked over her.

Mrs. Long nodded approvingly. “My grandson, Craig Langston.”

The woman’s declaration that she was Craig’s grandmother and that she considered him the most eligible bachelor in Charleston startled Marissa. It was then she noticed Mrs. Long’s eyes were the same startling blue as Craig’s.

“He is quite smitten with you, Marissa. Why, he’s been walking on a cloud sinc
e the day you met
. It’s all I hear about, Marissa this and Marissa that. He thinks you’re the mo
st brilliant woman he’s ever known
.”

“Besides you of course,” Craig grinned down at his grandmother and winked. Marissa felt her stomach lurch as his piercing gaze locked on hers with that incredible smile that left him looking boyish and irresistible. She actually felt a little lightheaded when he pressed a cool glass into her hand. “Grandma
ma
, you look lovely tonight,” he added, bending to kiss the wrinkled cheek

“Oh, you charmer,” Mrs. Long scoffed. “I look old and you know it!” Nodding toward Marissa she said, “I was just getting to know this young lady and I must say, Craig, I like her much better than that Jamison hussy.”

“Ginny!” Genie scolded.

“What?” Mrs. Long said as though she couldn’t imagine why Genie would be shocked. “That girl has been shamelessly chasing after him for years!” Mrs. Long’s matter-of-fact statement left everyone stifling laughter.

Craig roll
ed his eyes and held out a hand.
“Grandma
ma,
why don’t you come out here and dance with me?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

As Craig swept his grandmother expertly about the dance floor, Marissa’s mind whirled around the possibilities of the evening. In truth she couldn’t remember the last time she’d
been
so… happy. Was it possible to feel yourself glowing?

“You and your young beau are the talk of the room,” Genie said.

“I don’t know why.”

“If you haven’t noticed, Craig Langston is the type to turn a few heads. He is also a doctor, an officer fighting for the cause, and a member of a well established Charleston family.” Carolyn’s voice dropped low as though imparting a hefty piece of gossip. “Have you seen the scalding glares Kirsten Jamison has bestowed upon you?”

Marissa shook her head.
“I haven’t seen her tonight.

“And you heard Ginny Long say that you’ve ‘snared the most
eligible bachelor in Charleston,
’
” Genie said.
“
Why, she’s been sitting here watching the two of you like the cat who caught th
e canary all night. I think she hears
wedding bells and is delighted they have nothing to do with that grasping Jamison
girl
.”

“I think so, too,” Carolyn said, laughing.

Marissa could have groaned aloud. In love with him or not, her life was still too much in limbo to even con
sider what they suggested
. Marriage to a man who’d likely died eighty years
before she was born? It
ridiculous
ly
defied logic!

A young man came to claim Carolyn for a dance, leaving Marissa and Genie a moment of privacy, though Genie picked up exactly where her daughter left off. “Has he said anything to you about marriage?”

“Oh, Genie, please,” she moaned.
“I barely know the man, not to mention the fact that I’m not exactly from here!”

“
Barely know him?” Genie scoffed. “Don’t be dramatic.
Eventually you will have to move on with your life, Marissa, and when that happens you could do a great deal worse than Dr. Langston.”

“Will you please drop this? I am not going to marry the man.”

“Not now or not ever?”

“God, Genie, this is all happening so fast, I’ve known him for a matter of weeks and marriage is not an option. Whatever happened to kissing a few frogs instead falling for the first illusion of the fairytale prince anyway?”

“Oh, come now! As if Craig Langston isn’t the very definition of Prince Charming.”

There she was had. Craig could be Prince Charming and tonight she could be Cinderella, but Marissa knew better than to believe in fairytales, no matter how enticing.

Before she could dwell further on the subj
ect Kirsten Jamison sidled over.
“A word,
Miss McClafferty
? In private.”

“Certainly.” Marissa smiled, relishing the notion of being the center of Craig’s attention that night just a bit more than she should.

Kirsten grabbed her arm and half dragged h
er to a corner a few feet away.
“What are you doing? I told you to stay away from him! Craig Langston is mine!”

“Obviously not.
” Marissa jerked her arm away. “If he was yours he would be here with you and not me.”

“I warned you, you little Yankee bitch!”

“Yankee bitch?
” Marissa shook her head, confused.
“
Wha
t are you talking about
?”

Kirsten shrugged. “I’m talking about what everyone else in Charleston is
whispering
. It’s obvious you’re not from Atlanta. I’ve heard the talk and I know what you are.” Violet eyes raked the length of her. “Traitors hang, Marissa, but I’ve heard plenty of stories about stray bullets in the back, too. Maybe you should watch yours.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Word around Charleston is it’s the truth,
Yankee
.”

A stone cold fear seeped into Marissa’s bones at the threat shimmering behind Ki
rsten’s eyes. She spun away, head held high as she made her way back to
Genie.

“What did she want?” Genie asked.

“To warn me away from Craig.
” Marissa swallowed back her dismay.
“
For the second time.”

“Really
? You never told me that. When did she issue this ‘warning’?”

“A few days ago,” Marissa said. “I didn’t think it important enough to mention, but now she’s calling me a
—
”

She broke off as Craig returned with his grandmother and snared her trembling hand for another dance.

Traitor
?
Does everyone think that of me
?

Nervously, Marissa cast her gaze around the other couples on the ballroom floor. Were they all whispering about her behind her back? Was she becoming a danger to Genie?

“Marissa, what’s wrong?” Craig shot a daggered glare toward Kirsten. “What did she say to
upset you? You’re pale as a sheet and trembling.
”

“To stay away from you, or else.” She swallowed and quirked a dry smile, unsure of what else to divulge. “Now I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“She actually said that?” Craig’s jaw tightened and then he shook his head in some disbelief, and, Mari
ssa imagined, not a little pride
. “Imagine, two women fighting over me.”

“I,” Marissa said, “am not fighting.”

“I know, my dear. I was joking.” More seriously he added, “You know better than to listen to her, I hope? She is nothing to me, but you are...” He smiled at her again. “When you came in, well, you took m
y breath away
. I want you to remain as happy as you looked at that moment. I want to keep you happy, always.”

Her breath caught at the warmth glittering through the depths of his eyes. Tonight there was something more in his gaze, something that made her shiver. “I am happy. I’m having a wonderful time,” she murmured
,
pushing
Kirsten’s threats from her mind.
“
E
specially since I’m with you.”