Page 47 of To Know Miss May

That was Livvy’s cue to leave, and swiftly.

With her book still close to her chest, she veered left and made for home instead of the bench. She was far too excited to sit down and read right now.

In truth, she didn’t know if she could ever read anything again, what with the image of August’s rescue—and of course, his transparent shirt—now emblazoned in her memory forever.

She waited for her turn to move past the disbanding crowd, but as the people scattered from left to right, the pathway forward cleared for her to move, but at the end of it stood August, and he was looking directly at her.

Her instinct was to look away. Or perhaps it was to run away. But when she spotted that twinkle in his eye and a raised hand in greeting, her legs tremored.

He’d acknowledged her. In public. That meant that she needed to do the same, right? She pulled up whatever bravery she held in her resources, then smiled in return.

To her utter shock, however, that must not have been enough for August, for in the next moment, he made his way toward her. Her, of all people.

Livvy had been convinced that after they’d been caught speaking by Miss Pengelly, August would never speak with her again. So what on earth was he doing right now?

Surely this would cause more rumors than anything, the fact that he was coming to speak with her when all of the Mount could see them.

Not to mention the state he was in.

As he drew nearer, she couldn’t fight her eyes from dropping to his torso. All those years off the Mount had done him much good.

His white shirt clung to his person, outlining his physique—tapered torso, barreled chest, broad shoulders, far broader than she’d ever known before.

The man was…what, perfection? Excellence? Superior? Flawless?

How many words had she read in the last ten years for her now to be completely useless in finding one that fit?

Or perhaps that was the problem. One word could never suffice when explaining such a man.

“Miss May.”

She pulled her eyes from his chest and smiled. “Mr. Moon.”

They stood there in silence for a moment, neither of them speaking, both of them merely looking at each other.

Say something, Livvy, before he walks away.

“That must be uncomfortable for ye,” she said, motioning to his sodden clothing. “Bein’ all wet and…” Her words failed her as she peered at the contours of his chest.

“Wet and…” he prompted.

She blinked, looking back to his eyes that held a twinkle she knew her words had placed there.

She needed to hide her admiration of him. And swiftly. “Wet and…sodden.”

He pulled back, clearly disappointed. “Sodden? That ’ardly sounds flatterin’. Are ye certain ye can’t think of a nicer word than sodden?”

Well, now she could. She could even go so far as to find a word beginning with each letter in the alphabet.

Alluring. Beautiful. Charming. Delectable. Enticing. Fascinating. Gorgeous. Heart-wrenchingly mesmerizing.

She could go on and on. But that would hardly be appropriate.

Instead, she settled with a simple, “No.”

To her delight, his smile grew.

Before her eyes could fall on his person again, she looked to the harbor. The rest of the crowd had disappeared, the mother and daughter halfway to the other side of the pathway by now.