Chapter 16

Effie's heart skipped a beat, racing faster than she could control.

"Nervous? Give me your hand," Lyman said, noticing the flush in her cheeks and her quickening breath.

"What?" Effie hesitated, caught off guard.

She could feel Lyman's presence-solid, warm, and unmistakably masculine-so close that it left her breathless.

"Your hand. Come on."

Almost without thinking, Effie offered her hand. Lyman reached out and took it in his, his grip firm yet gentle. The warmth of his palm seeped into hers, his thumb tracing slow, soothing circles against her skin, sending a tingling sensation up her

arm.

Her pulse only quickened, a rosy blush blooming across her face and even creeping to her ears.

are you... what are you doing?" she stammered, trying to

intent, lips curling into a faint smile. "Don't

he reached into his pocket and placed

glancing down at it.

feeling down or anxious," Lyman said, his eyes sincere and almost intense, "have a piece of candy.

Effie felt the warmth from his hand travel straight

occurred to her to wonder

around the sweet. "Come in. My grandmother's waiting

full of gifts. In the living room, an

politely, "Good

up, quietly surprised. The man before her was tall, strikingly handsome, and carried himself with a refined air. Compared to Mitchell, he was in a league of his own-and far more

a little skeptical. He was impossibly perfect, but was

cared for Effie for a long time. Before, she was with someone else, so I

a jolt to the chest. She snuck a look at him he

didn't know better, she might have believed

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