He’d been acutely aware of her across the dance floor all evening even when his eyes weren’t on her. Others had come to engage him in conversation. He had taken Laura a glass of the punch, but he didn’t try to dance with his awkward bandaged arm. More than once he started to cross the room to see if Jessamine might need something. To see if she might need him. But each time the thought of his mother’s disapproval stopped him.He was surprised his mother hadn’t ordered him to sit with her so she could make sure he didn’t do anything foolish. She did keep looking his way in spite of the distraction of the lawyer dancing attendance on her. Mr. Ridenour appeared to be interested in more than his mother’s signature on the documents he’d brought to Kentucky for her perusal, and if the blush in her cheeks was any indication, she was more than a little flattered by his admiration. When the band began playing a slow song, she even allowed the man to lead her out to join the couples on the ballroom floor.
