Read Online A Season Beyond a Kiss by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss - Free Book Online

to finally be visiting Mr. Ives’s shop.” The blue-green eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she admired the elegant interior and, with a womanly appreciation for beautiful things, the bolts of costly materials displayed on the nearby tables. “This definitely looks like a woman’s paradise.”
    Warm laughter spilled melodiously from the dressmaker’s lips. “Oh, it is, absolutely, but please, Mrs. Birmingham, do call me Elizabeth. I’d feel especially honored.”
    “The pleasure is mine, Elizabeth,” Raelynn warbled. “And I’d be equally gratified if you’d favor me by addressing me by my given name.”
    Elizabeth grimaced ever so slightly. “You have a beautiful name, to be sure, but if you wouldn’t mind, while we’re here in the shop, I should use the more formal address for the sake of the other employees. Mr. Ives insists that his seamstresses show proper respect to his customers, and it makes it easier for them if I abide by that standard as well, at least while I’m here.” She chuckled as she added, “He even has them calling me Mrs. Dalton, a formality he considers needful for maintaining discipline in the ranks. If I didn’t know better, I’d be inclined to think he was once a seafaring captain. He certainly runs a tight ship here.”
    Jeff chortled at such a farfetched notion. “I’m afraid your employer would be hopelessly lost with a compass and a sextant, Elizabeth. He’s too much of a landlubber.”
    The three joined in a moment of mirth before the older woman swept sparkling eyes down the length of Raelynn’s gown. It had been among the prettiest day dresses that Ives’s Couture had recently sold, and she was delighted to see it being worn by such a fetching lady. “Mr. Ives’s business will surely reap a wealth of benefits once the city’s populace catch a glimpse of you bedecked in his fashions, Mrs. Birmingham. In praising you, Mr. Ives went so far as to claim that you were just as beautiful as your sister-in-law. I was sure his assertions were exaggerated until today.”
    Raelynn’s radiant cheeks evidenced her delight over the woman’s compliment. “Heather is so gorgeous that I must accept it as a tremendous honor to be compared to her.”
    “As well you should, Mrs. Birmingham,” Elizabeth readily rejoined. “I can’t imagine another lady in the area as attractive as the pair of you.”
    Raelynn tilted her head thoughtfully as she considered the brunette. Obviously the woman had reservations about her own beauty, but Raelynn was more than willing to enlighten her. “Have you taken a look at yourself in a mirror lately, Elizabeth?”
    The other clasped a hand to her cheek in sudden dismay. “Oh, dear, do I have a smudge or something on my face?”
    “No, of course not,” Raelynn reassured her with brimming amusement, totally taken with the woman’s lack of vanity. Elizabeth Dalton was a slender, dark-eyed beauty who could definitely hold her own in the realm of feminine pulchritude. “My question was meant merely as a tribute to your own exceptional comeliness, nothing more.”
    Realizing her blunder, Elizabeth flushed a deep shade of crimson, but promptly shook her head, denying the possibility that she could compare with such a winsome pair as the Birmingham women. “Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Birmingham, but you just don’t know how beautiful you are. I could never hold a candle to either you or your sister-in-law.”
    Raelynn reached out and gently laid a hand upon the other woman’s arm. “If I were you, Elizabeth, I wouldn’t place any valuable tokens wagering on that assumption. There’s no question you’d lose.”
    Jeff offered his wife support in that premise. “Raelynn isn’t just being kind, Elizabeth,” he assured the woman. “She’s being truthful. In fact, my advice to you would be to place your bets on the opposite end of that spectrum if it comes down to such a wager. You’d clearly come out a winner.”
    Elizabeth waved a