Read Online Blind Attraction by A.C. Warneke - Free Book Online Page B

hear all of the details of his trip, to see the world through him. “You must show me your pictures. Oh! I’m sorry; I don’t mean to presume….”
    “You’re not,” he said tenderly, admirably. Clearing his throat, he added, “Not at all.”  .
    “Where else have you been?” she asked, sensing some strange undertones; the current had somehow deepened between them. With a smile, “Or should I be asking, where haven’t you been?”
    He tilted his head to the side, a half-smile on his full lips, “It might be an easier question to answer.”
    “Do you have thousands of photos?” she asked, eager to see his journeys, to get a glimpse of the man, his view of the world, through his pictures.
    “I have a few,” he said. “Actually, I prefer to capture the moment in sketches.”
    Victoria ’s eyes widened with appropriate awe; knowing what little she did know about him, she was sure his sketches were phenomenal. “Would you… show me some time?”
    “Of course ,” he said with a slight smile.
    “Mr. Knowles mentioned that you have a photographic memory; can you remember everything you’ve seen?” Victoria asked, even more thunderstruck by the man in front of her. It was bad enough to lose one’s sight, but to be so incredibly, artistically visual…. Her heart pounded with sympathy and pride inside her chest.
    James chuckled, “To a certain degree . Some things I can remember with perfect clarity after a single viewing; other things take a bit more. I guess it depends.”
    “That is so cool,” Victoria sighed, wondering if he would have remembered her had he seen her before he lost his sight. “I bet it came in handy in school. Mr. Knowles seemed to think you had an unfair advantage.”
    “You could say something like that,” he chuckled.
    “Ah, I see,” she nodded, her voice light-hearted. “You were one of the annoying kids who never studied for anything and still managed to take top honors.”
    He smiled gloriously, making Victoria lose track of the conversation. Good lord he was magnificent when he smiled! The gods must have really gone all out when they created James; giving him an abundance of good looks, intelligence, and charm. “My education was actually rather unique.”
    “I would love to hear about it sometime,” she said sincerely. With a sheepish grin, she looked around the room at the other party-goers. She also noticed the string quartet getting ready to play and a dance flo or nearby. Surrounding the dance floor were many of the other employees, several keeping a not-so-discreet eye on James. “Now probably isn’t the best time; it looks as if there are a few people wanting to talk to you and I’ve monopolized your time since I’ve arrived.”
    “I haven’t minded,” he told her . Her heart raced in her chest, her palms tingled where they touched him, her skin burned beneath her dress. She had all but forgotten they were standing in the middle of the Templeton Conservatory surrounded by his friends, business associates and employees. All she knew was that she wanted to keep talking to him, to hear his voice. To feel his body pressed against hers forever.
    “Do you mind if I steal your date for a dance?” Philip asked, interrupting James’s thoughts. “I promise I’ll bring her back. Eventually.”
    Victoria laughed slightly as Philip’s blue eyes sparked with mischief when he grabbed her hand and started tugging her away from James. James’s grip seemed to tighten on her other hand, as if he was hesitant to let her go. Philip must have noticed because he said, “One song, Jim, maybe two; then I’ll bring her right back.”
    “No interrogations, Phil,” James warned, loosening his hold enough for Victoria’s hand to slip free. But James’s words gave her pause.
    “Interrogations?” she asked, looking between James’s clenched jaw and Philip’s amused expression. Instinctively, she once again grasped James’s hand, not sure she was ready to be