* * * *
On Friday, the Bell Insurance Agency closed at four PM, giving Lily just enough time to run home and change into her costume before Beth arrived to drive them to the Castle. When they pulled into the employee’s parking lot in Beth’s aging sedan, Lily gasped at the already manic activity. “Just look at all the people dressed up. Wow–they’ve got horses here now? Are those turkey legs? Look at all this stuff, this is amazing!”
“Come on.” Beth laughed, bustling her way through the growing crowd and street vendors, dragging Lily, gaping, behind her.
At the gypsy tent, Beth suggested Lily watch her read for a couple of patrons, mini three-card readings about ten minutes long each. She became more and more confident as she watched, so when Beth stood up and offered Lily her chair, she didn’t hesitate.
About an hour later, Lily had just finished a reading when Lucas strolled in. A handsome man in his mid-twenties, his short blond hair was stylishly spiked and still smelled faintly of its recent frosting. Clad in Dockers, a polo shirt, and an unmistakable look of disapproval, he glanced around the tent. His gaze landed on Beth and his upper lip curled in distaste. Eyes of ice blue flickered over Lily then peered past her, still searching. Amused, Lily watched him for a moment before she spoke.
“Came to check out the park?” she asked sweetly.
Lucas stared at her, then up and down at her outfit and hair. His laughter was harsh. “You gotta be kidding me. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look?”
Lily felt her happy balloon suddenly deflate. Struggling to keep her face impassive, she picked an imaginary piece of lint from her skirt. “No, but I’m sure you’ll enlighten me,” she said.
At her sudden change of tone, he reconsidered his hasty words. “It’s just…I don’t know…these people around here, all dressed up in these stupid outfits. It’s like kid stuff, you know?”
Lily lifted her chin a little in defiance. “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t make it either stupid or ridiculous. You paint your face when you watch college football on TV, so I don’t think you’re one to judge.” She smoothed the front of her skirt. “I love dressing up like this. It’s like being a part of history.”
Lucas waved a hand. “Whatever. I’m not going to hang out here in Fantasyland, though,” he said with a snort. “Later.” Without another word, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the tent.
Lily shuddered and glanced at Beth, who was busy with an obviously enamored young couple, entwined and piled onto one small chair. The other reader, jovial thirty-something Esmeralda, sat at another table swinging her foot while she waited for another guest to come in.
The air in the tent grew suddenly stuffy and constrictive. Lily caught Beth’s eye, pointing to the tent entrance and her friend nodded, giving her a warm, reassuring smile. Once outside, Lily gulped in several steadying breaths of the cool evening breeze. After a few moments of watching the guests come and go, she turned to go back to her table but stopped when she caught a glimpse of something white and fluffy moving out of the corner of her eye. Every nerve in her body tingled as deja vu swept over her.
He was standing right there, on the other side of the street.
She had a vague sense of her mouth hanging open. It’s him, the guy from my dream, it has to be, she thought with a shiver of…of what? Anticipation? You’re getting all worked up over nothing, she chided herself, but still struggling to draw a decent breath, she just couldn’t shake the feeling something…momentous…was about to happen.
Topping six feet by several inches, he stood with his back to her, his lion’s mane of auburn curls ruffling in the light breeze. His long muscular legs were encased in black form-hugging pants with nary a wrinkle in sight just like the Highwayman poem, even where they disappeared into his thigh high leather boots. The fluffy attention getter was the feather plume adorning his cavalier hat, bobbing animatedly as he talked with a young man of similar height and garb, whose blond locks reached below his collar. When the other man raised his hand in parting, Lily tried to slip back inside the tent, but couldn’t will her feet or legs to move. He’s going to see me standing here staring at him like a lunatic, she thought frantically, but remained rooted to the spot, frozen and transfixed. Her heart raced with both fear and excitement. She glared down at her shoes as if trying to scare her feet into moving, but that didn’t work either.
To her horror, those buttery soft black boots came to a stop directly in front of her, and she slowly raised her eyes to gaze at the man standing before her. Those tight pants laced up the sides and were paired with a sleeveless black leather doublet and white poet’s shirt, open at the collar. Lily raised her gaze further to look into his face, and was mesmerized by what she saw. He was devastatingly handsome, no doubt about it–chiseled jaw, high cheekbones and sinful, sensual lips. When he smiled at her, his even white teeth flashed against sun kissed skin. But his eyes…they were an impossibly dark shade of emerald green and as they stood there looking at each other she fell deeper and deeper into them.
He removed his hat and reaching for her hand bowed low over it, brushing his lips over her fingertips. She gasped at the jolt of electricity that blazed the length of her body at the contact. He released her hand with a gentle squeeze and when he turned to go, she spied the mystic Celtic touchstone suspended on a leather thong around his neck. When she saw the painted image on the ceramic medallion, her breath froze in her chest.
It was a hawk.
* * * *
“Are you sure you’re well enough to ride?” Meghan fretted. “You’re pale as a ghost.” She turned to Dan for confirmation, who gave a noncommittal shrug as he struggled into his Henry VIII doublet.
Ian nodded slowly. “I’m fine, Megs.” He had been on his way up to the office, when Renaud stopped him to ask about something, but what, he couldn’t remember. He scratched his head in consternation. All he remembered was turning around and seeing the new girl standing outside the tent. She drew him like a lodestone and he’d crossed the street to get a closer look. Even with the black wig, her fragile beauty took away his breath and with it the gift of speech. I couldn’t even get the words out just to say hello to her, he thought miserably. Closing his eyes, he tried to recall every detail of her exquisite heart-shaped face–flawless skin, full lips, high cheekbones, the slightly upturned nose…and her eyes. Deep blue-gray eyes that seemed so familiar, eyes he would very much enjoy watching close in pleasure as he bent his head to hers…
“…could ride the black since Renaud is on the…”
Ian snapped out of his reverie in time to roll his eyes at the petite redhead. “I can ride. I’m not tilting, I’m just carrying the standard. Quit your worrying, already.” He glanced at the office clock and grimaced. “I need to tack up. I’ll see you both over there.” Without another word, he left the office and stalked toward the stables.
* * * *
Lily watched the man disappear in the crowd with lips parted in awe and incapable of rational thought. When she turned to go back inside, she ran headlong into Beth and Esmeralda, who stood behind her staring after him too.
“Who was that?” Beth asked, blinking.
“I’ve seen him here with Dan and the blond guy before,” Esmeralda offered.
With a tremulous smile, Lily stepped around the other girls to go back inside but Beth grabbed her arm, preventing her escape. “Oh no, you don’t. What’s his name? What did he say to you? Did he ask you out? Are you going to have his children? Enquiring minds want to know,” she demanded.
“He didn’t say anything.” Lily sighed.
Beth