A Prince for Jenny Read Online Free PDF

slowly he got out of the car. The grass cushioned his step as he walked toward the light.
    "Daniel?" She'd opened the window and was leaning out, calling softly.
    "Jenny." Her name was magic on his lips. He felt as if candles had been lit in his soul.
    "I knew you'd come. I kept on my blue dress."
    "I just wanted to check on you."
    "I'm coming down."
    "No ... wait..." he said, but she had disappeared from the window.
    What had he done? Gwendolyn was probably going to come tearing out of the house with a shotgun and blow him to kingdom come. And it would be no more than he deserved.
    Suddenly Jenny was there, her soft hand touching his.
    "Daniel, I'm beside you."
    She was more than beside him: She was in him, the best part of his heart, an essential part of his spirit. He saw the glimmer of tears on her cheeks.
    "You've been crying," he said, touching her cheek. Not since his grandmother had a woman cared enough to cry for him.
    "Yes. I thought you had forgotten me."
    "I could never forget you, Jenny."
    "I'll never forget you, Daniel. Never."
    The joy he felt at her simple confession set off alarm bells. Yet he couldn't bring himself to take his hand away from her soft cheek.
    "I'm so sorry, Jenny, so sorry I made you cry." He traced her delicate cheekbones and the determined lines of her chin. "I never meant to hurt you."
    "I know that."
    Her fingers tightened on his, and his right hand lingered on her cheek. They gazed at each other. He got lost in her eyes, and she in his.
    "Jenny... I don't quite know how to say this..."
    "Shhh." She put her hand over his lips. He tasted the tips of her fingers with his tongue, just one small taste.
    "Be my friend, Daniel," she whispered. "Just be my friend."
    Claire had asked for so much, and Jenny asked for so little. Her request honored and humbled him, and in that moment he swore that he would never betray her trust.
    "Jenny, I will never hurt you again."
    She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. He curved one arm around her back and one hand around her head. Her silky hair twined through his fingers.
    He began to sway, rocking her gently in the cradle of his arms.
    "Is this like dancing, Daniel?" she asked, lifting her face to his.
    "Almost."
    "How lovely it must be."
    And Daniel, who hadn't danced in the moonlight in years, began to hum.
    "What is that song?"
    " 'If I Loved You' from Carousel." He bowed at the waist, bending over her hand. "May I have this dance, Miss Jenny Love-Townsend?"
    "Why, thank you, kind sir." Her smile was radiant.
    She was lithe and graceful in his arms, just as he'd imagined. And he held her close, just as he'd dreamed. With him guiding her, Jenny didn't miss a step. The limp that was so pronounced when she walked was nowhere to be seen, as if the magic of music had made it vanish.
    Daniel wanted to lift his voice to the heavens, but mindful of the hour and the sleeping neighbors, he kept his voice low and intimate. For Jenny's ears only.
    "I'm dancing," she said, laughing. "Look at me. I feel like Cinderella."
    "You should have a thirty-piece orchestra with violins, and a polished floor lit by candles."
    "I don't need that. I have you."
    Moonlight spilled over them, and summer roses growing beside the front porch scented the air with their perfume. Overhead, the stars lit up the sky.
    "Oh, Daniel... I could dance forever."
    So could he. With Jenny.
    They danced on. He went through his repertoire of show tunes, making up words when he forgot the real ones. Somewhere in the distance, a clock tower chimed. Midnight. The hour when coaches turned to pumpkins and dreams turned to ashes.
    "I have to go, Jenny."
    "You'll come back, Daniel?"
    "Yes, Jenny. I'll come back."
    Standing on tiptoe, she touched her lips to his cheek "Good night, Daniel."
    "Night, Jenny."
    She floated across the yard, with her golden hair streaming behind her back. Daniel watched her go, unconsciously holding his hand against the cheek she'd kissed.
    "Sweet