In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d post a teaser from my 1920s romantic suspense novel, MISTAKEN. As expected with any romance novel, there are many sweet moments from which to choose. My favorites are often found in the early days of a relationship–those awkward moments when a man and woman are circling about each other–so nervous they trip over their own feet in a weak attempt to impress. In this scene, pharmacist Daniel Shepherd struggles to come up with intelligent conversation when faced with a beautiful, and rather mysterious, young woman.
This scene is found on pages 40-42 of MISTAKEN. Enjoy!
The Show Globe
Daniel hefted the teardrop-shaped show globe into place by the drugstore window, suspending it from the silver chains connected to a bracket on the wall. The brilliant blue liquid sloshed gently in the glass casing, the morning sunlight setting it sparkling like a deep tropical sea. Tropical seas sounded pretty good about now. Anywhere but Port Angeles sounded pretty good, in fact. His eyes watered from the mill stench drifting in the early morning air.
He wiped the glass with a damp cloth and stood back to admire the look.
The owner of the pharmacy in Seattle had scoffed at such old-fashioned symbols. Now, seeing it hanging in his Granddad’s window, a swell of pride rose in Daniel’s chest. He still remembered leaning against the counter as a small child watching as his grandfather mixed the chemicals, magically turning the liquid into a dark blood red or a dazzling emerald green. He loved guessing which mixtures of chemicals would create each hue. By his twelfth birthday, he’d mastered all the recipes.
A flash of blue outside drew Daniel’s eye. His pulse quickened as he recognized Laurie Burke, her blue dress a perfect complement to the freshly mixed globe.
Does your grandfather know what you are? Her words haunted him. He deserved an explanation. Daniel rapped on the window, catching her attention. He gave the show globe one final wipe with the polishing cloth before stepping down from the window display and hurrying through the front door.
Laurie’s cool gaze sent goosebumps climbing his arms. He gestured to the window. “What do you think?”
She darted a look at the blue globe. “It’s lovely. My favorite color.”
He couldn’t help staring as her eyes mirrored the exact shade of sapphire he’d spent the morning concocting. “It looks good on you.” The words slipped out before Daniel could stop them.
The young woman took a quick breath, her hand fluttering to her chest.
Daniel scrambled for words. “Your dress—and, and…” he swallowed, “…and your eyes.”
She glanced down as if she had forgotten what she was wearing. “Oh, yes.” A pink glow touched her cheeks. “Well, thank you… Mr. Shepherd.”
Change the subject, you idiot. “I mixed it myself—the show globe. It’s copper sulphate, water and ammonia.” Chemicals, really? Is that going to impress the lady?
She gazed back at the window. “It’s perfect—like the Straits on a warm summer day.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen it during the summer. My Grandfather used to take me sailing when I was a boy. And my mother and I would picnic at Crescent Beach…” his voice trailed off, the memory of standing on the bluff with a mysterious young woman scattering his childhood recollections. He cleared his throat. “Yes, well. Maybe sometime we can—”
She broke in. “Excuse me, Mr. Shepherd, but I really must get to work.”
His heart sank as she walked away. “All right, have a nice day.” He lifted a hand in farewell and stood and watched until she disappeared into the switchboard office, two blocks away.
The sudden realization hit him like a rock between the eyes. He’d meant to confront her about her callous accusation the other day. Instead he had complimented her dress and her eyes and nearly asked her out on a date. He pressed his fingers against his eyelids. This woman had a strange effect on him.
(pages 40-42, MISTAKEN by Karen Barnett).
