The Mistletoe Kiss. Janet Lee Barton

the meantime, she heard Matt point out a man he called Burl to John and Elizabeth, and tell them that they could go ahead and interview him first, and then when the other workmen took their break, they could speak to them while he stayed with Millicent.

      She turned her camera a bit and got shots of ships at sea, and then she turned back to Matt a bit too fast and became quite dizzy. As Millicent tried to focus, seeing all the open sky behind him, a wave of nausea washed over her. She swallowed hard and forced a smile.

      “You’re white as a sheet, Millicent.” He moved to her side and gripped her arm as if he thought she might collapse. “Do you need to sit down?”

      “No! I’m fine. I—” Dear Lord, please give me strength. I don’t want to embarrass Matt in front of all of his men. And she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of him.

      “You aren’t fine. You look like you’re going to...be sick.”

      She fought back the notion that he was right and stood straight up. Right now, all she wanted to do was run for the hills—if she could find any. And she wasn’t going to give Matt the satisfaction of thinking he was right all along. She gritted her teeth and whispered, “I am not going to be sick, Matt. I can do this.”

      “Millicent, as much as I understand how you want to prove something to yourself, this isn’t the place for a woman, especially one who’s nearly paralyzed with fear being up this high,” Matt said in an exaggerated whisper. “You didn’t have to agree to this... I tried to—”

      She looked him in the eye. “Mathew Sterling, I am not going to quit. I’d like to take some photos of Central Park from up here. Can you help me get my equipment to where the best view would be?”

      He stared at her for several moments, then let out a deep breath and shook his head. “You are without a doubt the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met!” He picked up her tripod and camera and took off in the opposite direction. “Come on, follow me.”

      Millicent made a face at his back and followed. Dear Lord, please help me to do this.

      She felt Matt’s frustration with her as she began to work again. It fairly radiated off him. But he’d have to get over it.

      Millicent took shot after shot of the park, and anything else she found interesting, before turning to Matt once more. “Will it be all right if I get a few photographs of John and Elizabeth and your men?”

      “I suppose so. I’ll move your camera—”

      “No, I’ll use my Kodak for those. I don’t want them thinking they need to pose. I’d rather get some more natural shots.”

      “Do you want me to bring your tripod and camera?”

      She shook her head. What she wanted most was distance from Matt. “No, unless they’re in the way. I’ll just walk around—you don’t need to keep watch over me. I’m not going anywhere close to the edge.”

      “Millicent, I’m responsible for your safety—”

      “I know. And can assure you, I’m not going to do anything to put myself, or your job, in danger. I just want to get in an inconspicuous place to take photos of your crew at work, and to be truthful, you watching my every move makes me nervous.”

      Matt closed his eyes and sighed once more, and Millicent sensed she was pushing his patience to the limit but he did make her nervous. “I’ll just stand right over there and get my shots.” She pointed to a place near the elevator where she’d have a good view of the work going on.

      “All right. But don’t move from that spot without my knowing it.”

      “I promise.”

      * * *

      Matt watched as Millicent took her Kodak out of her bag and walked over to where she could get the shots she wanted. The woman pushed his patience like no other. But at least over by where his men were she’d be safely away from the edge and he’d be able to keep an eye on her no matter where he was. He breathed a sigh of relief as she began to take her snapshots.

      He really thought she might have been sick there for a minute, but he had to give it to her, the woman had grit. He went about his business, making sure the men who weren’t speaking to John and Elizabeth were doing their jobs. It appeared they were trying, although they did occasionally glance over at Millicent. But if they caught his eye on them, they quickly got back to business.

      She was very pretty. She wore a blue skirt and a striped shirtwaist of two shades of blue, and her light blond hair was covered with a white hat trimmed in those same shades of blue, making her eyes the color of the sky. He couldn’t blame his men for looking at her; he found it hard to keep from doing so himself. However, keeping Millicent and the Talbots safe while they were up here was his main job, so he didn’t have to keep from watching Millicent.

      But when he looked over at her, he found her taking aim at him and he quickly turned and spoke to one of his men. This was turning out to be one of the longest mornings he’d ever spent up here. After about a half hour more, John came up to him and told him they were leaving for the day.

      “I can’t thank you enough for this, Matt. We got enough for our first article from talking to Burl and that new young man he’s training. No need to speak to everyone today—not if we’re coming every week.”

      “Good, I’m glad you got what you needed.” They walked over to pick up Millicent’s tripod and large camera and took them over to where Elizabeth stood with her. Matt released a sigh of relief that Millicent wasn’t quite so pale now. Perhaps it’d become easier for her with time.

      “Do you need me to help get any of your equipment down?” Matt asked Millicent.

      “I don’t think so.”

      “I’ll take it,” John said. “No need to disrupt your work any longer than we have. We’ll get a hack and make sure Millicent gets home safely with it all.”

      “Well, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t see you all down safely.” Matt joined them in the elevator for the trip down. “I think Millicent got some good pictures for you today.”

      “Oh, I’m sure she did. That’s why we wanted her to join us. Millicent has a knack for finding the very best shots, some we’d never even think to get,” Elizabeth said.

      Matt set the elevator to go to the ground level and as it picked up speed, he looked over at Millicent to find her looking down and grasping the handrail that ran all the way around the elevator. Her knuckles were white, telling him that she wasn’t any more comfortable in the elevator than she’d been on the top floor. Why was she putting herself through all this? If she was as good a photographer as John and Elizabeth claimed, there’d be other opportunities to get her photographs in the paper, to make a name for herself. It must be pure stubbornness on her part.

      Still, something in the way she held herself made him want to put his arm around her, hold her up and protect her.

      The elevator came to a jerky stop and he couldn’t keep himself from grasping her arm. “Are you all right?”

      She looked up at him, her eyes brilliantly blue in a face that’d gone quite white once more. She gave a brief nod. “I am, thank you.”

      “I should’ve warned you that going down is a faster ride than going up.” Her eyes were huge and he felt horrible that he’d not told her sooner. Even Elizabeth looked a little pale.

      Millicent gently pulled away and followed Elizabeth and John out of the elevator, leaving Matt feeling like a cad for giving her a hard time earlier. “I’ll see you back at Heaton House.”

      She only nodded as John hurried to procure a hack for the group. Matt waited until they were on their way before going back up to where his men were working.

      He pulled out his pocket watch. Only thirty more minutes and they’d break for lunch,