QUOTE : Her pretty mouth curled into the beginning of a smile. He’d learned that she doled out smiles sparingly, and so he gave himself permission to study her face, her dainty chin and nose and the slenderness of her lips. If he were to kiss her, he would have to do so tenderly, otherwise he might crush her. Her smile faded. “Reverend?” Miss Pendleton’s voice wavered with uncertainty. When he finally turned his attention and thoughts away from her mouth, he realized he’d made a complete fool of himself by staring at her like a schoolboy daydreaming about his first kiss. From the way she was twisting at her reticule, and the slight pink in her cheeks, he could see that he’d embarrassed her. He prayed she hadn’t been able to read his thoughts. Why in all that was righteous had he been thinking about kissing her anyway? What had overcome him?