Page:Caroline Lockhart--The full of the Moon.djvu/116

 Gallagher for instance," she looked at him slyly.

"Ah—you know what I mean!"

"How should I if you don't tell me?"

He moved uneasily.

"Better than anybody!"

She considered.

"Better than Edith Blakely?"

Ben hesitated, and Nan suddenly felt more than a pang of jealousy.

"More than Edith Blakely?" The demand this time was vehement.

"More than Edith Blakely," he admitted.

After another silence Nan said innocently:

"It isn't so much to say that you like me better than anybody."

"What would I say?" he asked, surprised.

"Can't you imagine?" Her eyes danced.

He shook his head.

"You might say that you love me."

He drew back startled.

"Lord! I couldn't say that!"

She took her hand away. "Of course not, if you don't feel it."

Tain't that," he explained anxiously; "but that's soft. That's talkin' like a novel."