Emmy's eyes widened in surprise, and her heart swelled at Aiden's words. She saw the way his eyes widened too, but Emmy didn't think it was in surprise. In fact, she thought maybe he hadn't exactly meant to say that to her, but that just made it seem all the more genuine, and her heart skipped a beat.
There was a new sort of warmth in her face as she looked at him, and for perhaps the first time in her entire life, Emmy felt at a loss for words. Did Aiden really think she was beautiful? Her tall, slim, handsome, Gifted, blessed friend thought that of her, not her dress, but actually her? She wasn't blind, of course, and she knew she was pretty enough, but... she didn't think she was the kind of pretty that anyone really noticed because she was just... Emlyn Delaney, the farm girl who always had dirt under her fingernails. No one had ever really said anything like that to her and meant it before, and her stomach suddenly felt fluttery and nervous as she wondered for the first time whether Aiden might see her as more than just that farm girl he'd known his whole life.
Her cheeks flushed a deep pink, as the song took her twirling away from him again. When she returned, she danced a little closer than before and said softly, her voice sincere, "Thank you, Aiden. That's real nice of you to say."