Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“Friends?”
He nods and points over to the table where my friends are all at. He must be a groomsman or family with the groom or something. I nod. “Okay, sure.”
I put my hand in his, and he walks a few steps before stopping and then sliding his hands to my waist. “This okay?” he asks.
I nod and rest my hands on his shoulders. This is good. I can dance with this guy so Rhett doesn’t know I’m eating my heart out for him. We sway back and forth on the dance floor and are talking about Cammy and Grant’s wedding coming up when I feel the cowboy stiffen. “You have a boyfriend?”
I shake my head. Shoot. I really don’t want to lead this guy on, but I’m not going to lie to him either. “Nope, no boyfriend. I recently ended an engagement, so I’m not really looking for anything—”
He cuts me off. “How’d the ex-fiancé take it?”
I scrunch my nose up. “Not good. Why are you asking—”
Again, he cuts me off but this time with a strangled laugh, and even though we’re barely moving as is, he slows down even more. “Well, I’m pretty sure he wants you back if the way he’s staring at me means anything. He’s looking at me like I’m a coyote messing with his herd.”
I ignore the fact that he just referred to me as if I’m a cow. Instead, I freeze up because he has to be talking about my ex, Wes. “Where?” I ask as I try to look around.
My dance partner grunts and stops moving altogether. “Fuck. I should have known when the guys were all laughing, daring me to ask you to dance there was something up. Look, I don’t want to die tonight.”
I pull out of his arms. “What are you talking about?”
Before he can answer, I feel hands at my waist. “Everything okay here, Maddie?”
I had fully expected to find Wes standing behind me, but it’s Rhett instead. I turn around and look up at him in surprise and a little bit of relief. “Rhett?”
He’s glaring at the cowboy, and the man starts walking backward with his hands up. “I’m outta here. Thanks for the dance.”
He disappears through the crowd, and I put my hand on my hip, glaring up at Rhett. “What are you doing?”
He shrugs. “I wasn’t sure if you knew the guy, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I stomp my foot and shake my head. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” I suck in a breath and try to calm myself as he leans down.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
I’m looking down, and he puts his hand on my chin and raises it so he can look in my eyes. “Maddie, talk to me. What just happened?”
I let out a breath. “Nothing. I… he said… I just thought you were Wes. I thought it was Wes coming up behind me.”
Someone jostles into me, and Rhett pulls me closer to his chest. “Dance with me,” he says gruffly.
I don’t know what else to do, so I put my hands at his waist and feel his body move as he sways back and forth. His voice is almost lethal. “You’re afraid of him.”
Before I can deny it, he grunts. “Don’t lie to me. It was fear in your eyes, Maddie.”
I lean my head back to look up at him. “I wasn’t. I mean, I never had any reason to… but he said some things when I broke off the engagement and so yeah, I’m a little worried about what will happen when we see each other again.”
His hand goes to the side of my neck, and he holds me. HIs grip is firm but doesn’t hurt me. “He’s not going to mess with you, Maddie.”
I shrug. “You don’t know that.”
He leans down until we’re eye to eye. “He will not mess with you, Maddie. As long as there is breath in me, Wes will not touch you.”
My eyes widen, and all I can do is stare back at him. He’s completely serious, and the way he’s looking at me, there’s no way I can doubt him.
Emotion wells inside me, and in order to hide my feelings, I press closer to him, hiding my cheek against his chest.
His arms encircle me, and I let my hands slide around to his back. After a few minutes, it starts to hit me. I’m dancing with Rhett Granger. He has his arms around me, and the way he’s holding me makes me feel special.
He must feel me tense because he asks, “You okay?”
I don’t want to make any sudden movements. His chin is resting on my head, so I quietly tell him, “Yeah, I’m good.”
We dance, and I know it sounds crazy, but our bodies fit together perfectly. I probably shouldn’t, but I press my body against his, wanting to be as close as I can. Who knows how long this will last, and I refuse to waste a second of it.