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“Why not?” He shot me a wicked grin that managed to make my stomach flutter. This was unexpected. What was I supposed to do? I should go home where it was safe and pull cheap sheetsover my head and call it a day. However, what I wanted was to stay and flirt and dance. And kiss him.
“Why do you want to dance with me?” I asked.
Caspian looked me right in the eyes. “Because I want to know what you feel like in my arms.” He got up to go get the pitchers, and I sat there, reeling, as my internal mental war continued. When I glanced up, Sammie was watching me from the other end of the table. She was onto me. That much was obvious. How could she not be? We were huddled at one end of the table with eyes and ears only for each other. Plus, she’d almost caught us kissing.
Was I about to do it for real this time?
12
CASPIAN
Thad followed me up to the bar. I thought at first he wanted to warn me away from making a move on my pastry chef. However, I was mistaken. He wanted to talk about Sammie.
“Do you think I should ask her to dance?” Thad asked, slipping onto the barstool next to me while we waited for our pitchers.
One of the waitresses sidled up to us, tossing her blond hair behind her shoulders and making eyes at my brother. “Hey, Thad. Long time no see, huh?”
“Hey, Vicky.” Thad smiled politely, but I could tell he didn’t want to engage with her. Not that her attention was unusual. Thad had every single woman in town after him.
“Did I hear that Atticus married Annie Armstrong?” Vicky asked.
“Yep. Today.” Thad spoke woodenly and without meeting her gaze. He didn’t like Vicky. Why? They’d graduated from high school the same year. I couldn’t recall if they’d been friends or not. Maybe they’d dated? I would put my money on the latter by the way she was looking at him. Kind of like taking a second bite of an apple pie you knew was really good.
“Isn’t it crazy that we have a movie star in Bluefern?” Vicky asked. She blinked, fake eyelashes like furry fans. I could practically feel the breeze from them.
“Yes, sure is.” He smiled again, this time without the corners of his mouth actually lifting. It was a little disconcerting, that straight-lined smile. I knew from experience it meant he’d had about enough. Thad might be the most generous person in the world, but when he was focused on something else, he didn’t want to be distracted. Vicky was not getting the hint.
The pitchers were ready for us. I laid out some cash, and Thad and I each took one and returned to the table. A quick glance behind me told me Vicky did not appreciate the rebuff. She glared at Thad’s back and said something under her breath. I had a feeling it was not for best wishes. Some girls didn’t know how to get a clue that a man was not interested. What if I was that way? What if Elliot wanted nothing to do with me and I was pushing it too far? I was her boss. I’d told myself to be careful, but all night I’d been flirting with her with everything I had. All I needed was to bring shame to the family because I got hit with a harassment suit. I had a friend from culinary school who had just lost his job because of this very thing. Being canceled was a real fear. Men in positions of power had to be diligent.
Thad caught my eye, clearly wanting me to weigh in on whether he should ask Sammie to dance or not. I nodded but mouthed, “Be careful.”
“What should he be careful about?” Elliot asked as I returned to my seat. If only we weren’t so crowded in here. My leg kept touching hers, which was bad on two levels. One, I didn’t know if it made her uncomfortable. Two, her warmth was giving me thoughts I’d rather not have.
“Nothing much.” Thad would not want me telling Sammie’s friend about how he felt. Women, God bless them, didn’t keep that kind of thing from one another.
She nodded but didn’t look as if she believed me. Regardless, she didn’t ask a follow-up question, instead sipping from her mug. When she looked up at me, she had a foam mustache.
“You’ve got a little something here.” I tapped above my upper lip.
“Thanks.” She blushed, reaching for a napkin and wiping her mouth.
“We don’t have to dance if you don’t want to,” I said.
“You already asked me. You can’t take it back.”
“Fine, but I’m warning you, it’s been a long while since I danced.”
Both dark eyebrows raised. “Me too. Unless you count what we do in the kitchen.”
I laughed and held out my hand. “We’ll do our best not to step on each other’s toes then.”
She gave me her warm hand. Butterflies pranced around my stomach. Tingles went up my arm. How was it possible to be this attracted to someone?
The dance floor was filled with couples, all swaying to the beat of a ballad sung by the aging hippie at the microphone. I led her to the far corner of the dance floor, away from the prying eyes of my family.
“Shall we?” I asked, holding out my arms.
She moved into me, ignoring my hands and simply wrapping her arms around my neck. “I don’t know how to do any of that country swing stuff.”
