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“Do you dance, Mr. Prince?” Yes, he does. I know because I have secret intel from his sister.
He looks hesitant.
“Oh, come on.” I turn around, put my hands on my knees, and start booty popping my way back toward him until my ass collides with him. He laughs, putting his hands on my hips to stop himself from falling over.
Before long, we’re both having a blast. Jesse is smiling wider than I think I’ve ever seen as he dances with surprising grace around the living room in his socks. I’m operating on pure enthusiasm and absolutely zero talent, but having a great time.
The playlist clicks over to a slower song. I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “May I have this dance, Mr. Prince?”
He looks like he wants to say no, but he nods, stepping closer to me.
We’re both breathing hard as we come together, his fingers threading with mine. He puts his other hand on the small of my back and it drifts down, touching the top of my ass. I step inside his space, resting my chest against his stomach and my cheek on him.
We sway like that as my mind wanders. The moment feels so painfully perfect, except for the underlying unknown. I thought that was what I wanted. Leaping into the unknown and letting my life be an adventure again. I thought I wanted to have no idea what comes next.
Right now, though, I just want to know that this doesn’t have to end in flames. I want to know what I’m supposed to do to keep from screwing this up. “I really like you,” I say into his chest.
He doesn’t answer right away. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“I think Jake wouldn’t be that mad,” I try.
“Andi… we can’t. I need you to promise we can still keep this a secret.”
“For now.”
He pulls back, eyes on the floor. “Maybe we should finish decorating. The guys could be back any time.”
“Cool, cool,” I say, pretending I don’t feel like I’m about to cry like a baby from the tiniest hint of rejection I just felt. God. If this is how I am going to act, he’s going to call the whole thing off before it even starts. Be cool, Andi. “I get it.”
He opens his mouth to say more, then bites his lip and reaches for my phone. “Here, let me turn that down some.”
“Okay.”
He turns the music down until it’s just quiet background noise, then gives me my phone and heads back to the box of lights.
I blow out a breath once his back is turned, wipe at my eyes, and kneel in front of the box of decorations.
One step forward, two steps back. Some might call it a set back. Not me. I’d say if you take one step forward and two steps back enough times, it’ll just look like dancing.
18
ANDI
Caroline has her back to us as she fiddles with the coffee machine in her kitchen. It’s sputtering and spraying bits of coffee everywhere. One of her elderly guests is bending over and trying to offer suggestions, but neither of them seem to know what they’re doing.
I’m on the couch in the lobby with her laptop, firing off email after email to confirm various orders and people’s availability for upcoming Frostival events Caroline has planned. Jesse is out front with Jake helping one of Caroline’s guests with their car.
It makes me like Jesse even more when I see how much time he spends helping his sister out. Yes, he has gone off at various points to do things with his team, especially the last two days. Yesterday, they were all gone for a hockey match a few hours away. Mostly, though, the guys are in and out of the cabin. When Jesse isn’t involved in some kind of team activity, he’s in town asking Caroline if she needs help. It’s sweet of him, especially the way he never complains or acts annoyed to be helping.
Jake comes inside. His hands are oily. He glances at me, then pauses. “What are you doing?”
“Work,” I say, raising my eyebrows. “Does Jesse need help out there?”
“Not from you.” He goes into the kitchen and stands beside Caroline to wash his hands in the sink. Caroline looks at him once, then twice, and then clears her throat. “Do you think you could help us figure this thing out, Jake?”
Jake swallows visibly, then nods. “I can try.”
I shake my head at the two of them. Adorable.
