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Harper smiled when he stood and held his hand out to her. “May I have this dance?”
She nodded, and Conor drew her into the center of the room, directly under the disco ball. She started to clasp one of his hands, placing the other on his shoulder, but he shook his head, drawing her hands to his shoulders before placing his on her waist in true high school dancing style, the two of them slowly swaying.
“If memory serves…this is how the teenagers dance.”
“Never would have pegged you for a country music fan,” she said.
Conor tilted his head toward Luca, who remained in the booth, watching them. He had fired up a romantic country song, Blake Shelton’s “Nobody But You.”
“Blame his cousin, Liza,” Conor replied. “She and I spent an entire Sunday at Gage and Penny’s house, painting the nursery a few weeks ago.”
“You, not Matt?” Luca rose from the booth.
“He got called away on business and asked me to help Liza. I’m ninety-nine percent sure he scheduled that unavoidable meeting in New York on purpose to get out of painting.”
Luca chuckled. “No doubt Liza bombarded you with country music the entire time.”
Conor nodded. “Yep.”
Luca stood next to them for a second or two. “I was going to wait my turn, but I like this song. Our song,” he declared.
Conor sucked in a long, slow breath as Luca moved to stand directly behind Harper, placing his hands below Conor’s, more on her hips than her waist, joining them in the dance.
Two sways later, Luca had closed the distance, shifting until his chest was pressed against Harper’s back. Then he pushed a little harder, not stopping until her breasts brushed against Conor.
They were close enough now that they shared the same air, and Conor recalled those first kisses in his living room, how close they’d been, how much he’d liked sharing his personal space with them.
At the time, Conor had thought himself so smart for pulling away, putting space between them, thinking professionalism was more important than…this.
He’d been a damn fool.
Because if this was weak, he never wanted to be strong again.
For most of his life, he’d avoided situations that might cause him stress, convincing himself he was better off alone rather than dragging someone down with him. He’d grown up in a house with mental illness. He’d felt the pain, the uncertainty, the fear. His mother’s depression, her dark days, had terrified him when he’d been young. Conor had read enough since to know that panic attacks and depression often went hand in hand. He’d decided a long time ago that he didn’t have the right to ask someone to live under that same dark cloud, and God help him if he had kids because there was no way in hell he’d subject a child to the things he’d gone through.
But now…there was a part of him, a quiet, optimistic part, that was certain if anyone could help keep his anxiety at bay, it was these two people.
Tonight, that hope was stronger than his willpower. He was so fucking tired of being alone, of making himself invisible.
For the first time in his life, he refused to hide in the shadows.
He felt seen, but more than that, he felt wanted.
“This is nice,” Conor murmured, wishing time would stop right here.
“It is,” Harper whispered, lifting her face, inviting him to kiss her.
He kissed her softly as they continued to dance. Her lips parted, her tongue touching his. Conor’s eyes drifted closed, but not before he saw Luca lean forward to place his own kisses to Harper’s bare shoulder.
He felt her shudder, heard the rumbling growl of need low in Luca’s throat, felt his own body heat rising.
Conor broke the kiss, and Harper twisted in his arms, turning until, now, like before dinner, they were wrapped in a three-way embrace. Luca pressed his lips to Harper’s, kissing her with that same hunger Conor had felt from the man during their own kisses.
Then Luca turned toward him, gave him the softest of smiles before laying claim to Conor’s lips in a kiss so hot, it could render him to ash.
Over and over, they switched partners as he kissed Harper again, then Luca, then watched the two of them. Conor had never been a part of anything more incredible.
They continued moving in time to the music, as Blake sang about the person he couldn’t live without.
