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At the end of the dance, with wide eyes, he breathed out, “You’re so beautiful,” before he walked away embarrassed. I had to say I was flattered.
I was hoping to find Bobby Jay and Ryder after Morgan walked away, but there were more men waiting to dance with me. I accepted a few more invitations, not knowing any of them. They were guests who all belonged to the same group up here, enjoying a bachelor party weekend. A couple of them asked for my number, but I declined, citing I was unavailable. That was true. My heart belonged to someone else. During each dance I kept trying to catch glimpses of him, but he’d either left or he was being elusive. I decided to decline any future invitations when Bobby Jay cut in, irritating the chemical engineer I was dancing with.
“Dang, girl,” Bobby Jay pulled me close, “are you trying to cause a fight tonight?”
I breathed in that muscadine wine scent of his and took comfort for a moment in his embrace. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Only that you have about every man here in heat. Not to mention you’ve got Ryder all fired up. He’s about ready to leave. I told you to be flirty, not incite a riot. You Southern girls don’t know the power you wield, especially you, Miss Shelby.”
I smacked his chest. “You’re being silly.”
“No, ma’am. Now get over to that refreshment table and work your charm on my cousin.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know. Maybe you should come with me.”
“Girl, I’ve got to get my game on out on the dance floor. You’ve got this.” He gave me a gentle nudge. “Now get out of here. I’ll clear a path for you to keep all these idiots away from you.”
He acted like a steamroller, pushing people out of the way. I followed right behind him until we made it to the edge of the dance floor. It gave me a clear shot of Ryder helping himself to a cupcake. Bobby Jay pushed me in the right direction. “Get out of here, girl.”
With a deep breath, I scooted my boots over to Ryder. I hadn’t felt this nervous around him since our first date when he’d picked me up on his motorcycle. I had been warned what dangerous vehicles they were, but his bike had nothing on the way he looked at me that night. I knew my life would never be the same.
I smoothed out my eyelet tank before I braved approaching him. Nonchalantly, I grabbed a bottle of water next to him. He was eyeing another cupcake. They were a piece of heaven on earth; unfortunately, I was still abstaining from sugar.
“Hi.” I tucked some hair behind my ear with my free hand.
He hardly glanced at me. “Hey there.” At least he acknowledged me.
I twisted the cap off my water. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
He narrowed his gorgeous eyes at me, taking note that I was wearing the boots he had bought me. “Not really.” He went right back to staring at the cupcakes, refusing to make this easy on me.
I thought about what I might say if I hadn’t wrecked his world and I was trying to get his attention for the first time. “I downloaded the Worlds Collide app today.”
That piqued his interest. He set down the cupcake he had just picked up, but he didn’t look at me. “What did you think?” There was an eagerness to his tone.
Ooh. This was good. “I’m impressed. I thought the questionnaire was comprehensive and insightful.”
“You created a profile?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “GeorgiaBelle214.”
His lip twitched. “You should change that. For security purposes, it’s not a good idea to use your birthday.”
I wanted to say, what about the day you made me the happiest woman in the world? Was that secure? “Oh. Okay. Any suggestions?”
He faced me, looking intent, not sure what to do with me. “You could drop the numbers or use something generic like 123,” he suggested, albeit begrudgingly.
“I’ll go with 123.” I smiled, trying to disarm him.
It didn’t work. The cupcake won out.
I stepped closer, leaning my arm on the table, making it hard for him to ignore me. “I was thinking you should talk to Mr. Carrington about signing on as one of your partners.”
He turned toward me, still unsure. His tortured eyes searched my own. I wanted desperately to ease the pain I had caused him. He said not a word, only continued to peer into my eyes.
“You don’t have to be a guest here to take advantage of their backpacking excursions or trail rides,” I continued with my idea. “I think it would be a good fit for your company.”
“You think so?” A half smile played on his handsome face.
“I do.” I leaned closer.
His half smile faded, replaced with pressed lips, but in his eyes, I saw the longing. I felt it too as he drew closer. I deeply breathed in his sandalwood scent. My body was hungry for him.
