Nuts. He had to stay away from that punch. It was making him think things... feel things... he didn’t want or need.
He paused, then started to go back inside, only to stop himself. He’d made an appearance, had a chuckle at Erma and Jasper’s expense, and had a mostly humiliation-free dance with Harper. No need to hang around any longer. He could spend the rest of the evening working on his classic GTO, something he hadn’t been able to do much of lately. Besides, no one would notice he was gone anyway. Not a pitiful thought. Only a factual one.
Rusty turned around and walked outside, then made his way to his truck. When he opened the door, he slipped off his jacket, caught a whiff of Harper’s perfume, and smiled.
***
“We saw Rusty carrying you out of the gym.”
“What was all that about?”
“Are you keeping something from us?”
Harper turned away from the hazy mirror in front of her and stared at her BFFs. Anita, Riley, and Olivia had followed her into the women’s bathroom, and like most things in Maple Falls, it needed a makeover. Earlier she’d apologized to all three of them, then added two more apologies to Anita for almost ruining her special day. And because they were the best friends in the world, they’d all forgiven her.
Apparently they were also the nosiest.
She leveled her gaze at Riley. “No, I’m not keeping anything from you.” Then she looked at Anita. “Rusty stepped on my toe. And that, Olivia, was why he carried me out of the gym.”
“He tends to do that,” Anita said, tucking a strand of her long auburn hair that had escaped from her updo behind her ear. “I had a bruise on the top of my foot from our dance last year, but I never told him about it.”
Harper turned around and checked her false eyelashes. They were fine, but she needed something to do or her friends might see how inexplicably unnerved she was. Not because Rusty had picked her up, although that was pretty awesome. He had a rock-solid torso, something she’d noticed when they were slow dancing together.
Ah, that slow dance. Up until he stepped on her toe, she had felt... Well, she wasn’t sure what she’d felt. Only that it felt good.Maybe we can dance again.
But when she and her friends went back to the reception, he was nowhere in sight. She went to the beverage table and slipped on her heels. Jasper stood there, looking grouchier than he usually did at wedding receptions, although he never missed a single one. “Have you seen Rusty?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not for a while.”
“Okay, thanks.” She went to the entryway of the community center and stepped outside. Now that the sun sat lower in the sky, the heat wasn’t as bad, although still oppressive. She searched for Rusty’s truck and didn’t see it. He’d left.
She was surprised at the bit of disappointment she felt. It wasn’t like she hadn’t danced with other men before at these things. At Riley’s wedding she’d hit the floor with a number of guys, both married and single. She’d even slow danced with Jared, the unmarried pastor of Amazing Grace. And of course Kingston at Riley’s reception and twice this evening.She liked dancing with him because he was an exceptional dancer, having been forced by Karen to go to cotillion when he was a kid. But while those dances had been fun, she’d neverfeltanything. She wasn’t even sure she’d felt anything with Rusty.
Or had she?
As if he’d read her thoughts, Kingston approached and held out his hand. “Dance?”
Harper opened her mouth to say yes, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat. “Um, not right now. I hurt my foot a little while ago while I was dancing.”
“Oh. Want me to take a look at it?”
“No,” she said, waving her hand. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
He nodded. “You should probably stay off of it to keep it from swelling.” He eyed her feet. “I’m sure those heels aren’t helping.”
Her toe barely hurt, but she nodded anyway. “Thanks for the advice, Dr.Bedford.”
“Anytime. Just save me a dance at the next wedding.” Then he gave her a sly grin. “Maybe you’ll be Maple Falls’ next blushing bride.”
“Hey, I thought this was a no-teasing zone.”
“No teasingme,” he said. “You, on the other hand, are fair game.”
She smirked. “Laugh it up, Chuckles.” As she slipped off her shoes, she spied Olivia sitting by herself at the bridal table. “Olivia’s free. Why don’t you dance with her?”
A strange look crossed his face. “Uh, sure.”
She watched him slowly walk over to the table, then pause before he reached Olivia. Olivia looked up fromthe nearly empty plate in front of her. Her big brown eyes widened even more as Kingston said something to her. She looked down at her lap.
