He hugged her back, and she thought she heard him sniff. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
As if on cue, Hunter appeared, and Dad stepped away.
He drew Britt into his arms. “Everything okay?” he asked.
She watched her father walk to her mother, motioning for her to come with him. Mom smiled and nodded. Britt looked up at Hunter and kissed him. Then she pulled away. “Definitely.”
***
“Daniel Branch, where are you taking me?” Amy half resisted him grabbing her hand and leading her from the table. Not to the dance floor but, of all places, to the janitor’s closet.
He shut the door and turned on the light. “May I have this dance?”
Muted music wafted through the closed door as she looked at the shelves of cleaning supplies and the bucket and mop on the other side of the small space. “How did you find this room?”
“I scoped it out.”
“You planned this?” She shook her head, chuckling. “We could just dance on, like, the dance floor.”
“But it wouldn’t be private.” He moved closer to her. “We haven’t danced together since our wedding.”
Over the past several weeks, they had decided to rekindle the friendship they’d had in high school before they’d fallen in love. It was also a chance for him to earn her trust and for her to give it, although that remained unspoken between them. So far, it was all working out, and her favorite moments were their family dinners, something that had been few and far between when they were married.
She’d also made amends with Max, using Laura as a buffer. She invited both of them and Daniel over for dinner one night, and after apologizing to Max, she made sure he and Laura sat next to each other. When Max walked with her out the door, Laura turned around and mouthed an excited, “Thank you!” The two of them had been dating ever since. Even Daniel congratulated her on a successful match.
But now she and Daniel were alone in the confining closet,and she couldn’t deny she was deeply attracted to him. More so now than when she was younger, and raging hormones had taken control. Now her middle-aged hormones were creating all sorts of other havoc, but that had nothing to do with how her heart was galloping in her chest or her fluttery stomach. Even her toes were curling in her sensible silver low-heeled pumps.
“You didn’t answer me.” He took one step closer. He’d let his curly hair grow out a bit, and now it was a thick mass of black-and-silver locks that looked oh so good on him. Not to mention his gunmetal gray suit, which happened to go so well with her pale-yellow cotton sundress.
“I didn’t?” She moved forward a little, smiling as she looked into his eyes.
“Nope.”
Her breath caught as he lightly put his hand on her waist. Then his fingers brushed over her hips until he was touching her lower back.
“Daniel,” she whispered.
“Yes?” he answered, his voice husky, low, and sweetly shiver inducing.
She put her arms around his neck. “We could just skip the dance and go on to the fun part.”
He grinned, drawing her against him. “Which is?”
The door flew open, jerking them apart. “Oh,excuse me,” Maude said, fluttering her eyelashes in faux innocence. “I thought this was the little girl’s room.”
“It clearly says Maintenance on the door,” Daniel groused.
Her eyes widened. “It does? I guess I misread it. I forgot my reading glasses at home.”
Amy smirked. “They’re hanging around your neck, Maude.”
She glanced down. “Silly me.”
“You saw us come in here, didn’t you?” Amy tried to hide her laughter.
“Perhaps.”
“Wait,” Amy said. “I didn’t know you knew Savannah.”
