“Oh, too bad, McAllister.You owe me a beer,” I said with a grin.
He moved to stand next to me.“You’re up, Halle.”
She untangled herself from Luke’s arm and handed him her beer.“Get ready to weep, boys.I’m going to sink the rest.”
Halle lined up but all I was focused on was how close Owen was standing to me.How I felt his body heat.Smelled that faint twinge of cologne I scented in his truck.And how I wanted him to sling his arm over my shoulders.
Tonight, I wasn’t a Guardian.I wasn’t an heiress.I wasn’t a walking target.
I was a girl in her hometown, shooting pool and drinking cheap beer with people who still knew her name.
And for the first time since I’d come back, that felt like enough.
Chapter Twenty-Three
AfterHalleandIobliterated Owen and Luke two out of three, I slid the cue back into the rack, fighting off a yawn and the warm buzz of cheap beer.
Owen was at my side like he’d been there the whole time.
“Want to dance?”he asked.His voice slid over me smooth as silk.
And immediately my cheeks flushed.“Oh—”
“One dance,” he said, already taking my hand.“Then I’ll walk you to your car.”
Such a gentleman.It was hard for me to resist.I conceded.
“One dance, McAllister.Then I’m done for the night.”
As we stepped onto the dance floor, George Strait crooned about crossing his heart and promising to give it his all.Which felt far too fitting for the man who was putting his hand on my waist and holding the other against his chest.I was acutely aware of the slow, steady beat of his heart.And something else… something that seemed to recognize me.
Magic.His.Humming under the surface curling toward me.
It was such a heady feeling that dizziness swept through me.
But I filed it away with everything else I wasn’t ready to unpack.Because I wasn’t sure if he was doing it on purpose or if it was a thing that happened.
His head bent low next to mine, his breath warm at my temple.And for that one suspended moment, there was no one else in Neon Cowboy except him and me and George Strait.
He said nothing.I said nothing.We held onto each other as the words hit me like he was saying them to me himself.Which did something to me.Made my throat tighten and my eyes burn.
I didn’t want to wait anymore.My high school crush was a man, and he was holding me in his arms making me feel safe and warm and cherished.Even Mr.Evans thought we’d end up together.
And now that I was home, now that he was still here, maybe it was time to stop fighting those feelings and lean into them.
“Owen?”
“Yes?”His voice was soft in my ear.
The song was ending and I knew it was now or never.
“Will you drive me home?”And before I lost my nerve, I added, “And stay?”
He pulled back, those gray eyes landing on me with question and a hint of uncertainty.“Are you sure?”
I nodded.“Yes, Owen.I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
And as I said that, AC/DC’sThunderstruckdetonated from the jukebox.
