Page 61 of Blue Jean Summer

Hayes snickered as the distant sounds of Shania Twain being turned up inside the bar caught my attention.

“Oh my god!” I shouted as I broke free of Hayes’s arm and bolted for the bar. “It’s my song!”

Hayes stuffed Hallie in the back seat of his SUV. Savannah bolted over to join me, but Levi was faster, hauling her toward his truck.

“No, you don’t,” Hayes grunted as he grabbed me around the waist.

I slipped free. “One more dance! You can dance with me!”

And then I was flying. Something hard and shoulder-like hit my stomach as the world turned upside down.

“Did you throw me over your shoulder?!” I shrieked.

Hayes grunted as he took long strides back toward the SUV. “You’ll just keep running if you stay on your feet. I’ve never heard of a track star drunk, but here you are.”

“Carrying me over your shoulder is a total cowboy move,” I wheezed between drunken giggles.

“That’s hot!” Savannah shouted as she craned her head out of Levi’s truck window.

The world tumbled again as I was placed gently into the front seat of the SUV. Hayes shut the door, then slipped back inside for a moment.

I looked back at the bar, forlorn. “But—but I need to pay!” And shake my ass to Shania.

Hallie snored like a foghorn from the back seat.

“You’re squared up,” Hayes said when he returned and slid behind the wheel.

“You and your credit card,” I grumbled. My eyes grew heavy as the lights of the bar faded into the distance.

When I opened them again, I was being carried up the stairs.

“Where’s Hallie?” I mumbled as I snuggled into his broad chest.

“Mason’s helping her up to the west wing,” Hayes said.

My Hayes. The sound of his voice brought a smile to my face.

“We’re getting married soon,” I said with a yawn as I was gently laid on top of a bed. My bed. My Hayes was carrying me to my bed. The notion made me burst into a fit of tipsy giggles.

Hayes chuckled as he helped me out of my shoes. “We are.”

“You excited?” I murmured as I flopped over onto a pillow.

Hayes sighed. “You should get out of those clothes.”

“You gonna take ’em off of me?” I said as seductively as I could while three sheets to the wind.

“Not tonight,” he said sternly.

I liked the open-endedness of that. “You never told me if you were excited to get married.”

Amusement danced in his eyes as a smile slipped. “I am.”

“Really?!” I squealed.

Hayes chuckled. “Really.”

“I found a wedding dress,” I said with a sigh as I tried to keep my eyes open.