Page 16 of Thaw My Heart

“A slow dance,” she smiles even bigger.

Absolutely fucking not. “I’ll see you there, then,” I tip my ballcap to her, retreating away.

Her hand reaches out, grabbing my arm. “I’ll turn down my music at night.”

Slowly, I turn around, assessing her. Is she being serious? This must be some kind of trick… but with her hand still wrapped around my forearm, my decision-making has gone out the window. “Just one dance and you’ll turn it down?”

She smiles like a deviant, finally letting go of my arm. Holding up one finger. “One dance, Cowboy. What’ll it be?”

Well, it’s not like I’m going to get a better offer from this infuriating woman. “Deal.”

We get about five minutes down the road, listening to the local radio station, and none other than “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” by Toby Keith starts playing.

Because fuck me, right?

“Don’t you dare say a word.”

She puts a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing, but then her whole body shakes with laughter. I’ve never heard someone laugh so hard. A sexy and raspy laugh that stirs something hot in my jeans. Like this could get any worse. Now I have to be attracted to her laugh.

With a heavy sigh, I switch to Bluetooth.

After that whole cursed timing, the rest of the forty-five-minute drive to town, to my surprise, is bearable. Sadie doesn’t sing or touch my stereo for the entire ride, respecting my rules. And she finally addresses me as Kit.

Which is… odd, honestly. I’ve gotten too used to her antagonizing me with that ridiculous fucking nickname. She asks a few questions about Aspen Hollow, and then we pretty much sit in silence listening to my favorite brand of music—charming folk music, with alternative rock and metal songs woven in. The past version of me coming out, and my truest self. She even admits to liking one of the songs after her mouth falls open in shock.

“Not a cowboy,” I say.

But she just smiles. It’s weirdly nice having someone to talk to in my truck. Something I’ll never tell her or anyone else.

After I find a parking spot down the street from the bar, as close as I could get for a Thursday night, I open the passenger door for Sadie, waiting to help her out of my lifted truck. Her eyes light up in surprise, staring at my offered hand like there’s something wrong with it.

“I’m surprised you don’t want to see me fall on my ass. Anything to get you out of that dance.”

“I don’t break my deals.” Besides, a deal is a deal, and I honored my word.

“You’re not going to let go right before my feet hit the ground, are you?” Her lip worries, as if I would honestly consider dropping her to the ground like an asshole. That will never be an option for me.

I sigh. “Just take my hand, Sadie.” Another breath of hesitation passes between us. “I won’t let go.”

A small smile curves her lips, and then she finally puts her hand in mine. Her smooth skin sliding into my rough one stirs like wildfire in my gut. She pushes up her corset, repositioning it as she lands safely on the ground.

“Thank you, Cowboy,” she gives my hand a good squeeze before letting go. Just enough of a squeeze that I mentally store the feeling for when I fuck my hand tonight.

“Mhmm,” I gruff, pulling my ballcap lower.

Of course, the second her foot touches the ground, she’s back to calling me Cowboy.

Light snow begins to fall from the sky as we walk side by side towards Elkhorn Tavern, lit up in bright neon lights with Christmas lights already strung up. Loud music radiates from the stage, humming in the frosty night air. Sadie wraps her arms around herself when a cold breeze blows through, shuffling closer to me. Using me as a shield to block the wind.

“You couldn’t have worn something a bit… more?” She’s already the new woman in town, but dressed like this? It would be the Mess Hall all over again, except add alcohol into the mix and Sadie wearing lingerie.

All eyes will be on her.

“You jealous of my rockstar style, Cowboy?”

I huff a laugh and then cringe at the sound of a familiar voice, stopping in my tracks.

“What do you want for Christmas?” Mechanical Santa asks in his deep and jolly booming voice.