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As Ben had suggested, the place was packed with people I recognized from the Roaring Fork and others I remembered seeing at the Flying R’s barn.
Given men once again outnumbered women five to one, I spent a lot of time on the dance floor. Every time someone else asked me to dance, Buck would cut in after a couple of minutes.
All night, I felt like one of those women I’d always envied—the ones with husbands or boyfriends who looked at them like the sun set and the moon rose with them. Buck was affectionate, but not so much that it made me uncomfortable, especially since Ben was that way with Olivia.
“I need a rest,” Liv said, holding up her hand when a man I didn’t know asked her to dance. “And so does Stella,” she added, pointing in my direction.
“Thanks,” I said, lifting my drink in a toast to her.
“I’m too old for this,” she muttered, laughing. “I’m a grandmother, for God’s sake.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute.”
“It’s true,” said Ben. “We’re grandparents.”
The way he beamed made me smile. If I weren’t with Buck tonight, I would’ve been eaten up with envy. Instead, I was happy for them.
Over dinner, Olivia talked a little bit about the accident that had almost paralyzed her, and about how she never dreamed that after she pushed him away, Ben would take her back. “The universe had other plans for us,” she said, turning to cup her husband’s cheek.
I thought about Ali and Cope, and how it seemed as though the universe had conspired to bring them together too. I’d watched it happen. At the time, I was heartbroken, but now, I was as happy for them as I was for Ben and Olivia.
Buck put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. He rested his cheek against my hair. “I can’t stop thinking about your fashion show this afternoon.”
I laughed. It hadn’t been as much fashion show as striptease after I put on a pair of cut-off shorts that barely covered my ass. I’d wanted to surprise Buck with them, but when it was the first thing he wanted me to put on, I knew he’d caught me adding them to my pile of purchases.
The man made me feel more desirable than I’d dreamed possible. He was insatiable when it came to sex and never failed to make me feel like I was the only woman in the world he wanted to be with.
Fighting against doubt and insecurity was nearly impossible for me, but somehow, I managed to push it far enough back that I didn’t allow it to ruin my time with him.
I felt someone watching me and glanced at the woman sitting on the far end of the table. She was the one who’d been watching Buck and I dance at the barn, although tonight she was here as Porter’s date. It was obvious, to me at least, that she’d much rather be on Buck’s arm.
When Holt announced he was about to play his last song, Buck pulled me to my feet. I didn’t recognize the piece, but it was clear he did. “I met a girl who stole my heart,” he spoke when Holt sang the same words. I looked into his eyes.
“I met a man who did the same thing.”
“Am I that man, Stella?”
It struck me then that Buck wasn’t teasing. It was unfathomable to me that a man as fucking hot as he was could be insecure.
“Answer me, Stella.”
“Yes, Buck. You are that man.”
He pulled me so close that our bodies were flush and I could feel his hardness pressing against me. We stayed on the dance floor until Holt’s song ended and then clapped along with everyone else in the bar. I followed Buck’s brother’s line of sight and caught a look pass between him and the woman he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off all night.
“He looks smitten,” I murmured.
“I don’t know,” said Buck.
I cocked my head and scrunched my eyes. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Looks to me like he’s in love. I don’t think he’s the only one who is, either.”
I stiffened out of reflex, something Buck didn’t fail to notice, although he didn’t comment on it.
Love? Jesus. He couldn’t be talking about him and me, could he? And if he was, how did that make me feel? Scared. No, wait. Terrified. At the same time, him loving me would be like a dream, wouldn’t it?
Buck put his finger beneath my chin and lifted my head. “Stop worrying, Stella. We’ll take every day as it comes, okay?”
He brushed my lips with his, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Porter’s date’s scowl. There was trouble brewing there, and it left me feeling unsettled. More, I felt for Porter, who was clearly crazy about her.
