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11
Shelby
“You’re a great dancer,” Beau purred against my ear as we moved to the slow song.
“Thanks. Dancing is my life.”
He twirled me in his arms, then lowered me in a dip before bringing me upright again. “I can tell.”
I grinned, marveling at how suave he was and how it still did nothing for me. I mean sure, he was gorgeous and sweet and the perfect gentleman. But someone else hogged all of my heart’s desire, for better or for worse. And it was so much more acute than normal after the events of this week. Before that night in the alley, I’d had my feelings for Paul completely under control. But even the whisper of a chance for us to become more than friends was like a dam breaking, unleashing the full power of my suppressed emotions for him. I simply couldn’t get him out of my mind. The anticipation was killing me.
“So, your friend already knew I wasn’t really your date, huh?” Beau asked as we danced.
“Yeah, it came up at dinner with his family last night. He definitely wasn’t happy about it.”
“That’s a good sign.”
I smiled. “I think so too.”
“Well, are you glad we still had the date even though you didn’t need me after all?”
“I am, yes. Because in this town, people don’t quietly gossip. They shout from rooftops. If Paul and I had acted like a couple tonight, there would have been a lot of talk. It’s better this way.”
Beau squeezed the hand that he held as we stepped from side to side. “Do you always do that?”
“What?”
“Consider everyone else before yourself?”
I pursed my lips, considering this. “I don’t think so.”
“No? Okay, how long have you been in love with him?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I sighed, thinking about it. “It really did start out as friendship. He was there for me through some pretty big stuff. Then it grew. If I had to guess, I’d say senior year of high school.”
“That’s a long time. Why haven’t you told him how you feel about him?”
Seeing where he was headed with this, I looked at the ceiling. “Long story short, I was thinking about what was best for him, and I didn’t think it was me.”
“Uh-huh. I told you, I’ve seen this movie a thousand times.”
“Yeah, yeah. Well, it’s been a crazy week, but I’m excited to see where this goes.”
Beau’s eyes shifted to somewhere over my head, then he looked down with a lovely smile. “Well, he’s coming over here. And since the night is winding down, I think I can safely say I’ve done my job as your wedding date and can leave you with him. That is if you’ll get home okay if I go, of course.”
My stomach flipped as I nodded up at him. “Yes, definitely. Thank you. You were an amazing wedding date.”
“It was my pleasure.” As the song came to a close, Beau stepped back and twisted my hand so that he could kiss my knuckles, then held it out for Paul to take as he approached. “Have a great night, guys. It was nice to meet you both.”
“You too,” I said, trying not to lose my mind over the spark of electricity that shot up my arm when Paul took my hand.
That wasn’t normal for us. We’d touched a hundred million times in our fourteen years of friendship, and it had always been companionable and nice, never charged like this. How had so much changed in such a short amount of time?
Paul nodded at Beau before he left us, but his eyes quickly found mine under the colorful glow of the reception lighting. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“How was your wedding date?”
