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He didn’t know what to do. Now, even more so than before, he knew he couldn’t have a one-night stand with her. She didn’t deserve that, and based on the cautious desire he saw shining in her eyes, he was pretty sure a one-night stand wasn’t what she had in mind. Disappointment—in himself, in the shittiness of their timing—wrapped itself around his heart.
The music changed again, the slow song ending and giving way to a more upbeat Motown tune. He and Ellie stopped moving to the music, but neither one moved to let go of the other. He fought with himself, a tug of war between his conscience and his . . . well, every other part of him. He couldn’t explain it, but he just wanted her. To be around her, to touch her, to know her. It was both the simplest and most complicated feeling. Something about her had grabbed him from the moment he’d laid eyes on her, and it wasn’t letting go.
“Thanks for saving me,” she said. “Again.”
“You’re welcome. Again.”
She bit her lip and looked at him, gratitude and something much deeper softening her features, and against his better judgment he jumped in with both feet. As soon as he did it, he knew it had always been what was going to happen.
“Who are you here with? Besides, uh, Mr. Fantastic, of course.”
She laughed, the sound tugging at his chest. “My friend and her boyfriend. Playing third wheel, as usual.”
“Hey! Me too.”
“Oh, yeah?” Her eyes widened slightly, a wide smile showing off her full lips.
“Yeah. My brother and his girlfriend.” He tipped his head in the direction of their table, where, he noticed, they were watching him with intense interest.
“Third wheels unite,” she said, and pulled her hand out of his. She clenched her fist and raised it, and he obliged, fist bumping her. And then, just when he couldn’t have been any more fucking smitten (a word that never, in his thirty-three years had ever applied to him) with her, she made an explosion sound effect and popped her fist open.
She caught him staring at her. “It only counts if you explode it.”
“Right.” Through the smile threatening to split his face in two, he made his own explosion sound effect and splayed his fingers. Before dropping his hand, he caught hers, weaving their fingers together. He took a deep breath, and when he opened his mouth, his words tumbled out in a rush. “Ellie, I’d love to buy you a drink and get to know you. Talk. Maybe dance some more. That okay with you? I mean, I know you’re here with your friends . . .” He shrugged.
Her eyes crinkled behind her glasses as she smiled, warm and wide. “Let’s do it.”
As he led her through the crowd to the bar, he expelled the breath he’d been holding. “So that was a blind date, huh?”
She leaned forward against the bar, her elbows resting on the gleaming dark wood. “Yep. What gave away that it wasn’t going well?”
He shrugged and raised a hand to get the bartender’s attention. “You.”
“Me?” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and his fingers tingled, wanting to find out if her hair was as silky to the touch as it looked. “What do you mean?”
“Glass of wine?” he asked. She nodded and he ordered their drinks before answering her question. “Your body language. You were turned away from him, and you kept looking around the room. When he tried to touch you, you politely kept your distance. Stuff like that.”
“Jeez. You should be a detective or something.” She smiled and picked up her wine glass, clinking it against his beer in thanks.
Guilt socked him right in the gut, and he tried to tamp it down with a big swallow of his beer.
“Hey, there you are. I’m so, so sorry about Victor. I had no idea he’d turn out to be such an ass.” An attractive woman had appeared beside Ellie, her hand on Ellie’s shoulder. Matt leaned forward, listening with interest.
“I think ass is maybe too kind.” Ellie rolled her eyes, and a possessive kind of pride swelled in Matt’s chest.
The woman’s eyes landed on him, and bright curiosity lit up her face. She extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Ellie’s friend Lauren.”
He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. Matt Grayson.”
“Matt’s the police officer I told you about. The one who helped me out of the snowbank.” Ellie smiled at him, an adorable twist of her mouth to one side that made him instantly want to kiss her.
You can’t kiss her until you tell her the truth. Doing it the other way around would be wrong.
“Hey, Matt. Making friends?” Christie came up beside him, giving his arm a friendly squeeze. He didn’t miss the way Ellie’s eyes tracked the movement, a flicker of worry creasing her brow, just for a second, and damn if that didn’t make him feel ten-feet tall.
“This is Lauren, and this is Ellie. This is Christie, my brother’s girlfriend.” As they all greeted each other, he saw Luke signaling to him, trying to catch his attention. He’d secured a larger table and was waving everyone over. Luke had always been more social than Matt, and he smiled wistfully as he remembered how annoying Luke had been when they were kids, always up for a party. He was going to fucking miss him.
As they all made their way to the table, drinks in hand, he checked his watch. It wasn’t even ten yet. He still had time. But he had to tell her. She deserved to know the truth.
