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“I’ll give that nice young man one of my turns,” Granddaddy said, and it took all I had not to fire him a dirty look. He waggled his brows at me, all mischief, and I took a sip of my drink to keep from saying something smart-assed.
“Aww, come on, Mulaney. The guy asked you for a dance, not for you to marry him,” Mitch said, and I choked on my drink, coughing and spluttering much to everyone’s amusement.
Easton patted my back until I stopped, then he held out his hand in a silent invitation. Or maybe it was a demand.
“Fine.” I shot to my feet, ignoring Easton’s hand and pointing around the table. “But all y’all should remember this is Christmas, and you’re supposed to be nice to people.” That got a few more chuckles.
“That goes for you too, darlin’,” Ruby said, giving me a pointed look. The whole damn lot of them were ganging up on me.
I stalked to the dance floor where no one—I mean no one—was dancing anymore.
I could feel curious eyes on us as Easton gathered me in his arms. When I didn’t move, he put my arms around his neck. One song transitioned into another, the raw, raspy voice of Chris Stapleton sang for me to fire away. Easton flipped the ball cap I had on backward.
“That’s better.” His lips turned up as he studied me. “Relax, Heartbreaker.”
Easton had called me that from the beginning. Coming out of another man’s mouth, it would have been infuriating, derogatory even, but when Easton said it, he somehow made the word flirtatious and reverent at the same time. He never used the nickname when anyone else could hear, like it was private, only for us. I’d never figured out why he’d bestowed the name upon me, but every time he used it, I felt special, even when I didn’t want to.
I gave him a frosty look. “You’re trying to make me uncomfortable in front of my family,” I said, and he closed the small gap between us, our bodies now flush. Mine came alive.
“I wanted to dance with the most beautiful woman here.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what? You’ve been putting me off, and I’ve let it go on too long. It stops now.”
“You’re the one that hung up on me earlier,” I pointed out. “I’m not having this conversation with you here.”
“Then let’s go somewhere else,” he offered easily, gesturing toward the door.
I glared at him. “Not today.”
“See, that’s the problem. Tomorrow never comes with you.”
“You know how to fix this,” I hissed, our faces so close I could feel his warm breath against my skin.
“Your way isn’t an option.”
“It is. You just don’t want to see it that way.”
His jaw ticked in frustration. Tension vibrated between us, yet somehow we swayed in time to the music.
Here we were, arguing again when Loretta was over at the table possibly enjoying her last Christmas.
I rubbed his back and saw the frustration evaporate. “She’s strong.”
He let out a long sigh. “I know.”
“I—” Words escaped me. All I knew was I couldn’t stand to see him hurting.
We made a slow circle around the dance floor, letting the music fill the silence between us.
“Did you mean what you told your nieces?” he asked when the song was almost over. I looked at him quizzically, and he clarified. “About commitment? Keeping your promises?” Fucker. He was going to make me eat my own words. “You’re a lot of things, but hypocrite isn’t one of them.”
“Easton . . .”
He leaned closer, his lips only a whisper away from my ear. “I’ve been patient. I’m not giving up what’s mine. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep it. To keep you.”
The threat sent a shiver down my spine. When the song finished, he leaned in close. The soft kiss he left on my cheek before he walked away nearly broke me.Not here. Not now.Easton knew I wasn’t a hypocrite, and he wasn’t a liar.I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep it. To keep you.
