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The music switched abruptly from country pop to swing, and I couldn’t help but grin to hear my favorite kind of music blaring from the surround speakers. His smile was just as big as mine, and the fact it was heartfelt made him look all the more handsome.
“Do you like old music as much as old movies?” I asked. It wasn’t often I found a fellow classics lover who was anywhere near my age.
“Even better,” he said, then rolled his eyes self-consciously, as he stood and held out his arm. “Want to dance? This floor is all but begging for it.”
He was right about the smooth wooden deck, and the music already made my feet twitch in my shoes. A truce, then. I took his arm, and he hauled me up, swinging me around. He was a great dancer, especially good at twirling and dipping me and pretty soon we were awash with laughter. As one of the songs faded, he pulled me close and our bodies pressed together. He was rock hard, and his heat went right through my dress, oddly causing me to shiver at the same time I felt overly warm. His eyes danced over my face and, before I could fully get my thoughts together, he swung me out again when a new song started.
The smell of the meat grilling wafted over to us, and we both took in a deep breath at the same time, causing another bout of laughter.
“Do you get to have cookouts in New York?” I asked when we were close again.
“You can eat whatever you want in New York, whenever you want,” he said, twirling me wildly. Pulling me back, once more I was flush against his hard body. He looked down at me, and I got that heated shiver again. “But there’s something about cooking it yourself, outside, in this insanely fresh air…” He trailed off and dipped me. “What does the air smell like here? I can’t place it. It’s not car exhaust, that’s for sure.”
“That’s the trees,” I said, pointing as we began to sway when a slower song started. “Those are what the town’s named after.”
I was dizzy from all the twirling and glad for the respite of the slow song, but I didn’t want to stop. Strangely, I was having more fun than I’d had in a good long time, dancing like this. We had just had our ten-year high school reunion but, since I was the head of the committee, I’d been so busy overseeing everything I didn’t get to dance at all. Who would have thought I’d be having such a great time with this guy of all people. Maybe I’d forgive him, because he really was so extremely attractive, an amazing dancer, and liked old movies on top of it. Yes, it seemed like he was getting his second chance after all. From the way his hands rested lightly on my back and were slowly easing their way lower, it seemed he was more than fine with the way things were going.
“Dinner’s ready, Fred and Linda,” Harper called.
Jax dipped me one last time and led me toward the table where Raylen was piling way more steaks than necessary for the amount of people present, and Silas uncorked a bottle of red wine.
“What did you call us?” I asked, completely befuddled.
Jax snorted. “I think she meant Fred Astaire andGingerRogers.”
“Yeah, them. The famous dancers from your old folks’ time.”
I was in much too good of a mood to care about her good-natured teasing and moved toward the chair Jax chivalrously held out for me. That was one good thing about men who liked old movies, they learned things like that. My backside barely grazed the seat when my phone went crazy where I’d left it on the lounge chair. Addy brought it to me, and I groaned, seeing it was the hospital.
“No,” Harper said. “Tell them you can’t.”
“I have to,” I said. “I committed to being on call.”
“What do you have to do?” Jax asked.
“I pick up shifts at the hospital in Bayberry.”
“She’s a registered nurse,” Harper said proudly, beaming at me like I was a hero and not just filling in for someone who had a stomach bug.
I read the message and tapped a reply saying I was on my way. “I can’t stay, sorry. Duty calls.”
I really was sorry to leave, a complete turnaround from when I first arrived. It was even nicer to see that Jax looked as disappointed as I felt.
Chapter 5 - Jax
Well, maybe Miss Loblolly wasn’t so bad, after all. The second I got her to snip at me about manners, I knew I was right about her sweet demeanor being at least partly forced. Or maybe Raylen was right, and my past trauma was still very much a part of my life. I was sure I’d left Tasha and her foul memories in the past where they belonged, but it certainly stung when he brought her up. I wasn’t about to let a sociopathic ex ruin dancing to cool old swing tunes though, so I put those days where they belonged—the deepest recesses of my mind—and enjoyed dancing with a pretty woman.
Beautiful, really. At least I thought so the more I got her to laugh, and the feel of her lithe body against mine wasn’t too bad, either. The fact that she appreciated some of the same things I did was a plus, as well. Yes, I’d probably misjudged her. She seemed to have far more grace than I did, treating me so nicely when I hadn’t even properly apologized. It wasn’t as if I didn’t try, but she flew past me when I let her in the house, and then I got a weird, stubborn streak that wouldn’t let me be nice to her right away.
It was mostly because I was bitter about getting torn into by Harper for my faux pas at the theater. Nothing like being berated by your best friend’s new girlfriend. Or old girlfriend, since they were high school sweethearts. It was difficult to keep up with their relationship. She loudly listed all of Luna’s millions of good qualities, all while continuously glancing over at Raylen, as if to see if he was listening and taking note. That’s when I suspected that she was trying to set Raylen and Luna up, which was ridiculous.
More than ridiculous. It gave me an off-putting feeling that dangerously resembled jealousy. Which was also ridiculous. Why would I be jealous of a matchmaking scheme that was destined to crash and burn? It wasn’t like I wished she would try to set me up with Miss Loblolly. Not at all. I was just here to have a good time on vacation.
Which, thanks to Luna, I actually was. The place was far better than expected, the food surprisingly delicious, and for the moment, I was more than happy with the company. When Harper called us over for dinner, even my growling stomach was disappointed to have to stop dancing. I couldn’t wait to get back to it after we ate, or maybe we’d stroll down toward the woods and look at the stars, instead.
“Oh, dang, that’s my phone going nuts,” Luna said, slipping her hand out from under my arm and heading for the chair where she’d left it.
“I’ll get it for you,” Addy called.
