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I nod. “I promise.”
“Now, let’s go back to dancing,” he murmurs, his hand on my waist, our bodies swaying to the music that fills the air. It’s like coming home, this feeling of being in his arms again. I never realized how much I missed it until now. I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes, letting the music carry me away.
When the timer goes off, he stops moving and gazes at me, our faces close together. I catch my breath as he studies my face, his gaze moving down my mouth. My heart is racing. I don’t want him to let go. I want him to keep dancing, guiding me across the room because, like a memory unlocked from long ago, my body knows to follow.
“Thank you for the dance,” I whisper though he hasn’t let me go yet, our hands still intertwined, his other hand resting on the small of my back.
“Thank you for dancing with me,” he whispers, my hand still in his and his other hand warm against the small of my back. His voice is lower, huskier, his gaze still on my mouth.
“You’ve very welcome,” I whisper, wishing he’d kiss me. I can see the ache in his gaze, sense the need in his arms, feel the warmth of his face as he lowers his head, our mouths mere inches away.
Suddenly Todd clears his throat and pulls away. “Ready for dinner?”
“Todd…” I want to tell him that I felt beautiful in his arms and that I felt seen for being me for the first time in a long time. I want to order him to kiss me already.
But I don’t. I let my moment of vulnerability pass instead. After all, I’m only passing through.
“Ready as ever,” I murmur and step away.
ChapterFour
TODD
I should have kissed Devyn last night.I should have gotten out of my head to allow myself the possibility that maybe, just maybe, it’ll work this time. After all, Devyn was my first love and for three years, even though we didn’t have much, we were content. Or maybe I was fooling myself then, too engrossed in trying to make it as a screenwriter to notice she needed more than my love.
My brother getting injured during his deployment gave me a purpose I never knew I needed after Devyn left. It gave me a reason to keep going even as their debut album hit the charts and made them a household name, the songs she sang about the love between her and Harrison.
How can I blame her for choosing him when he gave her the world? All I could give her were those days and nights in that little apartment we shared for three years, living day to day on whatever we could with odd jobs here and there as I pursued my dream of writing the next Hollywood blockbuster.
And that’s why I’m not too fond of the things I’m feeling right now, like how my body hummed as we danced in the kitchen last night or the fact that I haven’t stopped replaying the kiss I never took advantage of. Besides, in a day or two, Devyn’s camper will be fixed, and she’ll be gone from my life again.
Why would she stay anyway? Life off the grid isn’t for everyone, certainly not for someone who’s lived in mansions or traveled all over the world in luxury. She deserves so much more than all this dust and wind.
“You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?”
I look behind me to see Sawyer sitting on his haunches in front of the water filter system while I’m in the hallway tidying up the utility closet. We’re doing the monthly maintenance of our homes, beginning with the one he and his family live in. I could have moved the schedule to next week so I could spend time with Devyn, I needed some time to think.
I just never expected my nosy younger brother to be keeping tabs.
“Didn’t realize you were saying something.”
He chuckles. “That’s because you were somewhere else the whole time. So, how’s Devyn? Is she performing at the festival? I hear Harrison is going to be there.”
“As far as I know, she’s here because her camper broke down,” I reply. “She’s not performing.”
Sawyer slips the filter mesh back into the slot and switches the unit on before getting up. “She’s not getting back together with that guy, is she? Because that’s what people in town are saying.”
“Nope. She’s just passing through.”
“Is that what you want?”
Sawyer’s question catches me by surprise. “It’s not like I can stop her from moving on.”
“You can ask her to stay.”
I scoff. “Who made you Cupid all of a sudden?”
“Since you stopped listening to a word I said since you got here.” Sawyer pauses, grinning. “You also have this look on your face like you’ve been struck by lightning. The good kind, the one they say never strikes twice, but with you, it has.”
