Bea felt like she was dancing on air. Was she really this close to Devin right now? Wow. He was gorgeous.
Normally she was tongue-tied around him, but now she couldn’t stop flirting with him. It was probably because of the champagne and that she was deliriously happy for Esme and Ryder. And she might’ve been delirious from hunger, too. She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. But Bea’s need for food faded as her and Devin’s hands clasped a bit tighter.
One song moved into the next, and the distance between them started shrinking to mere inches as they moved through the maze of the dance. Devin spun her around, and Bea couldn’t wait for the turn to end, anxious to feel his warmth and the solid strength of his arms around her again.
The DJ cued up a slow song, and they didn’t hesitate in getting close. As she wound her arms around his neck, he slipped his hands around her waist.
Each gentle sway was a tease as they brushed against one another, until finally she was pressed up against him. Desire warmed inside of her like the first sips of champagne. Savoring the heady feeling, she closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe.
Devin’s shaky exhale feathered along her cheek, and she felt a small shudder move through him.
It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one affected.
The melody ended far too soon, and the DJ picked up the pace with a faster song.
Bea and Devin stopped moving, but she remained in his arms at the edge of the floor, out of the way of enthusiastic dancers.
“I’ll escort you back to your table.” He stepped back and took hold of her hand.
“No...wait. I haven’t eaten yet.”
Concern furrowed his brow. Before she could explain, he led her off to the side of the room. “You should have said something. I wouldn’t have held you up.”
“You didn’t hold me up. I liked dancing with you...a lot,” she confessed. And even though they’d stopped, she wasn’t ready for the moment to end.
Going out on a limb, Bea glanced out the window at the gazebo. “We could sit outside.” She rushed to explain, “It will feel strange if I’m sitting at the table eating when no one else is.” As if it had a mind of its own, her hand tightened a bit more around Devin’s.
He brushed his thumb over the back of it, and her heart skipped a beat. “Fix yourself a plate. I’ll wait for you outside.”
In the lodge’s small kitchen, the area was already cleaned up. Most of the staff had departed except for Tanya, who was making one last check for any of the café’s supplies, and the scaled-down waitstaff crew.
It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago they’d been in the thick of it, preparing plates for the guests.
“Thank you for doing such a great job. And for this.” Bea pointed to the plate in her hand piled high with food.
“I’m so glad we pulled it off.” Tanya smiled. “Now people will know what to expect when the Cowgirl Café opens.”
I’m not sure I’ll ever eat there. She ruined my sister’s birthday celebration...
Bea had overheard the remark from the woman at Devin’s table. She’d just decided to ignore it and greet everyone with a smile. But then Devin had stood up. As soon as he’d taken her hand, she’d forgotten about the woman’s snarky comments. Well...maybe she hadn’t completely forgotten. She just didn’t care. Dance with Devin, or talk with people who thought it was okay to gossip about her at her sister’s wedding? The choice hadn’t been that hard to make.
“Oh, and I can’t take full credit for the plate,” Tanya added. “Make sure you thank Esme for that. She noticed you hadn’t eaten and asked me to set aside some food for you.”
Warmth flooded through her. Even on her own wedding day, her little sister was looking out for her.
As Bea headed toward the door to join Devin, she passed by the dance floor. She spotted Esme and Ryder, holding each other close. They swayed slowly to their own beat, oblivious to the fast timing of the song and the energetic dancers around them.
They were so lucky to have found each other. A longing for something just as wonderful in her own life hit Bea. Maybe someday...
Outside, the chairs were still set up, and Devin stood in front of the stairs leading to the gazebo.
As she walked toward him, a hint of strange, giddy excitement hit her. She hadn’t walked down the aisle at her first wedding. Was this a small glimpse of what that felt like?
He pointed to the structure. “I set up chairs for us. I thought you could use one as a table.”
“That’s perfect—thank you.” She strolled up the stairs, took a seat, and did just as he’d suggested.
Devin put his suit jacket on the back of the chair beside her before taking a seat.
She offered him the extra rolled silverware she’d brought along.
He held up his hand in refusal. “After all the running around you’ve been doing today plus me making you dance, I know you’re starving.”
“There’s way too much here for one person, and you didn’t make me dance with you.”
“I kind of did. I ambushed you.”
“Yeah, you did.” She winked at him. “And the only way I’ll forgive you is if you help me eat some of this.”
A smile tugged at his mouth. “Well, if it’s the only way, I guess I don’t have a choice.” He accepted the silverware. “Actually, you don’t have to twist my arm. The food was excellent. I’m looking forward to eating at your restaurant.”
“Thank you.” The thought emerging in her mind slipped out. “I wish your restaurant critic and your tablemates felt the same way as you do.”
“So you did hear those women talking. I was hoping you hadn’t. You shouldn’t have to engage with negativity about the café, especially at your sister’s wedding.” He paused. “About the restaurant review...”
“No, you’re right. Let’s not spoil this.” On a reflex, she briefly laid her hand on his arm. “I don’t want to talk about the grand opening. I’m having a good time right now. I’d rather find out more about you.”
What looked to be discomfort flickered in his eyes. Maybe she’d misread their chemistry and Devin was just politely sharing a meal with her. Disappointment set in. Bea prepared to give him an out.
But genuine interest came back into his expression. “Do I get to find out more about you, too?”
“Are you asking me as a journalist?”
“Nope. As me,” he replied.
“Then ask away.”
His gaze held hers. “Ladies first.”
Talking and sharing a meal flowed as easily between them as dancing together.
Favorite songs. Hot or mild salsa. He liked his off-the-charts spicy. Wait. Had she really just confessed her go-to movies were holiday films...all year long? Devin was just so easy to talk to, and watching his smile turn into an unconscious sexy grin was an experience of its own.
He leaned closer as he relayed a story about a Great Dane he’d recently fostered. “I’m sitting on the couch watching the game, eating vanilla ice cream with crumbles of salted-caramel chocolate chip cookies—”
“Hold on. Not just cookies, but crumbles of cookies?”
He shook his head. “No. Not just any cookies. Salted-caramel chocolate chip cookies. Crumbling them is the only way for them to perfectly blend with the ice cream. Everyone knows that.”
She feigned seriousness. “I didn’t, but of course that makes perfect sense...”
He kept a semi-straight face as humor gleamed in his eyes. “Glad I cleared that up for you. So, Chumley starts chasing his tail, like dogs do. Just as I put my bowl on the coffee table to check something on my phone, I see disaster coming. Before I can stop it, he loses his balance and his paw—or maybe it was his tail—hits the bowl, and it flies across the room, slams into the wall, and shatters. Chumley does a duck-and-cover move, then glances up at me with a what-did-you-do look on his face. I swear he thought it was my fault.”
As Bea laughed with Devin, his sexy grin reappeared, and all she could do was stare at him.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“No.”
In fact, everything felt just right. Maybe a little too right. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this good with a guy. Or wanted a kiss so badly. The desire to feel his mouth on hers grew into a persistent longing.
As she dragged her gaze upward, she met his gaze. Who leaned in first? She didn’t know.
When their lips met, it didn’t matter.
One all-too-brief press of their lips turned into a second one. He cupped her cheek, and heat curled inside of Bea as she waited in anticipation. When he angled his mouth back over hers, she opened to him. The heady decadence of the kiss pulled a moan out of her as she grasped onto his forearm, his bicep, then his shoulder, fighting the urge to crawl onto his lap.
Devin eased back. As he let go of her, he stood. “Dance with me.”
The switch from kissing to him wanting to dance again confused her. As she stepped into his arms and he brought her close, the mix of need and barely reined in control she spotted in his eyes explained everything.
But she didn’t want him to hold back.
As if reading her mind, he rested his forehead to hers. “Bea...it’s not that I don’t want you, but we shouldn’t go beyond that kiss.”
“Why?” She leaned away and looked up at his face. “Because you’re friends with my brother-in-law? Or because you’re a journalist, and my family and I have had some newsworthy events come into our lives?”
Devin smoothed back a strand of red hair that had wandered in front of her eyes. As he took his hand away, a trail of tingles remained where he’d caressed her cheek. “That’s a big part of it...”
As he took hold of her waist with both of his hands, she searched for the words to make him see her point of view. She’d taken a bold risk to follow her dream of opening a restaurant in Chatelaine. But when it came to her personal life, she’d kept it on hold for so long. Waiting for what? She didn’t know. But she wanted to move forward with what she felt...what she wanted.
Bea called upon the boldness that had fortified her choices over the past months. “Whatever that ‘big part’ is, it doesn’t have to affect us being together right now. Why can’t we set that all aside, just for tonight?” she asked. “We don’t talk about it. We don’t worry about it. We just focus on being together and enjoying the moment.”
He looked into her eyes. “And after that?”
“Tomorrow, when the sun rises, we get back to reality.”