Sarah held her breath and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
“Because of the heart,” Bruce blurted out, then froze.
Sarah slowly lowered her arm. Her fuzzy brain scrambled to make sense of what he’d said. She twisted around to face him.
His lips pressed together, and he checked his watch.
“Your heart? I don’t understand.”
“We should find Maddie and Scott. It’s getting late.”
The cosmo burned in her stomach. “No. I want to know what you’re talking about.”
“Just let it go.” He met her gaze. His brows lowered, and his eyelids tightened as if he was in pain.
She reached for him before she could stop herself. Placing a hand on the side of his face, she smoothed the wrinkles next to his eyes. If only he would talk to her.
He covered her hand with his and gave the smallest shake of his head.
Goose bumps ran down her arm. The stubble on his rugged jaw tickled her palm. She slipped her tongue out to moisten her lips, and his gaze followed.
He could shake his head all he wanted. His eyes told another story. She might not have the most experience with men, but she knew desire when she saw it.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. He fought so hard for control all the time. Maybe he worried about letting that heart of his go. And her own heart leaped. Maybe he cared about her more than he'd admit.
She inched closer, and he didn’t back off. The fire in her belly worked its way up to her face. Inhaling his clean, all-male scent, she reached her other arm up to his shoulder and pressed against the length of him. Her libido did a victory lap as his arousal pushed into the flat of her stomach.
His nostrils flared, and his hand stiffened over hers.
He wanted her. No matter what he said or did. With heels on, she stood tall enough to almost reach his face. His breath blew across her hot cheeks. Her stomach tittered like an eight ball on the rim of a corner pocket.
The muted lights above shimmered, cut by the slow-turning blades of a fan. She slid her hand behind his neck, closed her eyes, and pulled herself up inch by inch for a kiss.
She could almost taste the malty beer on his lips when his hand locked around her wrist, and he took a step back.
She opened her eyes and sucked in a breath. Something exploded in her chest, crashing down a brutal reality check. Once again, she’d made a fool of herself.
The man didn’t want her. He might have a physical attraction, but clearly, that’s as far as it went. And he’d demonstrated he could control his urges, unlike her. Barbs of humiliation ripped open the still-fresh scab from his rejection on the hike.
She yanked her wrists from his grip. “You win, Bruce. Game over.”
Stomping to the stairs, she cursed him and the horse he road in on. Ha.
When she reached the bottom, she glanced around the mass of people. It might take a while to find Maddie. She found a seat at the bar and ordered another cosmo. In three big gulps, she downed the drink and wiped her mouth with a cocktail napkin. She scanned the room again and spotted Maddie and Scott dancing. That’s what she’d come for, to have some fun.
A tall man in a white polo shirt and jeans eased onto the seat next to Sarah. He rested his forearms on the counter. Nice biceps. Big ones. Like Bruce’s. Sexy, hot, off-limits Bruce, whose biceps she couldn’t touch. Probably this guy would let her. Unless he didn’t want her either.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked.
Or…maybe he did. She turned to face him. Light brown eyes, dark hair, and a friendly smile.
Her body hummed with a nice buzz. “Do you know how much I want to dance?”
He cocked his head. “No.”
“Lemme tell you. More than anything in this whole wide world.” She spread her arms wide. “That’s how much.”
“So that’s a yes?” He raised an eyebrow.
She nodded and placed a hand on his arm as she stood. Squeezed it for a second. Touched his biceps!
His smile widened.
Two for two. She’d touched a man, and he hadn’t run away. And a hot guy too. Not some mousy wimp. So Bruce, Mr. Snow-Miser, could put that in his blower and—
Whoa. She slipped as her foot hit the floor. The man grabbed her before she fell.
“You okay?”
“Yup.” She regained her balance and nodded.
He led her to the dance floor. The guy had moves. Might not be ballet, but so what, at least they were dancing.
The song ended, and the lead singer called out, “Gonna slow it down for this next one.”
Good. Her feet were a little unsteady. Maybe downing that last cosmo hadn’t been such a great idea. Her dance partner took one of her hands, wrapping his arm around her waist. They swayed to the music.
“I’m Anthony. What’s your name?” he asked in a smooth voice.
“Sarah.” She focused on his face because the background began to spin.
“You’re beautiful and a great dancer.” His fingers stroked the side of her waist, sliding the silky material of her blouse up and down her skin.
If the guy were Bruce, dancing this close, she’d be on fire. But with Anthony, nothing. A warm body and a nice smile. No sparks, no passion. Damn it. Doomed for life to moon over the Abominable Snowman. She shut her eyes and leaned against his chest in defeat.
Bruce’s gaze followed Sarah until she disappeared down the steps. He stabbed a hand through his hair. Goddamn it. He’d hurt her again. The pain in her eyes when he’d pushed her away sliced through him.
They’d even been having fun playing darts. Something he’d never done with Emily. He rubbed his temple. Sarah was nothing like Emily. He’d hiked with Sarah, but even that had been different. When he’d met Emily, he’d come home from his stint overseas wounded, scarred, and burned out. Her tough get-back-up-on-the-horse attitude was exactly what he’d needed. She’d seen him through a bumpy time and helped him heal. He’d always love her for that.
But things were different now. He didn’t need his protective armor anymore to get through a day. Sarah had a softness about her that called to him. Brave, caring, graceful, and beautiful. She had it all. And having feelings for Sarah didn’t take anything away from Emily. She’d always be a part of him. But that part was in the past now.
He flattened his hand on the table and glanced at his fingers. The tan line from his wedding band had long ago faded, but he still had the ring in a drawer. That was what he needed to do with his memories. Keep them tucked away, but make some new ones. With Sarah.
All week he’d been tortured working around her. It had taken every ounce of his energy to keep up the cold front. With one touch, she melted him faster than ice in a shot of Jack Daniel’s. He couldn’t protect himself from loss anymore. She’d stolen his heart. If he wanted it back, he’d have to share it with her. If it wasn’t too late.
After being rejected twice, she’d have every right to tell him to shove it. His pulse quickened.
He pushed away from the table, took a deep breath, and strode to the stairs. No turning back this time. All or nothing.
When he reached the first level, he surveyed the room. She wasn’t at the bar. Maybe she’d found Maddie and Scott. His gaze stopped on Sarah, out on the dance floor, in the arms of a man. The guy rubbed up and down her sides as she smiled up at him. He pulled her closer, and she rested her head against his chest.
Bruce fisted his hands, and hot blood raged through his body as something snapped inside. Spots appeared before his eyes. Another man holding and stroking Sarah. Like hell. Breath ready to burst from his lungs, he pushed through the crowd until he reached them.
He tapped the guy’s shoulder hard. “Take your hands off her. She’s with me.”
The man stood eye-to-eye with Bruce. He tightened his arm around Sarah. “You know this guy?”
She blinked and looked at Bruce but kept leaning against the man, as if for support. “Yes. And what I do is none of his business.”
The guy shrugged and kept Sarah in his embrace. “You heard the lady. She’s with me. Take a hike.”
Sarah snorted. “That’s how this all started.”
“Time’s up.” Bruce gripped the man’s arm and brought his face close. He narrowed his eyes and squeezed hard on a pressure point. In a lethal go-ahead-and-make-my-day tone, he said, “Let go of her right now.”
The guy winced, and his eyes widened. “What the fuck?” He drew his arm away from Sarah and backed off. “I don’t need this.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Sarah poked Bruce’s chest. She teetered and waved her hand. “What was that about?”
She was drunk all right. And spitting mad. With a right to be. He’d lost his mind at the sight of her with another man. He reached for her arm. “Come on, let’s go outside and get some fresh air.”
“No. I came here to dance, and I intend to.” She jerked away and gazed around the bar. “Now where did Anthony go?”
He had to get her outside. “You’ve had too much to drink. I’m trying to help.”
“I didn’t ask for your help. I don’t need a big bully following me around scaring away my dates.” She glared up at him. “And what do you care anyway? You don’t want me, so why do you give a damn if anyone else does?”
Shit. She couldn’t possibly think he didn’t want her, but she was too drunk to reason with. “Look, let’s discuss this later. You need some air.”
“No. I don’t. I need to dance. I’m not leaving, so go away.” She wobbled.
Damn it. Stubborn woman. “Fine. Then I’ll dance with you.”
He pulled her into his arms, but she stiffened.
“You don’t want to. I’ll find someone else.” She tried to worm out of his grasp, but he held her tighter and waited until she looked into his eyes.
“I do want to dance with you.” He rubbed her back and guided her into his embrace, moving with the music.
She shivered and melted into his arms. “I hate you right now.”
“You should.” He sighed. At least she’d stopped fighting him.
“I don’t feel so great,” she said in small voice.
“I know. Let’s go.” He steered her through the crowd to the front door and out.
She sucked in a breath of air and leaned against him. “Hey. Guess what?”
“What?” He guided her toward his truck. The best thing for her would be to get her home to sleep it off.
“I don’t want to kiss you.” She hiccupped. “I feel like shit, but at least I don’t want to kiss you.”
“Okay.”
She stopped walking and attempted to cross her arms, but with only one free, it ended up slung across her waist. “No. You don’t get it. I always want to kiss you. All the time.” She shook her head and pouted. “But you don’t want to kiss me. And I have to work. I don’t think I could kiss you all day at work.”
Holy shit. She was really ripped.
Before he could say anything, she added, “But I still want to.”
“Let’s keep moving.” He tried to drag her along, but she stood firm.
“And ya know what else?” She faltered, and he tightened his grip on her waist. “I don’t wanna kiss just anyone. Nope. Only you.” She poked a finger again at his chest. “I didn’t even wanna kiss Anthony, and he was pretty hot and a good dancer.” She squinted. “I thought I wanted to kiss Mark, but that’s cuz I’d never kissed you. And he didn’t ever wanna kiss me either. Unless we had sex, and that wasn’t even very good.” She frowned. “But he was a jerk. Do you know how long we dated?”
“It’s none of my—”
“Two years. Then the stalker came and poof.” She snapped her fingers, or at least tried. “Done with me. Too hard. I wasn’t worth it.”
Bruce shook his head. Asshole. She deserved better. “Come on, let’s keep going.”
“I tried to kiss you tonight, you know.”
A hammer drove a spike in his heart. He’d hurt her.
“But you didn’t want me to. So I give up.” She waved her one free hand in the air. “I have to leave. It’s too hard to be around you.”
Sarah leaned against the side of his truck. He pulled her from it to face him. “You promised you wouldn’t run.”
She sighed. “You don’t want me cuz I can’t be normal, and you think I’m paranoid. So I’m outta here.”
“No. Damn it, Sarah.” He had to make her realize none of that was true.
She pressed her stomach and took a couple of steps to the woods at the edge of the parking lot. “I’m gonna throw up.”
Bruce held the hair from her wig back as she vomited. At least some of the liquor would be out of her. She dry-heaved and shook.
“Let me help you to the truck.” He slung an arm around her and hoisted her into the passenger seat. From behind the bench, he grabbed a tissue and a bottle of water. “Here, you can rinse your mouth out.”
She did, spitting the water out on the ground. He shut the door, went around to the driver’s side, and climbed in. She looked over at him, her eyelids heavy.
“You held my hair back.” A sad smile formed on her face. “No guy does that. Yup. I gotta leave.”
“No, Sarah.” His gut bottomed out. He put a hand on her cheek. “You’re dead wrong about everything. I want you more than anything in my life.”
The truth hit him hard. He stroked her face, and her eyes started to close again. This conversation would have to wait until morning.
He tugged out his phone and dialed Scott’s number. On the fourth ring, Scott answered. The bar noise all but drowned out his voice.
“Scott, can you hear me?” Bruce asked.
“Hold on,” Scott said.
He must have stepped outside because the background noise faded.
“Where are you? Maddie and I have been looking for you guys.”
Bruce glanced at Sarah, now asleep. “Sarah’s not feeling too well. I want to take her home. Can you make sure Maddie gets back to the farm safely?”
“No problem. We were ready to leave anyway. I’ll follow her. It’s on my way home. See you there.”
“Thanks, bro.”
Bruce fastened Sarah’s seat belt. Gorgeous even in that ridiculous curly wig. She thought he didn’t want her. Might have left without telling him. He’d fucked up so badly. Tomorrow they’d have a talk, and God willing, she’d give him another chance.