“Hey.” He glanced over my shoulder, his eyes narrowing. “Did she say something to you?”
“Nothing of importance.” I shook my head. It was apparent what game Tricia was playing.
“Are you sure? I’d handle her if she disrespected you.”
My stomach muscles tensed at hearing the protectiveness in his voice.
“We won’t allow her to ruin our night.” Up until that point, I hadn’t thought of it asournight. Ace had needed a date for the ball, and though he’d been much nicer about it than with the picnic earlier in the summer, he still assumed that I’d attend with him. To keep up the charade.
“Let’s dance,” I suggested.
He slowly brought his gaze from over my shoulder down to meet mine, and nodded.
He took me into his arms like he’d done so many times in the past. We naturally fit together, as if I were made to fit perfectly against him.
When he lowered his arm to my waist and brought us closer together, I inhaled the woodsy scent of his cologne. He hadn’t worn cologne much when we were younger, but this scent suited him. It reminded me of the grown man he’d become, older, more mature, and accomplished.
I lifted my arms to his shoulders and glanced up to find him staring down at me. Our eyes locked. As cliché as it sounds, everyone else in the room fell away. It was only Ace and me, standing there, holding one another, dancing to the instrumental music in the background.
“What’s that smile about?” I asked.
“This isn’t the typical pop music you listen to.”
I let out a laugh and shrugged. “It’s not my party. I didn’t have a say in the music. But it’ll do, I guess.”
“As long as you don’t ask me to sing for you,” he said, smirking.
“Would you if I asked?” I lifted my eyebrows, hopeful.
“Hell no.”
We both laughed at that.
A doozy of a memory came back to mind as I laid my head against his chest.
* * *
Then
I belted out the lyrics of Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” as I browned the ground beef in the frying pan. I shook and swayed in time with the music, turning it up to drown out the sound of my voice.
I wasn’t a singer by any means, but I loved dancing and singing while cooking. My mother always said the food tasted better when prepared by someone who made it with joy.
To me, that meant dancing and singing.
Suddenly, I heard a deep chuckle behind me. I spun on my heels and quickly lost my balance, forgetting that, due to my new body, my equilibrium was still off.
“Oh, shit,” I screeched as I reached for the counter to my left to steady myself.
Ace made it to me before I could get ahold of it. His strong arms came around my waist, preventing my fall.
“Phew.” I blew out a breath and held my belly with one hand while I rested the other on Ace’s shoulder.
“Careful, baby. Are you all right?” he asked, concern marking the creases in his eyebrows.
I nodded and smiled. “I’m fine.” I tapped my belly. “This little guy just throws off my balance sometimes.”
Ace placed a loving hand against my five months’ pregnant belly. “As long as my two favorite people are okay.”
