I rested my forearms on the railing and watched the kids still running around with what looked like their tenth wind of the day while parents visited or watched. The air smelled like pine and barbecue and summer evening in Wyoming. I inhaled deeply, letting it all settle over me.
The door slid open behind me.
“Ready?” Alex’s voice was soft.
I turned around and felt my brain short out.
The dress moved around her like liquid fire—russet orange catching the afternoon light and making her skin look as if it had been kissed by the Wyoming sun for years instead of weeks. Off-shoulder sleeves showcased her decolletage and fabric smoothed effortlessly over her curves. She’d tied her hair back, loose pieces framing her face—strappy sandals made her legs look endless under all that flowing fabric.
“You...” I cleared my throat, tried again. “That dress.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she twirled for me—the skirt billowing around her and making my pants feel a bit tighter.
“You like it?”
“Darlin’.” The word came out rougher than I meant it to. I crossed the balcony in two steps, hands finding her waist, feelingthe soft fabric under my palms and the warmth of her underneath. Fuck, I’d be thinking about peeling this dress off her all evening.
“We could stay in,” I kissed her. “Order room service. Nobody would miss us.”
She laughed, light and happy, her hands coming up to rest against my chest. “Nice try, flyboy.”
“Can’t blame a man for tryin’,” I flashed a grin. I traced my thumb along the edge of the dress where it sat against her skin, that off-shoulder cut showing freckles and just a hint of her tattoo.
“We’re going,” she nodded definitively. “I want to dance with you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she tilted her head up, blue eyes catching mine. “Besides, I have something planned for later, and that definitely requires us leaving this room.”
That got my attention. “What kind of something?”
“You’ll see,” she smiled mysteriously. “But we have to make it through the celebration first.”
I drew her closer, felt her settle against me. “You’re trouble.”
“You like it.”
“I really do,” I pressed a kiss to her temple, breathed in her distinct flavor of green tea, mint, and something deeper and warm. “Alright, Alexandra. Let’s go show you off. But be warned, I’m not lettin’ you out of arm’s reach all night in that dress.”
“I’m counting on it,” she stepped back and took my hand. “Come on, cowboy. We’ve got a party to get to.”
Anticipation buzzed under my skin as we crossed the grounds toward the evening celebration already underway—aware of her arm around mine, the way she moved in that dress, the fact that she’dplanned somethingfor later and wasn’t telling me what.
The band had been playing for a while by the time we made it to the dance floor—upbeat stuff mostly, fiddle-heavy country that had families spinning their kids around and couples doing the two-step. The lights overhead cast everything in gold.
Alex had been pulled into about fifteen different conversations on our way across the lawn—usually by more family or locals wanting to know more about the woman who’d brought me back home. She handled it all with that quick smile of hers, but I kept my hand at her back. Partly because I’d promised not to let her out of arm’s reach in that dress—mostly because I wanted everyone to know she was with me.
“Always on My Mind” started up as we reached the edge of the dance floor, couples pairing off.
I offered my hand. “Dance with me?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” she took it and let me lead her to the floor.
She placed her right hand in my left as I moved my other hand to her lower back—appropriate distance for public displays. We swayed to the rhythm easy enough, her following my lead without hesitation.
Other couples moved around us—Elowyn and Luke, some of the guests from the lodge, Dom and Enzo looking disgustingly happy together a few yards away.
Perfect.
