His lips tilt. “You always did have a flair for the dramatic.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” He spins me in a lazy circle, not for show, just because he can. When he pulls me back in, our bodies align hip to hip. The world goes a little fuzzy at the edges.
“You ever think about it?” he asks softly. “Back then. If things had gone different.”
“Yes,” I say, too fast.
His throat works. “Me too.”
We’re close enough now that if I tipped my chin up two inches, my mouth would meet his.
It’s just a dance, I tell myself. It’s not just a dance, my heart argues.
The song ends before we find out who’s right. The applause and whoops break the spell. We step apart, hands falling reluctantly.
“That was…” I can’t finish the sentence.
“Believable?” he offers.
“Yeah,” I say. “That.”
He looks like he wants to say something else. Instead, he picks up our empties. “You want another beer?”
“No. If I drink more, I’m going to tell someone the truth and ruin your op.”
“That’s fair.”
We make our way toward the exit, collecting commentary as we go.
Brooke gives us a thumbs-up. One of the ranch wives fans herself dramatically. Old Mr. Harris mutters something about “finally, the universe gets one right.”
Outside, the night is a blessedly cool slap.
I exhale.
Nash shoves his hands into his pockets like he doesn’t trust them.
We’re halfway to the truck when a voice oozes out of the shadows near the side of the building.
“Well, I’ll be damned. If it isn’t Valor Springs royalty.”
I don’t have to turn to know who it is. My spine does it automatically. “Kyle,” I say, keeping my voice flat.
Kyle Stroud steps into the light with a smirk that used to make girls sigh and now just makes my skin crawl. He’s dressed like a catalog cowboy—perfectly distressed jeans, brand-new boots, button-down shirt that probably cost more than my monthly grocery bill.
He was a jerk in high school. Time has not improved him.
“Delaney Coleman,” he drawls. “Back in town and already slumming it.”
Nash goes still beside me.
“Stroud,” he says, voice pitched low and neutral. “Didn’t know you were in.”
“Oh, you know how it is.” Kyle spreads his arms as if to embrace the entire parking lot. “Got to check on Daddy’s investments. This town is growing. Or it will be, once some people accept progress is coming whether they like it or not.”
His eyes flick toward me on “some people.”
