He faced her then, doing his best to show confidence when he was anything but. “I take that to mean you haven’t had a good dance partner.”
“Oh, really?” she purred, moving closer to him and completely destroying his resolve. His breaths came in quicker at her proximity. They were only a few inches apart now. He couldn’t tell if she was trying to tease him like she’d done so many times when they were younger, or if she was actually interested in him.
She wasn’t.
Not his Jane.
She couldn’t just be swayed like that.
And he wouldn’t allow himself to believe that this would be so easy.
So he’d play along.
Noah inched closer so their chests nearly touched. He leaned forward just enough to allow his lips a breath apart from her ear. “Really.”
Jane sucked in a sharp breath. It was small, and he wouldn’t have caught it if they weren’t so near to one another. She could probably hear the way his heart thundered in his chest—or she would have if the music wasn’t playing over the speakers.
This was all a game. But it wouldn’t be for long.
Not if he had his way.
“And you think that person is you?”
Noah shrugged, withdrawing from her. “Perhaps. But there’s only one way to find out.”
For one heart wrenching moment, he thought she might turn him down. These past fleeting moments had been more than exhilarating, and he wasn’t ready for it to end. Noah held out his hand. “Shall we?”
She stared down at his hand, then she made his world stop spinning when she took it within her own.
Noah didn’t waste any time. He tugged her right onto that dance floor and pulled her close. His hand slipped around her slender frame while he held her other one against his chest. They swayed back and forth while their eyes never left the other.
This was heaven.
He didn’t care what else happened to him, this moment right here would forever be his favorite one. Her light perfume was intoxicating—just enough to make his head swim with ideas of pulling her into the shadows and stealing a kiss from her lips. The way her body pressed against his had every nerve in his body electrified. What would happen if he could get her to fall in love with him?
There was no predicting how he’d react to her then. His heart would probably explode, unable to survive the joy that would bring him.
Dang. His infatuation with her had only gotten stronger over the years of them being apart. And he couldn’t even admit to hating it.
The music stopped, followed by a song with a quicker beat, and yet they remained close. He was tempted to tell her right then how he’d pined for her, and that he’d meant every word of that childish pact he’d asked her to make all those years ago.
Those words were on the tip of his tongue when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Noah had half a mind to ignore the call, but he rarely got calls unless they were related to his charities. Jane stepped back, apparently having heard the interruption.
She offered him a smile. “It’s okay. Answer it. I’m not going anywhere.”
Those words did something to him that he wasn’t proud of. He wanted to believe with all his heart that she meant them but in a very different way.
He did as she said, only because she hurried off the dance floor. His eyes followed her as he dug the phone from his pocket. Sure enough, it was the head of his board of directors.
Noah heaved a sigh, shooting one fleeting look in Jane’s direction. His moment had been lost, and he knew it. By the time he got off the phone, there was no way he’d have the courage to tell her he was interested in taking her out. And she’d likely be dancing with someone else, anyway.
“Yeah,” he muttered into the phone. “What do you need?”
CHAPTER TWO
What was happening?
Jane pressed her hand to her chest when she was certain no one was paying attention to her. She gulped in a few deep breaths and shook her head at her silly reaction to Noah.
