Giselle pointed a finger at her. “Farmer in a tornado.”
“Giselle,” Hailey huffed.
“Don’t bend your arms so much and stop twirling…nope. Now you’re a confused windmill. Move your hips or your head.”
Hailey tried moving a little bit of everything to the muffled rock-n-roll string quartet, which played through the walls.
“Epileptic Chicken.” Giselle settled against the sink and looked at her thoughtfully. “What if you just slid a little across the floor without bouncing so much?”
It felt awkward, and Giselleagreed.
“Moonwalking Frankenstein,” she declared. “No, do another one,” she commanded when Hailey crossed her arms, and she hopped onto the vanity. “This is fun.”
Hailey gave it one last shot, bending her elbows, moving her bum, shaking her shoulders, bobbing her head and swaying side to side.
“Moose stuck in a swing set.” Giselle hopped off the vanity. “That’s the one. Very Alaskan. Now let’s go have some forced fun.”
David and Giselle hit the dance floor, but Hailey, still dateless and feeling neglected sat alone, elbow on the table, head on her fist and watched the lights dance across her beautiful shoes. There was no way she was doing the “moose stuck in a swing set,” and it was a slow song anyway, so she crossed her arms and sulked.
“C’mere, beautiful.”
She looked up to see Fin standing with one arm tucked behind his back, the other extended to her like a perfect gentleman, and she took it, smiling excitedly. He pulled her to her feet, guided her to the center of the room, and looked up.
“Mooseltoe,” he said, eying a rustic ornament hanging from the ceiling.
“That looks like poop on a spruce branch.”
“It is,” he conceded with a grin. “Moose poop. But you’re supposed to kiss under it. Aren’t Alaskans clever?”
With his arm around her waist, he pulled her body to his and held her tight. With his other hand, he grabbed her chin and brushed his thumb across her lips as he swayed with her to the haunting music.
After a few beats, he pressed his forehead against hers. “This will probably do me in,” he breathed against her mouth, “but I’m tired of waiting for you to kiss me.”
“What do you—”
Fin shoved his lips over her mouth.
She stopped dancing. So did he, and they stood frozen on the dance floor in a heated embrace as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her whole body flushedwith heat, and she pressed against him. For several seconds, he held her, exploring her mouth with his tongue, then nibbling at her lips, and the music faded—the room faded. He relaxed his hold and danced soft kisses across her cheek until his lips touched her ear.
“Forgive me, Hailey,” he whispered fervently, and the room reappeared.
Hailey gazed into his pleading eyes, his face ashen.
“For what?”
He sighed heavily, tightened his arms around her, and swayed her body to the music. “Everything.”
Could he be any more vague? But it didn’t matter. Of course she forgave him. For anything. Everything.
“After a kiss like that, I’d forgive you for ripping my heart out,” she breathed.
For the briefest instant, his face darkened. He momentarily loosened his hold on her only to squeeze her tight again. She rested her head against his shoulder, and the music changed, but he didn’t loosen his grip.Another dance, then. Hailey smiled. She caught a glimpse of his date standing cross-armed in the corner of the room, tapping her foot as she watched them closely.
“She looks angry,” Hailey told him, and he glanced over his shoulder at Adelaide.
“Yeah,” he agreed with a carefree laugh. “She does. I don’t really care. I told her when I asked her to the ball that I’d be dancing with you. Asher’s probably got his panties in a bunch by now, though…”
“Asher hasn’t shown up.” She was going for nonchalant, but couldn’t disguise her disappointment at being stood up.
