Willow’s grin made his heart pound. “Baking is a hobby. I’m a photographer.”
Zac’s eyes widened. “Do you prefer landscapes or portraits?”
“Portraits, but I make more money taking photos of the wildlife and scenery around Montana. Have you spent your entire career working in refugee camps?”
“You like to change the subject.”
A soft blush swept across her cheeks. “Your life is probably a lot more interesting than mine.”
Zac tilted his head to the side. “Most people like talking about themselves.”
“Maybe I’m not like most people.”
A spark of something dangerously close to hope flared inside his chest. He studied the serious expression in Willow’s eyes, the determined angle of her jaw. She pulled at the deepest, darkest part of his soul and made him wish for things he’d pushed aside to get through each day.
Brooke leaned across the table. “Willow isn’t like anyone you’ll ever meet. Did you know that she used to be a —”
“Zac doesn’t want to hear about me. Why don’t you tell him about the cake Megan made for your wedding?”
Brooke sent Willow a searching glance before turning to Zac. “Megan creates the most incredible cakes I’ve ever seen. Our wedding cake is four tiers of absolute yumminess decorated in vanilla buttercream icing and wafers of dark chocolate.”
“It sounds impressive.”
Brooke took her cell phone out of her bag. “I’ll show you a picture.”
While Brooke hunted through her phone, Zac watched Willow. There was more to her life than she’d told him. And one day, he was going to hear the full story.
Later that night,Willow held out her hand to Zac. “Would you like to dance?”
His gaze landed on the people moving in coordinated rows behind them. “I don’t know how to line dance.”
“It’s not too difficult. All you have to do is follow the person in front of you.” Zac’s frown made her even more determined to get him on the dance floor. Tonight, if nothing else, was about enjoying the company of good friends, good food, and a little home-grown entertainment.
She held onto his hand and pulled him to his feet. “Come on. I’ll look after you.”
Zac looked over his shoulder at Levi. “If I’m doing this, so are you.”
Before Levi could reply, Brooke pulled her fiancé to his feet. “That’s a great idea. It will be good practice for the wedding.”
Emma and Megan were already on the dance floor, doing the Cotton Eye Joe. Willow had a fairly good idea of what William would say if he saw his very pregnant wife dancing but, Megan was having a great time, and William wasn’t here.
Zac’s fingers tightened around Willow’s hand. “Just so you know, I don’t have any sense of rhythm.”
“You’ll be fine. Megan and Emma only learned to line dance after they moved to Sapphire Bay.” She stood at the back of the room and let go of Zac’s hand. “No one will be worried if you step in the wrong direction.”
“But they will worry if I bang into them.”
She sent him a reassuring smile. “Trust me. You’ll be fine.” As the next song started, Willow grinned. The Electric Slide was one of the first dances she’d learned. “The first step is to the right,” she said.
Zac’s frown deepened. Half a beat after the people in front of them moved, he was off, moving his feet almost in time with everyone else.
Willow kept an eye on him, moving quickly out of his way when he went left instead of right. “You’re doing great,” she yelled over the music.
Zac’s relieved smile was good to see. She didn’t know how much downtime he’d had in Afghanistan, but she’d bet her last dollar that he’d never line danced his way across a wooden floor in Kabul.
When the song ended, she turned to Zac and high-fived him. “That was awesome. We’ll make a local of you yet.”
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
