I find myself once more clearing my throat. I can’tbreathearound this feeling tonight.
But when Scarlett smiles at something I say, and then looks at me and that smile grows… I can’t tamp down on this feeling any more than I can stop myself from breathing.
“I have to admit, I’m a little surprised there’s dancing at this party.”
I snap out of my haze and try to focus on her. “What’s that?”
She gestures at the center of the ballroom, where a few couples are swaying together. “I’m surprised there’s dancing. I wouldn’t think MMA fighters would be keen on dancing.”
I sniff. “Speak for yourself, Miss Snooty Booty. Fighting is basically just dancing.” When she lets out a snort of laughter and mouthsSnooty Booty?I shrug and say, “It’s aHappy Feetreference in our family. Mostly used to describe Lucas.”
“Ridiculous,” she says with a chuckle. Then she quirks an eyebrow at me. “So, you know how to dance?”
Shit. I may have taken this joke too far.
“I mean, I don’t know the waltz necessarily, but?—”
“Great.” She places her glass on a nearby table before grabbing my hand. “Then you don’t mind dancing with me.”
I sigh, knowing the jig is up, even as I let her pull me along. “Scarlett, I was just kidding…”
She stops on the dance floor and spins toward me. “I am fully aware, Nico. You’re not the only one who can read people.”
She must notice my hesitation because she gives me a soft smile and guides one of my hands to her waist and takes the other in her hand.
“I know you were kidding, but it really is similar to fighting,” she explains quietly. We’re swaying before I can even form a conscious thought aboutI don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.“If I had to guess, it’s closest to judo. That’s the one with the foot sweeps, right?”
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline. “O-kay. How did you know that?”
She shrugs, looking proud of herself. “I may or may not have done a little extra research.”
I look down at her, unable to do anything but admire her.
And that feeling in my chest grows.
I have to swallow around it, as it fights to end up on my lips. I might drown from this feeling.
I try to staunch it with a kiss. Bending down, I press my mouth to hers, reveling in the way her arms wrap around my neck, and she sighs happily into the kiss. I could hold her forever and never tire of it.
When I pull back, it’s only to put the smallest amount of space between us. I clear my throat. Again. “Scarlett…”
She looks up at me with a smile on her lips and stars in her eyes. “Hmm?” she says with the sweetest little hum.
Shit. Ineedto tell her.
“Scarlett, I?—”
“Nico, there you are!”
The moment shatters into a thousand tiny shards of glass.
Startled, I jerk back.
“Sorry to interrupt, my boy, but I might not get a chance to talk to you later,” comes a voice from beside me. Turning, I realize it’s one of the sponsors Lucas sent me to talk to. “Do you mind if I steal you for a few minutes? It won’t take long.”
Blinking, I look down at Scarlett. “Uh…sure. I guess.”
She gives me—and then the man beside us—a polite smile as she steps back. “It’s alright, I can wait. Work is work.”
