“Nothing, why do you ask?” Sofia said. I looked at her frustrated expression, which showed a dusty pink under her makeup. I noticed that every time Donovan moved, Mack would shift slightly to block him.
Then I saw why. Donovan had chosen to wear a utility kilt to the dance.Uh-oh.Evidently Donovan was fine with folks seeing his tattoo of Sofia—and Mack wasn’t. Everyonewaslooking, less because of the kilt and more due to the standoff going on behind her.
I needed to act. “Sofia, could you help me with something in the bathroom? I have a tag or a pin or something poking me.” I was a terrible liar but it was all I could think of. The look of relief she gave me said it all.
“Gladly.” She reached for my arm and we started to walk away. Immediately, her bodyguards tried to follow us. “Oh no!” She let go of my arm and poked them both in the chest at the same time. “You two find someone else to bother.”
“But Sofe,” they both said at the same time.
“I said no.” She looked at Mack. “That’s Chief Alvarez or simply, Chief, to you.” She turned to Donovan. “And you! You better have underwear on under that skirt.”
“It’s a kilt.” Donovan wasn’t giving an inch. As frustrated as Sofia was, I could also tell that a part of her was enjoying herself. Just the same, she rolled her eyes and glared.
“That didn’t answer my concern.” She waved her hands at both of them. “Now, off you go. Bother someone else.”
Without waiting for their response, she grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the refreshments. “You suck when it comes to lying, but thanks for trying,” she said and I laughed.
“Do you want to talk about what’s going on with your reverse harem?” I poured us each a cup of punch and handed her a cup, grinning as Sofia rapidly shook her head.
“Don’t go there. While I’m sure Donovanwould—go there, that is—I already said that Mack is off limits.”
We both turned to look at Sofia’s men. Donovan looked completely at home in his kilt and was talking with Eli Carter and Fiona Cafferty. Mack was alternating between glaring at Donovan and giving Sofia the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen.
“He really is cute when he’s pining away for you,” I said but Sofia wasn’t having it.
“I should’ve followed Brian’s example and gone to Beaumont or Eastville to drink, but then I’d have to get myself home and that would’ve been a pain.” Sofia took a deep breath and let it out. “By the way, I wanted to point out that your breasts look spectacular in that dress. You’ve got the perfect cleavage.”
I tossed my head lightly from side to side preening. “Right? I mean it’s annoying that I had to be… you know. But at least they do look very… perky.” And soon enough, I’d be falling out of my clothes or unable to button them up, so I was going to enjoy this stage while it lasted. “Send me your shopping links because I’m going to need some new clothes. Soon.”
“The clothes closet at the townhall isn’t just for formal wear. There’s also lots of barely used clothes that folks have outgrown, includingyou know what. I bet you’d be able to find something there to tide you over while you wrestle with your… growth spurt.” I choked out a laugh and Sofia gave me a smug look. “That’s payback for the harem joke,” she added while I tried to catch my breath.
“It’s a ‘reverse harem’—and thanks for the tip. I might go check it out.” It had felt too soon to shop for maternity clothes, but ifmy clothes were already snug on me, I’d need something sooner than I’d anticipated.
“Why does my deputy look like someone stole his puppy?” Brian asked as he and Jake joined us.
“Maybe that’s what he needs,” Sofia muttered.
“Well, Chief?”
“I think you already know the answer to that,Sheriff. We’ve certainly talked about it enough. Do you want to have a go this time or should I go back to ignoring and redirecting, as you first suggested?”
Brian stiffened at the chastisement, and Jake jumped in. “Well, looks like you two have things to discuss.” We could hear elevated voices coming from where Donovan and the others were standing. It looked like Mack and Donovan were exchanging words. “Julia? Would you like to dance?”
“Yes, please.” I held my hand out to Jake and he slipped his arm around my waist and escorted me out to the dance floor. The band was tuning up for their next set and I had no idea what they planned to play. So far, they’d been playing a mix of modern songs with some line dances.
When the fiddles started, we quickly realized it was a waltz. “My lady?” Jake bowed deep and held his hand out, palm up. I curtseyed, placed my hand on top of his, and then he swept me around the dance floor following the other dancers in a circular pattern.
“You really are a good dancer,” I told him as he spun me around.
“Grandma Thorne insisted that we learn how to dance. She said we spent too much time rough housing and we needed a bit ofculture if we ever hoped to find a woman willing to give us the time of day,” Jake said.
That definitely sounded like his grandmother. “Well, she did a good job making sure you all had the necessary skills to function in genteel society.” I couldn’t resist teasing him.
Jake pulled me closer without missing a step and twirled me around so I could see Brian dancing with Caitlin. It was more like rocking and Caitlin was the one leading the two of them.
He brushed his chin over the top of my head before leaning down to whisper in my ear. “Safe to say, I was the only one who paid attention. But to be fair, at the time, I had a huge crush on Reverand Thomas’s daughter, and wanted to impress her.”
“Angelica?” I remembered her from church. She was a few years older than us, but her father insisted on homeschooling her, so we hadn’t crossed paths much outside of Sunday services. She always acted all shy and demure at church but it later came out that she’d been crawling out her bedroom window at night and hanging out with some of the teens who liked to drink and smoke. When she ended up pregnant, the reverend resigned his position and moved the family somewhere else. “I haven’t thought about her in years. How’d that work out?”
