He laughed, his gaze traveling back to her.
She grinned at him. “Seriously, who knew the seventies would make such a comeback in the Western fashion world? Do you think I’d look good in bell-bottoms?”
He paused, holding her eye contact. “You’re so beautiful, you’d look good in a burlap sack, and that’s the least interesting thing about you.”
Zoey was pretty sure she was melting on the inside—that was the most perfect compliment anyone had ever given her. “What’s the most interesting thing?”
He chuckled, his hand at her waist tightening just a little. Just then, a couple doing a swing move bumped into her. She stumbled forward into Hunter’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her to stabilize her, and her breath hitched.
“Watch it,” he called after the couple.
She glanced up at him, and his gaze found hers. His blue-gray gaze trailed from her eyes down to her lips and back up again, making her shiver. Only this time he didn’t make a joke. This time his eyes lit with fire, igniting something similar in her.
She wanted to kiss him. Badly. More than any guy she’d ever dated. She made no move to pull away. She said nothing, holding her breath out of fear that this little bubble around them would burst.
The song changed, and at the same time it did—like the change in tune had flipped a switch in his mind—his gaze went from heated to hard in a flash, as though he’d just made up his mind about something. He pulled back, and she felt bereft at the loss of touch.
Hunter signaled to the dance floor, his eyes sparking with amusement. “I believe we came here to dance.” He offered her his hand.
The moment she grasped his hand, he swung her out onto the dance floor. For the next two-plus hours, Zoey learned something else she’d only seen the surface of at Brandon’s wedding—Hunter was one fine dancer.
She loved the slow dances when he’d hold her close and spin her around the floor—there was something so reassuring about being in his arms—but she loved the fast dances too. For all his well-thought-out ways, the man was one heck of a good time. And it wasn’t just the dancing; it was the conversation. She just liked being with him.
They finished up a faster swing dance, where he’d flipped, and twisted, and finally dipped her as the song came to an end. They laughed as he brought her upright again, keeping hold of her hand.
“Man, who knew you had all these moves under that rough cowboy exterior? I’m impressed.” Now sufficiently overheated from all their dancing, she fanned her face.
He grinned. “I’ve got to keep you on your toes, don’t I? Can’t give away all my trade secrets at once.” He leaned closer so she could hear him over the music and crowd. “You want a drink?”
“Please!” she said. “Water?”
He nodded and squeezed her hand. “Be right back. Don’t disappear.”
She wasn’t going anywhere. Her very feelings forbade it—and that excited and scared her more than a little.
She was heading for the side of the dance floor to wait when a big burly guy, not as tall as Hunter but with a thicker build, moved in her path. She glanced up at him. He was a handsome guy, with a neatly trimmed beard, and nicely combed hair.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said.
She smiled, though she wasn’t really feeling it. “Hey.”
“How’s about you let me swing you around the dance floor?” he asked.
For some reason, her gaze darted to Hunter. He leaned against the counter that had been set up as a bar, caught her gaze, and grinned. She returned it as his attention moved to the guy standing in front of her.
Hunter popped off the counter, his hands going to fists, his face hardening in a beat. A pit opened in her stomach. What? He didn’t think she should dance with anyone else? Just because she’d spent the evening with him so far, that didn’t mean she was his. Besides, this wasn’t a date. He’d made that perfectly clear this afternoon. It was supposed to be a group situation in the first place.
Hunter made eye contact with her and gave a sudden shake of his head. She bristled. Ugh. She was so done with people telling her what to do. It was just like her brothers with the family business. She just did what she was told, even though the company was one-third hers. Well, that was stopping now. She was her own person!
“So how about it, gorgeous?” The scent of chewing tobacco was on his breath.
She clenched her jaw and faced the man in front of her. “All right.”
The man swooped her up, almost literally—her feet did leave the ground for a moment. Then he was swaying her around the floor, standing entirely too closely for her liking. Zoey didn’t bother looking to see what Hunter was doing, but a moment later, she spotted him out of the corner of her eye at the edge of the dance floor.
“I’ve been watching you all night,” the man said. Now that she was this close, she could see the wad of chew in his cheek. The smell was stronger this close, and she found her stomach rolling.
“Lucky me,” she said under her breath. How long were songs? Like three minutes? Four? Ugh.
