It took me a minute or twoto loosen up, but once I did, I had this. I was okay on my feet, even with abusted leg.
Was that why Ashley hadasked me to dance? To show me that he still didn’t mind?
Or maybe he’d forgotten?
Didn’t matter. Now that I’d gottenpast the awkwardness, I was having a great time. Ashley’s smile lit up theroom, laughter bubbling up in his throat, eyes soft and warm.
The way he looked at me wasnew. No one had ever quite looked at me like that, like… like I was the most incrediblething they’d ever seen.
They checked me out, theywinked at me, but Ashley looked at me as if he would have had as much fundancing or sitting in front of the TV as having sex with me.
Why hadn’t that happenedbefore? What did it mean that it was happeningnow?
Someone—probablyFox—wolf-whistled as I twirled Ashley under my arm, but the way Ashley laughedmade it hard to care.
He was having fun. I wasmaking his nightfun, and that was exactly what he needed right now.
I wanted to seeAshley happy. I’d had the thought a half-dozen times before, butsomething clicked this time.
Ashley’shappiness mademehappy.
Because I likedhim.
I liked it whenhe smiled at me and my stomach fluttered. I liked talking with him, sittingdown to coffee… kissing him.
Kissing him feltpretty great, actually.
Shit.
I’dthought I’d come to terms with all this last night, but here I was dancing witha man Iliked, who I wanted to kiss againrightnow.
A strangepanicky joy filled my chest, blood pulsing in my ears, drowning out everythingelse until Ashley was the only thing here, the only person at this wedding,maybe the only person left on Earth.
The ground underme was shifting, and I was unsteady on my feet, wavering between acceptance andrejection of this big, scary, new feeling.
Ashley raised aneyebrow. I’d stopped dancing.
In the splitsecond it took me to decide not to disappoint him, my world fell back intoplace.
With Ashley init.
My stomachpulled at the thought, but acceptance had already dawned over me.
I liked Ashley.I wanted to kiss him. And he was a man, and that wasfine. Even in frontof all these people.
Still my client,but…
Well, it wasn’t asthough my boss could fire me over that. Not that Gray would have fired meanyway.
And again,technically, his grandma was the client. And Iwaskeeping him safe,which was what I’d promised to do.
I wouldn’thave hurt him for anything.
The thought mademe grin, and then we were back to dancing again, Ashley twirlingmearound this time.
I couldn’tstop laughing. Joy welled up and filled my chest, making my lungs burn withevery breath.
This was whatbeingalivefelt like, wasn’t it? It’d been so long that I’dforgotten.
