Chapter 18
Rowe
“So why do you want this?” I ask, hoping to change the subject from Pane’s dad to something else. “To win the company? Yesterday you said that you wanted to be seen as more than just Pane Maddox. Why?”
He quirks a brow. “Nowyou’reasking questions?”
“Knowing four things about you gives me an advantage.”
He barks a laugh before pulling me into him as “Careless Whisper” by Wham! begins to play.
“Ah, George Michael,” he says. “One of the many faces I see before bedtime.”
“I’m sure George is lovely.”
He studies me for a moment before sighing. “I’m not ready to tell you my reasons for wanting to win the company.”
“What? That’s no fair.”
He drops his mouth to my ear. “You haven’t earned the right to that knowledge—not yet.”
I bristle. “I’m helping you win the competition.”
“There’s a long way to go before we win, Sunbeam,” he tells me before proceeding to spin me out.
He pulls me back in and tugs me close so that every inch of my torso is pressed to his. Sparks ignite in my body, torturing me as theyfire off. Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, he swings me out again, and I can finally breathe.
That’s before I’m pulled back in and the cycle starts all over.
As the song continues, his movements slow. He holds me in a way that makes my brain scream,Run!
This whole dancing scenario has destroyed my notion about who this man is. For as sarcastic and grunty as Pane has been, he apparently also has a softer side.
“Speaking of scents ...” he says, lifting his hand and spinning me. He reels me back in effortlessly. “You smell like a bouquet.”
“You’re joking.”
“I would never joke about such a thing.”
The way he’s staring down at me makes a lump clot up my throat. Somehow I manage to talk past it. “How do I smell? Could you bottle it?”
“Oh, I could bottle it,” he growls.
The heat in his voice sends hormones flooding through my bloodstream. My panties are now soaked through. Thank you very much, hormones.Must not think about wet panties.“So, what is the smell?”
“It’s . . . wildflowers.”
“Wildflowers?”
“On a cloudless day,” he muses.
Our gazes latch, and I blink in a pathetic attempt to claw my way out of the hole I’ve plummeted into.
“Tell me ...” He nods toward the crowd. “What’s the dating pool like here?”
“It’s a small town. What do you think it’s like?”
“Tiny.”
