A slower song drifted through the speakers then, a love ballad layered beneath crashing waves and firelight.
Several couples stood almost instantly.
Michael groaned dramatically. “Aw hell. Here everybody go getting emotional.”
MacKenzie laughed while reaching down for her husband’s hand. “Come dance with me before you ruin the vibe.”
All around the bonfire, couples paired off beneath string lights and moonlight while the ocean rolled steadily behind them.
The atmosphere shifted after that. Softer now. More intimate.
Blaze looked down at Johanna and felt something settle deep in his chest with dangerous certainty.
He wanted this woman back in his life.
Not temporarily. Not halfway.
Completely.
Those warm brown eyes lifted to his again, cautious but already softening.
Blaze held her gaze steadily. “Dance with me.”
Not a question.
Just quiet confidence from a man who knew exactly what he wanted.
Even if he was still figuring out what came next.
*.*.*
Johanna’s pulse skipped traitorously.
“On sand?” she asked weakly.
A slow smile spread across Blaze’s mouth beneath the hood pulled low over his head. “Why, you scared?”
The challenge in his voice landed instantly.
Johanna narrowed her eyes. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
The man sounded entirely too confident about that.
Blaze stood first, unfolding to his full height beside thefire while shadows and flames moved across broad shoulders dressed in black. Firelight sharpened every hard line of him, the powerful chest beneath the fitted henley, the relaxed masculine stance, the calm confidence that seemed woven into his skin now.
Honestly, it felt unfair.
Johanna stared at the hand he offered her for one second too long before finally placing her palm against his. Warmth wrapped around her, and, Blaze smiled like a man who already knew he’d won something important tonight.
The realization made her stomach tighten.
He pulled her effortlessly to her feet, keeping his hand around hers as though touching her had always been the most natural thing in the world.
Johanna rose from the blanket trying not to notice the solid wall of muscle standing directly in front of her, the heat of his palm around hers, or the fact that every firefighter near the bonfire suddenly looked far too entertained.
Michael leaned back in his chair grinning openly. “Dude, you smiling hard as hell.”
