Page 33 of Hello Trouble

HAYES

Music mingled with the scent of alcohol and sweat as we made our way into the dance hall. My brothers and I used to come here when we were single to meet new women. But now, with Della on my arm, it was clear just how much had changed.

I wasn’t interested in the buckle bunnies in cut-off denim and knee-high cowboy boots. I was obsessed with the curvy, proud, bubbly woman with a mane of red curls and a smile that had me doing stupid shit like making her car break down.

She was captivating.

Even against the noise and flashing lights, I couldn’t look away.

She grinned at the bartender and chatted with a waitress while we got drinks.

She sang along to every song that played on the speakers, regardless of whether she knew the words.

Her shoulders swayed, inspired by the beat but not in pace with it.

“You’re staring,” she said over the rim of her glass as we stood at a table near the dance floor.

“And?” I grinned at her before taking a drink of my whiskey.

She rewarded me with one of her smiles. Little lines formed at the corners of her eyes, and the strobe lights on the dance floor caught her perfect teeth save for a small chip on her canine.

I took another drink, even though no amount of liquor could compete with the buzz I got just from being near her. And still I wanted more. “Let’s go dance.”

She looked wistfully over the dance floor. “You should probably know I’m liable to step on your toes.”

“You still wouldn’t be close enough,” I replied, feeling the low ache of want I experienced every time we were together.

Her cheeks heated and she failed at fighting a pleased smile. “Is that so?”

I nodded, my hands aching to hold her. To feel the soft curves of her body.

“Let me prove it to you.” I took the drink from her hand, setting it on the table.

A new, bouncy song was playing over the speakers, something that reminded me of Della.

I linked my fingers with hers, leading us toward the dance floor opening.

“But you shouldn’t leave a drink unattended!” she argued, ever worried about the risks while my thoughts were already on spinning her around.

“I’ll get you a new one,” I said, “Come on!”

Laughing, she followed along, and when we reached the parquet flooring where all the couples were dancing, I pulled her to me.

She was right; she didn’t have rhythm, but that didn’t matter with a good leader. I used my grip on her hand and her waist to guide her along as she made little exclamations of joy and completely butchered the words to the song.

I loved having her this close, feeling the brush of her chest over mine, being enveloped by her sweet perfume.

Sweat shimmered on her forehead by the time the closing chords played over the speakers, transitioning to a slow song. Della made to move off the dance floor, but I shook my head, taking her even closer.

My fingers intertwined over her lower back, and I leaned my temple against hers. “Let me dance with my girl a little longer,” I breathed.

Her cheek lifted against mine, indicating her smile.

And she wound her hands around my shoulders, tangling her fingers in my hair as I guided her to the song’s slow, tender notes.

The soft swell of her chest pressed against my front, and her toes bumped into mine as we slowly twisted our way around the floor in the best dance of my life.

An overwhelming feeling of rightness rose over me, and I kissed her temple. Her curls brushed against my cheek. I never wanted to let her go. Never wanted to be farther apart than this.

It was like holding my world in my arms. And in that moment, I knew I was gone.

I wasn’t my own anymore.

I didn’t fucking care about spare bedrooms or pink throw pillows or plushy rugs on the bathroom floor.

I cared about this. About her .

About the way she scratched her fingertips over the back of my neck and sighed against me like she didn’t want anything more.

It was the happiest I’d ever felt.

And I never knew I could feel this way with a woman.

And I’d never been more scared. Knox had warned me she didn’t have time to waste when it came to relationships.

What if she didn’t feel the same way about me?

What if she only saw me as the carefree bachelor and not as a partner, an equal?

What if I was falling for her, only for her to eventually leave me?