Page 13 of How Sweet It Is (Willow Shade Island #3)

I have no idea what got into me, saying I would go dancing with Pretty Boy.

He was just so sad. I couldn’t sit there and watch his usually lively smile and perky snarkiness disappear until all that was left was a depressed Eeyore.

So, I said the one thing I could think of that would get the old Levi back.

He tugs me out the back door, where his motorcycle is parked. He opens his saddlebag and hands me his second helmet. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.”

I stare at the helmet in my hands. Do I dare? I can’t decide if I want to or if I even have the guts to get on.

“Are you afraid riding on the back of my motorcycle will make you fall for me?”

I snort. “Hardly.”

As I stand there, Levi gently takes the helmet from me and slides it onto my head. He fastens it below my chin then takes my purse from my shoulder and places it in his saddlebag.

“Then come on, Spreadsheet.” He hops on his bike and dons his helmet. “Get on.”

I bite my lip, unsure if this is wise. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before. “Is it safe?”

“Is driving safe?”

“Safer than this,” I say under my breath, but I swing my leg over the seat anyway. I’m the one who wanted to get him out of his bad mood. I might as well go all the way with it.

“Hang on tight,” he says before he kicks on the motor.

I grab him around the waist and cling to him like my life depends on it. Well, it kind of does. I didn’t expect him to feel so muscular. His abs are rock hard.

Levi revs the engine then takes off. I was not ready to feel exhilarated by the movement.

A rush of excitement floods me as he turns onto the main road of Willow Shade and picks up speed.

The world blurs at the edges, the wind whipping at me, but all I can feel is him, solid and steady as I hug him tight.

I was so bent on getting Levi into a better mood I didn’t even ask him where we were going. As he approaches the bridge that connects Willow Shade to the mainland, I get nervous. “Where are we going?” I shout.

“Don’t worry. You’ll like it.”

Images of crowded nightclubs with loud music fill my head. Do those open at six thirty in the evening on a Tuesday? I’ve never been to a club in my life, and now I’m worried. I’m not really dressed to go out on the town.

Levi picks up speed as we travel over the bridge, and the steady hum of the engine vibrates through me. I close my eyes and let the thrill of the speed take away my concerns. At the end of the day, I trust Levi. The thought kind of surprises me, but I let it settle in my mind.

Levi is a good man. He’s more layered and complicated than I originally thought. He also has a surprising soft side to him. He cares about his bakery and is quite nervous about it succeeding. It makes me want to root for him.

I actually like him, which surprises me as well. He’s a massive flirt, and at first, he rubbed me the wrong way. But as I’ve spent more time with him, he’s grown on me. He’s got an openness and a childlike innocence I like.

I hug him tighter, pressing into his back. I feel every lean and shift in his muscles. The smell of leather, engine oil, and Levi’s cologne makes me dizzy but not in a bad way.

Levi slows and then pulls his bike into a free parking space on the street, and we come to a stop. He engages the kickstand and removes his helmet. “We’re here.”

I take off my helmet and look at the old-fashioned brick building with large windows and a warm amber light spilling from behind sheer curtains. Definitely not the pulsing neon I expected. I slip off the motorcycle, realizing we’re not at a nightclub. “Where are we?”

Levi hangs his helmet from his handlebars and checks his watch. He holds out the crook of his arm. “Come with me. We’re right on time.”

“For what?” I ask as I pull my purse out of his saddlebag.

“You’ll see.”

I realize I forgot to tell Rafe I left the bakery, and I take out my phone to shoot off a quick text. Then I take Levi’s arm. He leads me to the door then opens it, and we walk in.

The building has several different businesses, and we walk through the first glass door that has vinyl lettering saying The Last Dance Studio.

I look around, amazed. Hundreds of twinkle lights are strung above us, casting a warm glow over the large room. The wooden flooring is polished, and couples are scattered around the room in a typical dance pose, frozen as if waiting for instructions.

An older woman approaches us. Her silver hair is swept up in a low chignon, and she’s wearing two large hoop earrings. “Levi, how are you? And who is this lovely young woman?”

Levi grins. “Hi, Rita. This is my friend Amelia.”

I warm at the way he calls me a friend. I hadn’t thought about it, but I suppose we have grown into a friendship. Besides Zoey, I haven’t had many friends in my life. It feels good that Levi thinks of me as a friend.

“Are you two here for the waltz lesson?” Rita asks.

“Yes, we are,” Levi says. “Where would you like us?”

Rita points at a spot on the dance floor. “You can go right over there.”

I slip out of my business jacket and hang it and my purse on a hook by the door.

Levi leads me to the empty space. He lifts my arm, placing my hand high on his arm near his shoulder.

He grips the space on my back right under my shoulder blade.

He takes my other hand, lifting it into the dance pose all the other couples are stuck in.

Rita grabs her dance partner, and together, they instruct us, showing us the box step, explaining how to count to three as you do the steps. Then she turns on some music so we can practice. Levi’s grip on me tightens a fraction as he leads me in the steps.

At first, my moves are clumsy, and I stumble around.

I’ve never done anything like this, especially with someone who makes me feel like adrenaline is coursing through my veins.

My body is awkward, and I don’t know how tight to grip his hand, but Levi is very patient with me, and he gently guides me into the right moves.

As I get into the rhythm of the dance, I become aware of the feel of Levi’s hand splayed on my back, firm and anchoring.

Every time he moves, I feel it first in the subtle shift in his shoulder and arm, then his feet move. It’s like he’s speaking in a silent language that I’m starting to understand, and I begin to relax. He smells like something clean and faintly spicy, and it makes my pulse jump.

His thumb grazes the edge of my shoulder blade, just a slight touch, but it’s enough to short-circuit my brain. Levi gives me a smile, but it’s not cocky. It’s vulnerable. He’s silently asking me if I’m enjoying this dance.

The music swells, and I give myself over to it, letting everything go.

I stop counting in my head. I stop calculating each move.

I let the music and Levi guide me, and something inside of me opens, freeing a part of me I didn’t realize was caged.

I let myself flow with Levi, the two of us becoming one entity, the rest of the class melting away, leaving us alone in the universe.

I look into Levi’s crystal-blue eyes, and the bottom drops out from under my feet. A wild attraction surges in me. I try to shove it down, because I shouldn’t be feeling this, not with him. But I can’t ignore it.

This isn’t just dancing. It’s trust. It’s surrender. No secrets. No past. Just us, our steps and rhythm, and a longing I didn’t know I had in me.

The music suddenly stops, and Rita begins teaching another lesson, but I can’t concentrate. My heart is racing too fast. I can’t breathe. If this is what it feels like to dance with Levi Barrett, I’m in deep trouble.