Page 28 of It’s Only Love (Citrus Pines #1)

Christy insisted they all meet at The Bucket to celebrate the work they had done that week.

They had made some real headway with the house, and she could see it starting to come together.

Justine was going to be singing at the bar and it was the last night before Beau went away for two weeks.

Christy knew he was tying up some business deal and he was going to clear his condo, getting it ready for the sale to close.

She asked him when he was going to tell everyone he was buying the house but he still wanted to wait until it had all finalized, in case anything went wrong.

The four of them sat in a booth, Beau and Dean on one side, Justine and Christy opposite them.

Taylor was working, but she managed to join the four of them, perching on the end, in between serving customers.

They ate and laughed throughout the meal and Christy couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this happy, surrounded by her friends, her true family.

She couldn’t help it, but she kept stealing glances across the table at Dean who was always ready to meet her gaze with his own and a shy smile.

It suddenly hit her that she couldn’t imagine going back to the city, back to her lonely apartment and her life there.

She shook away the feeling, she didn’t need to worry about it just yet.

As they finished their meals, Justine stood up and announced, “I’m gonna go and set up, I start in a few minutes, and I want you all in the front row cheering me on.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Beau mock saluted. Christy also stood up and grabbed her purse.

“I’m going to get another drink, do you both want a refill?” she asked, looking between the two men.

They both started to protest, but she shut them down. “Stop it. I can afford a couple of beers. You’ve earned them and saved me a fortune on manual labor,” she said firmly, and stared them both down.

“Yes, thank you, same again,” Beau said sheepishly.

Christy turned her stern gaze on Dean, and he ducked his head and nodded reluctantly. She beamed at both of them and bounced away from the booth. Taylor smiled at her when she reached the bar and ordered the drinks.

“You look so happy, Marilyn. It’s really wonderful to see,” Taylor said, prepping Christy’s cocktail.

Christy rolled her eyes at the nickname. “I feel happy, for the first time in so long, but please stop calling me that,” she begged.

“But it’s true.” Taylor winked at her, and Christy huffed.

“I forget how that name started, was it you first or Justine?”

“Think it was me, but I first heard it from, ah...” Taylor broke off abruptly and turned away to grab the beers for the guys.

“...I forget, Anyway, is there anything in particular making you so happy?” Taylor continued, setting all three drinks down in front of Christy.

Christy paid and shook her head, taking a hasty sip of her drink. The fruity flavors tantalized her tastebuds and the burn of the vodka reminded her that it wasn’t fruit juice.

“Romance can do that to a person,” Taylor said slyly.

“Oh, no, me and Beau aren’t seeing each other anymore,” Christy replied.

Taylor smiled at her gently. “I meant you and Dean.”

Christy felt herself flush with heat. “What? I don’t know what you mean,” she replied unconvincingly.

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Don’t do that, not with me.

I’ve seen the way you two look at each other.

But you need to know, he’s looking for something serious.

He wants to settle down and start a family.

I know you’re looking for a little distraction, which is great, but I don’t want anyone getting hurt.

I mean, you’re not planning on staying, right? ”

Christy tried to ignore the hope in Taylor’s last words. She shook her head. “I’m not going to get hurt again.”

Taylor nodded and reached over and placed her hand on top of Christy’s, giving it a squeeze. “I don’t just mean you, babe,” she replied, she squeezed her hand again and moved away to pick up the microphone.

Christy peered over her shoulder towards the guys who looked like two mischievous teenagers.

Beau’s shoulders were shaking, his hand covering his mouth so stop from spitting beer out and Dean’s head was thrown back in laughter.

She wished it were quieter in the bar so she could hear the deep sound rumbling from him.

Taylor announced Justine’s first song and Christy grabbed her cocktail and the beers and looked up to see the guys heading over to her.

Beau took his beer, brushing her cheek with a kiss in thanks.

She saw Dean frown at Beau before he took his beer from her and stared down at her, his eyes deep, intense, but full of mischief.

As he smiled at her, Taylor’s words started ringing in her ears and she had to remind herself, friends only .

They headed over to the already packed dance floor for Justine’s performance, Taylor and Christy shoving the two men forward into the front row of the crowd.

Christy placed her drink on a table behind her and joined Taylor as Justine started her set with an upbeat song.

The joyful music spurred the crowd on, and they all danced, shimmied and laughed together.

Christy couldn’t imagine all these strangers interacting in such a friendly way back in the city.

Small-town life was definitely something special.

Justine continued with the fast-paced songs, whipping them all into a frenzy, the crowd shouting the lyrics back to her.

The temperature in the room rose from all the energy until eventually Beau begged for a break, and Taylor had to serve a couple of drinks to others who couldn’t handle the heat.

Eventually, Justine took pity on the melting crowd and slowed the pace down.

Christy watched as the remaining onlookers began to pair off and fall into a slow dance.

Feeling awkward, she turned to leave the dance floor, but a strong hand circled her wrist. Heat pressed against her back and a voice said softly in her ear,

“Where do you think you’re going?” His breath trekked down the side of her neck. She shivered and turned to face him, dwarfed by his height. His cheeks were flushed from the heat and his hair was starting to curl at the ends.

“You can’t leave me here all alone,” Dean said, pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she came up against his hot, hard body. Her heart pounding, she peered up at him through her lashes.

“Okay, just one dance though,” she said, her voice husky at seeing the heat in his eyes.

He nodded and they began to sway together as Justine launched into an acoustic sultry cover of Simply Red’s It’s Only Love.

The meaning in the lyrics, the heat in the air and the feel of Dean’s hard body pressed against hers, was a heady mix.

Her eyelids fluttered closed as she leaned her head against his broad chest. Dean settled his palm on the small of her back, his thumb dipping under the hem of her shirt and stroking across her hot skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

He tightened his arm around her, and she sighed against his chest. She moved her arms up and circled his neck, listening to his heart thudding in his chest. As the music washed over them, the seductive words teased her ears, and Dean’s thumb continued its exploration. Her body grew heavy with need.

He swayed them back and forth to the beat, their bodies falling into rhythm together and the world disappeared around them.

She tried to fight it, knowing it was a mistake, but she couldn’t help her body’s reaction.

She felt herself growing desperate, the air surrounding them, thickening and after a moment, Dean dipped his head down to her ear.

“You drive me crazy,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear again.

A soft moan escaped her and she pressed herself against him tighter, wishing they were alone.

He placed the rest of his hand under her top and flattened his palm against her back, splaying his fingers and dabbling with her bra strap.

So badly she wanted him to unhook her bra and move his hands round to cup her, stroking her nipples like he had before.

She slid her hands up the back of his neck and into his hair, tugging the strands gently.

He groaned and pressed his hips into her.

She felt his arousal, hard, drawing another moan from her.

Suddenly, the sultry soundtrack stopped.

Loud applause filled her ears and all that wonderful heat disappeared.

She opened her eyes to find Dean standing a foot away from her, clapping along with the audience.

She looked around, breathing heavily with awareness.

The whole audience was cheering, none of them looking at her.

Christy stood there a moment and then began clapping along in her dazed state, her mind elsewhere.

“I need some air,” Dean rasped. He moved past her, not meeting her eyes.

Christy was left on the dance floor alone, surrounded by the audience. She looked around and saw Beau at the bar talking to a woman. Taylor stood at one end glaring down at him, but Dean was nowhere to be seen.

Did he go outside? Should she follow him?

She didn’t understand what just happened.

He hadn’t been a jerk like before, but he still just left without a backward glance.

Did he not want to be around her after all?

Before when this happened, they hadn’t spoken about it.

But things were different now, they had developed a friendship.

She didn’t want to ruin that. She wanted to make sure he was okay, so as Justine started a new song, Christy made her way towards the door in search of Dean.

*