Page 55 of Puck Me, Baby

“Shut up,” Jacques muttered, and I barked out a laugh.

I circled the island counter and smacked a kiss to his lips. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll be shaking my ass just for you.”

“I’ll go get changed,” Cara said.

Rusty and I followed her down the corridor, past her room, and into ours. Ten minutes later, we were all ready. Cara wore a white dress with pink flowers on it. It was cute and frilly and sat just below her knees. She’d paired it with a pair of white sneakers.

“Does this look okay?” she asked. “It must have shrunk when I washed it—it’s a little tight.”

“The dress and you are gorgeous,” Jacques said, and he ran his hands down her arms and linked their fingers together. “I can’t wait to be able to dance with you.”

“You need to dance with Trav and Linc too,” she ordered.

I smiled at her. She was always looking out for us. It might not be possible for us to dance together in public, but we would absolutely do it in private.

***

The bar was busier than I’d expected, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Whiskey Riders were on the cusp of making it big. They’d been announced as the backup band for the stateside tour of one of the biggest country acts around, and their original song had gone TikTok viral.

We scored a high-top table with a few chairs to the side of the bar that provided us with a little bit of privacy.

“What are you drinking, Carina?” I asked. “Should I order lemon drops again?”

She shook her head, and pressed her lips together. “No. I’ll just get a soda or a juice. The thought of drinking again makes me queasy.”

I got beers for the rest of us and a cranberry and soda for Carina and came back to the table to see the four of them laughing. I fucking loved seeing everyone happy.

Carina shook her head and held her hands up. “No, it’s been years.”

“What’s been years?” I asked as I handed out the drinks.

“Carina plays the violin,” Rusty explained. “I suggested she get up there and play with Whiskey Riders. You’d be able to talk good ol’ Billy into it.”

“I would.” I grinned. “Might just do that.”

“No, no,” Carina protested again.

“But first, darlin’, let’s dance.” I grinned and held out my hand.

“When you said line dancing, I didn’t realize you meant actual line dancing. I’ll make an idiot of myself up there.”

“But you’ll have fun. Come on, Jacques, we need to teach your wife how to line dance.”

We made our way over to the edge of the dance floor just as the song finished and Whiskey Riders launched straight into “Cupid Shuffle.”

“This one’s easy,” I said to Carina, moving to her other side so she was bracketed between Jacques and me.

We followed the steps, and by the third turn, Carina’s look of concentration— furrowed brow and teeth pressed into her bottom lip—were replaced with a smile and an extra swish of her hips with each step. Jacques had given up trying to keep his hands off her, so he was standing behind her with his arms around her waist while following her steps.

She threw her head back and cheered and clapped for Whiskey Riders when the song finished. I watched in awe when she dashed up front and tapped on Billy’s leg before they started the next song. He bent down and spoke with her for a moment. She gestured with a thumb over her shoulder, and he up-nodded us. Then he turned to the band.

Carina sauntered over to us with a cheeky smile and had opened her mouth to speak when Billy announced, “A’right, here’s one for the li’l lady and her groom.”

“Let me show you how it’s done.” She took Jacques’s hand and grinned at me.

The first strains of a guitar sounded, and my brow furrowed. Was it “Nutbush City Limits”?

“God, I haven’t done this in years,” Jacques replied and laughed.