Page 19 of Rebel Secrets (Devils Hockey #3)

“Four inches, at least. Can you do that?”

I smiled. “Piece of cake.”

When I looked back at Rebel, his brows were arched, but he waited until Patricia had moved on to Rocky and Tiffany, before he spoke, just loud enough for me to hear.

“I never took you for a spiked-heel kind of girl.”

“I have hidden talents.”

Rebel’s mouth quirked up at the corner.

“Okay, everyone, eyes on me.” Patricia called from the center of the floor. “I’m going to demonstrate. Raffi, you don’t mind if I borrow your husband, do you?”

“Of course not. But I reserve the right to dance with Ronald at the wedding.”

Patricia laughed, her voice low and rich. “You know my husband will not have a problem with that. And neither will I. Music, please.”

Instrumental music poured out of the speakers, and the Colonel and the dance instructor proceeded to show off their moves.

My mouth dropped open as Rebel’s dad led Patricia around the floor with a smooth grace that left me dumbfounded. After a few seconds, I remembered to close my mouth and looked at Miss Raffi, who smiled as she watched her husband.

I snuck a glance at Rebel, grinning when I saw the same shock on his face that was mirrored on his brothers’ and sister’s faces.

“Music off.”

Stunned silenced for all off two seconds before the clapping started. Somebody whooped, probably Rowdy. Patricia held up her hands and the crowd fell silent.

“Now, everyone, do what we just did.”

We all laughed, before she pulled Rowdy and Tressy into the middle of the floor. We watched as she showed them the proper hold, telling everyone to watch and learn. Which we did.

But they made it look easy. Rowdy, especially, but Tressy had a natural grace. Together, they just looked…right. And when they smiled at each other, I gave a little sigh, hopefully not loud enough for Rebel to hear.

A second later, Rebel leaned closer, and my heart pounded a little faster. “I think Rowdy’s been practicing secretly,” Rebel voice slid into my ear like liquid. “No way he’s a natural at this. Bastard.”

I giggled. That’s the only way to describe the sound that came out of my mouth, which I quickly covered with my hand.

“You’re just jealous.”

“No, but I am competitive. We’re going to look fucking amazing, even if it kills me.”

Trying to hide my smile, I whispered back, “We are not going to upstage your brother at his wedding. Besides, you don’t know if I can dance.”

“I’ve watched you walk. We’ll be fine.”

My brain chewed on that for a few seconds. He watched me walk? What did that mean? But I couldn’t ask him because Patricia walked over to us.

“All right, you two. Let’s see your hold.”

We turned to face each other again. I steeled myself against the heart-flutter of staring into his eyes and instead chose to stare at his shoulder, where my left hand came to rest. My lungs contracted when he took my right hand and put his right hand on my back.

I had to move closer so we could get into the proper position, which left very little space between us. And very little air.

“All right now. We’re going to do a simple waltz.”

With my eyes on Rebel’s, we moved together in a square, following Patricia’s directions, though I didn’t really need any. Dance had been a required subject in prep. A lot of the other students had been children of royalty or diplomats or came from insanely rich families who attended actual balls.

I’d used my training several times in the past, mostly at school dances. And it must have shown. Rebel’s eyes narrowed as we executed several turns.

“I have a feeling you’ve had training,” he said. “You’re a secret weapon, aren’t you?”

I was secretly pleased and knew I shouldn’t be. “I am not going to help you look better than your brother at his wedding.”

“You already make me look better.”

My cheeks flamed, but I couldn’t look away. There was something about the way Rebel looked at me that locked my gaze on his.

“Dance was mandatory at my prep school.”

Crap. Why did I say that? But Rebel didn’t look surprised.

“Where’d you go?”

“Choate Rosemary.”

“Know a couple players who went there.”

The music stopped and so did we. Since I was facing a wall, I couldn’t see anyone but Rebel. And he was looking only at me. I waited for more questions, but he just stood there, until I finally had to ask.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

He shrugged. “Your parents paid for you to go to a fancy school. It happens. Mine built a hockey franchise so their kids would have somewhere to play. And now they’re paying for us to learn how to dance for my brother’s wedding. I hope we don’t have to go through this again when Rain gets married.”

The music started again, and we began to dance. I realized we’d never let go of each other.

My brain grasped for a topic of conversation. “You think Rain and Brian are going to be next?”

“Well, it’s not going to be me or Rocky. Unless he’s got a secret girlfriend. And if that girl tries any harder to pick him up, he’s going to run in the opposite direction.”

I looked over my shoulder and bit my lip against a grin. Tiffany was talking and definitely flirting. Rocky looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Guess I lucked out.” Rebel’s voice barely rose over the music.

I wasn’t thinking when I asked, “How so?”

“I was originally supposed to dance with Tiffany.”

I’d forgotten. “Lesser of two evils, huh?”

“I don’t think you’re the lesser of anything.”

Why did that tone in his voice make it hard for me to breathe? Rationally, I knew Rebel was handsome. Maybe more than handsome. And maybe I’d noticed that a little more than I normally did lately. But he wasn’t my type.

Yeah, your type worked out so well for you before.

But Rebel didn’t like me.

Except the past couple of weeks, it had seemed?—

Nope. No, it hadn’t seemed like anything. Stop it right now.

I smiled, hoping I didn’t look like a complete idiot.

“Thanks.”

“All right, let’s go one more time,” Patricia said, “and I’ll be by to give each couple some tips.”

The music started again, but we didn’t. I couldn’t seem to get my feet to move. My brain kept repeating Rebel’s words. And he kept staring at me.

“I can’t exactly give you any tips if you’re not going to dance.”

I startled to hear Patricia’s voice so close. Rebel, of course, must have seen her coming. His hands tightened around mine, though not in a threatening way. It felt more like he was keeping me close.

“I think we’re good,” Rebel said.

Patricia’s brows rose into arches and her lips twitched like she wanted to laugh. “So there’s no room for improvement?”

“There’s always room for improvement. But I’m not sure I’m going to get any better. And Erin doesn’t need any help. She’s already too damn good for me.”

“We already knew that,” Rocky yelled from across the room.

Everyone laughed, then Rowdy tossed a dig at Rocky’s two left feet, and Rain made a joke about Rowdy’s inability to count to two without his feet, and Rocky said something about Rowdy that made everyone laugh.

But my brain wasn’t processing words. All my attention was focused on Rebel, who continued to stare at me. I knew eventually someone would notice the way we were staring at each other, and I knew I should look away. I didn’t know why I kept staring. Except we weren’t fighting.

And I liked that.

“Why don’t we take a break for a few minutes.” Patricia’s voice broke through the fog, and I took a step back from Rebel. “Everyone get some water, and we’ll do another round.”

Could I fake a heart attack? A panic attack? A burst appendix?

“I need to talk to my brother.” Rebel’s gaze finally released mine, and he glanced over my shoulder. “I’ll be back.”

He was gone before I could respond.

Leaving me flustered and wondering what the hell had just happened.