Page 62 of Settling the Score

He hadn’t meant to.

He’d thought leaving her would save them both from the inevitability of that. He’d been wrong.

He wasn’t wrong now though. At the end of this week, he would walk away from her for good – for her sake. No more fantasising about Ashbury Falls and the quiet, contented life they could have, if they were different people. No more wondering what she’d say if he even suggested it.

There was this week, and then, there was nothing. And that was okay by him. It had to be.

* * *

‘I know you can run, but I’m wondering,’ Chuck said, voice low, face close enough to her that Sienna presumed she was the only one to hear him.

‘Wondering what?’ she prompted, when he let the sentence taper off.

‘When I can collect on that dance you owe me.’

‘Dance?’

‘I beat you, fair and square. That was the prize, remember?’

She raised a single brow. Their race – and his stipulation for a prize – had completely slipped her mind.

‘What’s the matter? Don’t know how?’ he teased.

She arched a brow. ‘You’ve seen me dance.’

‘But you haven’t danced with me yet,’ he pointed out. ‘Isn’t that an oversight, when we’re partners?’

‘For the wedding,’ she said with a small smile.

‘Right.’ He grinned, and her smile naturally widened in reply. He was effortlessly, roguishly charming, and super easy to be around. ‘So, how about it?’ He held out a hand to her, nodding his head in the direction of the makeshift dance floor in the dimly lit space in front of the DJ. Quite a few people had gravitated that way and were dancing to the heavy beat of the song.

‘Hmm.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I guess you do raise a good point. I mean, I know I can dance, but you might have two left feet.’

He nodded sagely. ‘That’s true.’

‘And if you do, there’s still time to swap you out for a better model.’

‘Brutal,’ he said with mock offence. ‘Are you saying you won’t accept me despite my imperfections?’

‘Are you actually admitting you have imperfections?’

He laughed. ‘You sound surprised.’

‘You just seem a little, erm, how do I put this?’

‘Full of myself?’ he asked, but there was no offence in his features.

‘I was thinkingsureof yourself,’ she responded, with a shake of her head. ‘That’s a small, but important, difference, you know.’

‘Is it?’

‘Well, yeah. I mean, my words are kind of a compliment, yours are not.’

‘Then let’s choose your turn of phrase. I’m sure of myself, yes.’

‘Except when it comes to dancing?’

‘How about we go find out,’ he said, standing and holding a hand to her. Sienna looked at it, her heart shifting a little. Not at the prospect of dancing with Chuck, but at the prospect of dancing with him in front of all these people. Or rather, one person in particular.