She, the Kingdom (She #1)(34)

Amelia wrinkled her nose. “She’s not pregnant, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

When Michelle didn’t take back the bottle of water, I rolled my eyes. “Do you think I’d be here drinking at all if I were?”

Michelle pulled a rag from her back pocket and began wiping down the counter. “It’s better to drink water when you’re trying.”

I took the water off the bar and twisted the cap, sullen. “That’s funny. I got pregnant with both of my kids when I was sloppy drunk.”

The jukebox was playing an upbeat country song. Amelia opened her mouth to speak, but Michelle beat her to it. “No, we’re not going to get new music.”

“Cow poop,” Amelia grumbled into her drink before taking a sip.

“I’ll have what she’s having,” a man said, taking the stool next me.

I turned to Colton and smiled. He had changed from his Pete’s Electric tee and dirty jeans into a white pearl-snap shirt covered in gray paisley and better-fitting jeans. Same boots and ball cap, but he smelled like a fresh shower and about five dabs too much of cheap cologne.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you’d see me soon,” I said.

He leaned forward on his elbows and grinned. His nose and cheeks were pink from being in the sun too long, but it made his green eyes practically glow against his skin. “Morgan,” he nodded. He leaned forward. “Miss Amelia.”

She grimaced, wondering who the boy was who knew her name.

“Amelia, this is Colton. I met him a few years ago at work.”

Amelia offered an unconvincing grin for half a second before returning her attention to Michelle.

“It’s hot. She’s cranky,” I explained.

“I’m not cranky,” Amelia snapped. “I just don’t like strange men sitting with us uninvited.”

Michelle handed Colton a water, and he twisted off the lid. “Take a deep breath, Amelia, and then hold it for about twenty minutes.”

I nearly spit out my drink. I’d never heard a man speak to Amelia that way. Men were always too busy being distracted by her beauty. “Colton,” I chided.

She made a face, and then turned away.

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled. “That wasn’t very nice. I was just teasin’.”

The noise level in the room jumped up several notches when a group of harvesters trampled down the stairs and crowded the bar. Some of them knew Colton, and patted him on the shoulder or shook his hand.

A semi-slow song about not being able to dance played through the juke box, and I instantly thought of my own two left feet.

Colton grinned, and nudged my hip with his. “Wanna dance?”

“This is my song, actually.”

“I don’t buy that.” He nodded toward the center of the room.

I looked out at the empty dance floor. “I don’t think so.”

“Oh, c’mon.” He narrowed his eyes and looked up. “I don’t mean to brag, but I dance a little. It’s sort of my thing.”

“I thought electrical work was your thing.”

He leaned in closer. “I’ll make you look good. Trust me.”

Amelia side-eyed Colton and me, and before I knew it, he’d taken my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. He held me close, and the roughnecks stopped ordering drinks long enough to catcall and whistle.

“See?” he said. “It’s not that bad.”

Just as I became comfortable with two-stepping in a small circle, the song changed. The guitar picked as Jason Aldean spoke the first words.

“Aw, this is a good one. Hang on,” Colton said, picking up the pace.

“What?” I asked as the guitar clawed its way through the speakers.

Colton spun me in a circle, ducked his head under our arms, and turned. My hand slid across his back, and then he grabbed it, two-stepping again. A bright smile spread across his face. He was already sweating, and I was breathing hard.

“You all right?”

“You weren’t joking,” I said. He could dance, and he made it look like I knew what I was doing. I could feel everyone in the room staring at us, and I couldn’t help but smile. We two-stepped a few more times before he spun me again, this time taking both of my hands, leaning me back one way, and then the other, spinning me out and back in. We paused for a moment, breathing hard and grinning. He kept going, and we both turned three times in a row, and he took me around again. I felt like we were in a professional two-stepping contest—if there were such a thing—and we were the stars of the show.

Colton let me catch my breath for a moment, and then he spun me and stopped. “I’m gonna flip ya. You trust me?”

“Flip me?”

He pulled me toward him to one side, pushed me out, and then brought me back in, somehow twisting our arms, and then over I went, landing on my feet. Everyone cheered, and we kept two-stepping like he hadn’t just launched me in the air. He laughed out loud at the look on my face, but he was having the time of his life, and so was I.

The song wound down, and I could tell Colton was prepared to go again. I shook my head, and gave him a hug. He squeezed me.

“Thank you, but that’s enough for one night.”

“C’mon,” he said, holding out his hands when I left him on the dance floor.