It's Only Love(57)

But were they ready for that after only a week together? Hell, she’d been ready for years now, but it was probably too soon for public declarations. They’d get there when the time was right, and the thought of that, of the whole town knowing she and Gavin were a couple, was just another thing to look forward to.

With the formal part of the program over, everyone lined up for the buffet dinner of barbecued ribs and chicken, potatoes, salad, coleslaw and corn bread. The menu was as much a part of the tradition as the meeting itself. When Ella first started working in the office, she’d suggested changing up the menu, an idea that had been greeted with shocked silence from her family members.

At dinner, Ella asked Gavin to join her at a table full of employees and their spouses. The family always spread out among the employees at these events, but tonight they wanted to take the pulse on the new line. The ladies at her table were all abuzz over the new products, a thought that made Ella chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” Gavin asked, leaning in close to her.

“They’re ‘abuzz’ over the product news my dad shared with them. I crack myself up.”

He smiled. “That’s funny. So when do we get to try out this new product line? Don’t you need focus groups? How do I volunteer?”

She drove her elbow gently into his ribs. “Knock it off. We’re in public.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

She gave him a meaningful look. “Yes, you are.”

“Oh, do tell.”

“Not now. Not here.”

“How much longer do we have to stay?”

“Until it’s over.”

Groaning, he took a drink from his beer bottle. “I’m never going to make it until then.”

After dinner, a DJ got everyone up and dancing. Ella stood off to the side with her sisters, Wade, Colton, Lucy and Cameron. “So what’s the buzz on the new product line?” Ella asked with a smile. It would be a while before that joke got old.

“Lots of questions, a few raised eyebrows, but otherwise no real outrage,” Hannah said.

“Same at my table,” Cameron said. “Mildred asked if she could test them out for us.”

That sent the rest of them into fits of laughter.

“I’ll never get that image out of my head,” Colton said.

Lucy ran a soothing hand over his back. “It’s okay, honey. She was probably just kidding.”

“God, I hope so.”

Hunter and Megan joined them. “What’s so funny?” Hunter asked.

“Mildred wants to try out the new product line,” Ella said.

Hunter’s face went totally blank.

“He’s in shock,” Megan said bluntly, setting off another wave of laughter as she fanned his face.

“We need to be more mature about this if we expect the others to buy in,” Wade said.

“Maturity is so totally overrated,” Charley said. “Take him, for example.” She nodded to their brother Max, who was sitting alone at a table, an untouched beer in front of him while he stared off into space.

“I was surprised to see him here tonight,” Hannah said. “I thought he was staying in Burlington until the baby arrives.”

“Chloe told him she’ll let him know when she’s in labor,” Colton said. “Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to be there.”

“Wow,” Hunter said. “What the hell?”

“Will tried to talk to him this week,” Cameron said softly. “He’s not talking about it. Not even to Will.”

Ella’s heart ached for her brother, who’d always been happy and lighthearted and fun to be around until recently. Seeing him so down and despondent broke her heart. Hopefully after the baby arrived he’d rebound and be able to put his focus on the baby rather than on the relationship that wasn’t working.

After several fast songs, the DJ slowed the tempo with “A Thousand Years.”

Gavin approached her, took her hand and led her from the group without a word to anyone. His sexy, possessive gesture did funny things to her insides, which only continued when he wrapped his arms around her and left no room for doubt that they were together with the way he held her close to him.

Ella felt every eye in the room on her and them as they moved together to the song that summed up the depth of her love for him.

“Relax, babe,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve been dying to hold you all day.”

What else could she do when he put it that way but relax into his embrace?

The dance floor filled with other couples, including her parents, Will and Cameron, Hunter and Megan, Colton and Lucy, Hannah and Nolan as well as employees and their spouses. Surrounded by family and friends, Ella felt less on display but no less overwhelmed to be dancing in public with Gavin for the first time as his girlfriend or significant other or whatever they were to each other now.

Because the DJ knew exactly who he was working for tonight, the next song was one by the Beatles, “The Long and Winding Road.”

“Another song that suits us,” Gavin whispered, setting her on fire with his husky words, the scrape of his whiskers against her neck, the scent of his cologne and the tight squeeze of his arms around her. Between them, his arousal pulsed against her belly, reminding her of what to expect when they got home. She couldn’t wait.