A Fool's Gold Christmas (Fool's Gold #9.5)(53)

“Right.” She glanced up at him. “You’re coming to the dress rehearsal, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “Give me your schedule. I’ll get to at least one other before then, so we can do a run-through from the top.”

“That would be great.”

* * *

DANTE WALKED INTO THE convention center, still not sure why he’d been summoned. Mayor Marsha had called and gone on about a large space and the sound system. Just when he’d started wondering how he was going to politely get her off the phone, she’d asked him to meet Evie right away. He’d agreed, grateful to be able to hang up.

Now he watched her up on stage, standing close to Gideon, their heads bent over sheets of paper. Evie pointed to something and Gideon nodded. His arm brushed hers as he took another paper and held it close to the first.

His head knew there was nothing between them. That Evie spent most nights in his bed, or he in hers. While neither of them was looking for a serious kind of relationship, they were, in the confines of what they had, monogamous. He’d considered himself civilized for many years now. Law-abiding. He was a lawyer, which made him, by definition, boring.

But deep inside, something stirred. Something heavy and ugly that wanted to propel him to the stage. He didn’t just want to step between them, he wanted to push Gideon away. He wanted to hurt the other man and then stand over his broken body and pound his chest as a sign of victory.

The flush of intense emotion faded as quickly as it had risen, but the remnants left him shaken. What the hell was he thinking? Beat up some guy and then do a victory dance? What was he, seventeen again? Mature, sensible people didn’t act like that. He didn’t act like that.

Evie said something he couldn’t hear, and Gideon walked away. A couple of seconds later, music filled the open space.

“That’s it,” Evie called and put down the papers. She shrugged out of her coat, revealing body-hugging dance clothes. As always, the sight of her body in all its perfection moved blood from his head to points farther south.

Then she began to dance.

She moved across the stage. She was strong and elegant at the same time. Lithe, graceful. He could watch her forever.

Behind him, he heard quiet conversation. He turned and saw several of her students had walked in. They were dressed exactly like her—in black tights and black leotards. Their hair was in braids wrapped around their heads, just like her.

The girls, ranging in age from maybe seven to twelve, didn’t notice him. They only saw Evie. A couple of them held out their arms, as if dancing with her. He heard whispers of “Beautiful” and “Oh, look at that turn.”

They wanted to be just like her.

He knew Evie had been brought to Fool’s Gold under difficult circumstances. The last thing she’d been looking for was a connection with her family. But she’d found that, along with a place to belong. He would guess her plans to leave in a few months were also unraveling. Fool’s Gold was now home.

He was a man who had gone out of his way never to form serious connections. Oh, sure, he was friends with Rafe, but that was different. Caring about a woman meant risking more than he was willing to put on the line.

But what if Evie needed him to care now? Everything in her life was coming together. It would only be natural for her to start looking at the future. If her needs had changed, then he needed to back off. To make sure she wasn’t expecting more than he could give. Only he wasn’t ready to stop seeing her. He liked seeing her.

The music ended, and the girls clapped. Evie turned toward the sound and smiled when she saw her students. Then her gaze met his, and the smile became a little wicked.

He grinned in return.

Maybe he was reading too much into the situation, he told himself. Just because she was finding her way with her family and enjoying the town didn’t mean she wanted more from him. He would wait and watch. If things seemed different between them, then he would act. Until then, he would hang on and enjoy the ride.

* * *

“DO YOU HAVE any idea how many seats that is?” Evie asked, sitting up and reaching for her glass of wine.

“Three thousand, two hundred?” Dante asked.

She turned to him. “I’m seriously on the edge. Don’t mess with me.”

He leaned in and kissed her. “You don’t scare me. I used to be bad.”

They were at his place, curled up together in the living room. The gas fireplace flickered away. After an afternoon of practicing with her students on the huge stage at the convention center, Evie was both exhausted and wired.

His mouth lingered, causing her to relax. This was nice, she thought. Spending time with him, touching him, being touched. Except for her being in love and him not in love with her, it was about as close to perfect as she’d ever gotten.

He drew back and she sighed.

“I feel so stupid.”

“It’s an honest mistake. Everyone thought you already knew and you didn’t.”

“I know.” She scooted back into the arm of the sofa and rested her sock-covered feet on his lap. “But I’m still playing catch-up. That place is huge.”

“Your girls will be fine. You’ve done a great job with them.”

“They’re the ones who worked hard.” She drew in a breath. “But it’s done. We’re there and we’re practicing, and I’ll be fine. I hope.”