Don't Let Go(27)

Hayden’s eyes panned my face and went soft. He’d lived with me long enough to know where my head was.
“When’s the last time you two-stepped?” he said finally.
“With you.”
He rolled his eyes and smiled that smile that always made women look twice, making me chuckle to myself.
“Lord, you’ve got some rust to work out,” he said.
“Well, get on it then,” I whispered, making him laugh as he pushed me out onto the dance floor.
Time fell backward a little as he rested his right hand against my neck to guide me, and my feet remembered what to do. The song was quick, upbeat, and we fell into our easy rhythm almost immediately, sliding in and out and around the other couples that were taking it a little more conservative.
“Like riding a bike,” Hayden said over the music. When I laughed, Hayden dared me with his eyes. “Ready to kick it up a notch?”
It was easy to have fun with him, he had that way of somehow knowing what I needed and making sure I got it. Even though I knew we both had Becca spinning around in our heads, he focused on spinning me. He pushed me away, keeping hold of my hand, and I turned in a circle alone and then around him, all the while making tracks around the floor. He whirled me back into his arms, grinning.
“Not bad, lady,” he said.
“Let’s spin,” I said, grinning back.
We got our footing, and he winked down at me as his hand gripped the back of my neck tighter and we started spinning around the floor to the last part of the song. The other couples on the dance floor moved a little to the side to give us space, and as the song came to an end, clapped and hooted for us. I saw Ruthie stand up from our table and whistle.
“Wow,” I said, feeling the heat from the rush and the spotlight rise up to my face. “That’s been a while.”
Hayden hugged me lightly, and as a slow country song came on, squeezed my hand. “One more?”
I hesitated, knowing how sexy and intimate a two-step waltz could be. Especially knowing how sexy he could make it. It might have been several years, but I wasn’t losing my memory just yet. Not that I was afraid I’d suddenly jump into bed with him or anything, but I also liked keeping the lines clean between us.
“Come on,” he said. “For old time’s sake.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Old time’s sake, huh?”
But as Tim McGraw crooned “Please Remember Me,” Hayden smiled and took that as a yes, pulling me close and moving us around the floor. I didn’t fight it. It was familiar, and I guess something in me needed that normalcy, as bizarre as that was. Slow dancing with your ex-husband probably shouldn’t be normal, especially that way, with the combination of bodies moving slowly together in a close rhythm and legs going in between each other.
The lights on the floor had turned low, with little spotlights shining on the tables that flanked the dance floor, making those people glow a little.
He pulled me tight against him as we did a slow spin, his fingers going up into my hair and my face pressed into his chest, filling my senses with the same cologne he’d worn since I bought it for him on our two-year anniversary.
Something in my head rang out with warning bells, that I was maybe enjoying this too much and my clean lines were fogging up a bit. So when the spin was done, I pulled back a little and smiled up at him, noting the fog in his eyes as well.
He’d had me with a slow dance when we first met, and I was damned if I was going to follow up with it now. He pushed me out to do a turn, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw it in his face too. The need for distance, accompanied by a grin that said he knew he’d gotten to me in that one moment.
I smirked at him. “Shut up.”
He laughed and spun me around carelessly, and as I came around laughing, another pair of eyes sank into me from the edge of the dance floor.
The song crooned about remembering, and everything in those eyes remembered. My feet faltered as Noah stood there, dressed in all black like some stealth god, leaned against his table, arms crossed over his chest, with every possible nuance of hurt, anger, and defiance playing over his features. Even in the near darkness, it emanated off him like a glow stick.
Hayden followed my gaze and pulled me with him, my lungs filling with air as I realized I’d stopped breathing. How long had he been there? And where was—
As we made another turn, I saw her. Sitting at the table, watching him. As he watched me. His face was stony, his body taut with raw power. Like he was spring-loaded.
“Focus,” came Hayden’s voice just above my ear.
I stumbled and got my feet back on track. “Sorry.”
We made it around the floor one more time, but he managed to avoid passing them again, moving among other couples instead. I did notice that Noah had sat down, though, and I breathed a little easier.
“You okay?” Hayden said when the song ended and we walked slowly back to my table. The seriousness had crept back on him.
“I’m fine,” I said, my voice husky. I cleared my throat and grabbed my new margarita that awaited me on the table. “Thank you, Hayden, that was fun.”
“I mean since he’s back,” he said, his eyes boring into mine.
“Who’s back?” Ruthie said, even though she instantly looked around, knowing exactly who the who was.
“It’s okay, Hayden,” I said, trying to make light of it. “We’re all grown-ups now.”
“Really?” he said with a smile that didn’t make it all the way up. “That’s why you go numb every time you see him?” He thumbed at the dance floor behind him. “You nearly landed on your face.”