Page 4 of Falling for my Family's Rival

“From watching Dancing With the Stars, I guess,” I say honestly. I’m mostly just making things up as I go, but, hey, the show did help me.

“Well, maybe you should go on the show,” she says, with an air of amusement in her voice.

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” I say, feeling the heat of embarrassment and pleasure rise up my neck.

I twirl her in a circle, and I swear the whole room fades away. She has the most beautiful eyes of anyone I have ever seen. Hazel, though leaning more green than brown, fringed with long, dark lashes. I could get lost in those eyes. As if she can read my thoughts, she blinks slowly and peers up at me with curiosity.

“Are you from around here?” she asks. “Or did you just come for the fundraiser?”

For a moment, I actually think about telling her the truth, although she would probably laugh at me. It’s the stupidest reason to be here for sure, but what can I do? Here I am, and if I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have met her.

“I’m from Fox River Falls,” I say, avoiding the rest of her question.

“Oh, my friend’s husband is the sheriff there,” she says.

I nod, like I’m even vaguely aware of who the sheriff is. The fact of the matter is, I have no idea who he is. I don’t care. All I care about is finding out more about the woman in my arms.

“What about you?” I ask. “Are you from around here or just here for the fundraiser?”

“Violet is one of my best friends,” the woman replies. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Besides, it’s for a very good charity.”

“I was a bit confused by the main purpose of the event,” I admit.

“The library here in Cranberry Creek is partnering with a branch of the Reading to Rover program, to help with literacy rates. Kids get paired with a specially trained therapy dog,” this goddess in my arms says.

“That actually sounds great,” I say. Internally, I’m kicking myself. If I had just paid a little more attention, this wouldn’t have been that confusing after all. But I was so busy scoping out our competition and trying to keep Angelo in line, that I must have just skimmed over the information.

“It really is,” she says, bobbing her head emphatically.

I spin her around again, and when she twirls back into my arms, she makes a breathy gasping sound that makes my pulse speed up. Without thinking, I dip her. The action is so smooth that we actually get some attention from the people around us. I actually hear a smattering of applause. The woman in my arms seems stunned that we flow so well together.

“You make dancing seem so easy,” she says.

“I swear, it’s just from watching TV shows about it,” I say. “I’ve never been that interested in doing it myself, but you are such a great partner, I might be willing to change my opinion.”

“I didn’t think I would be dancing at all tonight,” she says. “I kind of just thought that I’d be following all of my married friends around, watching while they danced. Gosh, that sounds a lot sadder than I intended it to sound.”

She laughs, and I decide right then and there that I want to make her laugh whenever I get the chance. I feel like I’m deciding a whole lot of things about a future that doesn’t exist. I should probably introduce myself, but something holds me back.

The music ends, and we shuffle off to the side of the dance floor. I am acutely aware of her standing next to me. She pulls her phone out of a pocket in her dress, and frowns at the screen. She stares at the message for a long moment, like she’s not sure she’s seeing something correctly.

“Oh shoot,” she says. “I have to go. I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.”

“Are you Cinderella?” I joke, trying to prolong the moment. “Do you turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight?”

“I just have to help my family with something,” she says, with an apologetic smile.

“I’m Lou, by the way,” I say.

“Mari,” she says. “I’m sorry, L-Lou, but I really do have to go…”

And with that, Mari spins around and floats away, like a dream too good to be true. I watch her go, realizing with a sinking feeling that I didn’t get her phone number. Or her last name. The only thing I really know about her, aside from her first name, is that she is best friends with the woman throwing this fundraiser…Violet, I think she said. That would be an awkward conversation.

I just can’t believe that I might never see her again. A wave of despair washes over me, and I have to fight back my emotions. There is nothing that I can do now, so I turn away from the dance floor and head off to find my brother. I’m sure I just met the woman of my dreams, and my heart is already broken.

Four

MARISSA

---