Page 96 of Hero for the Holidays

Denver scowled. “Fuck you.”

He clapped his brother on the shoulder and separated from him.

Marriage. That was rich coming from Denver.

They had never seen a traditional family work.

As far as he was concerned, the traditional family was a bullshit lie. Something designed to keep men and women at odds. And hell, he’d done a much better job just in the last few weeks than he’d managed to do as a teenager, than his parents had managed to do for the entirety of their marriage, balancing being a father, and... All right, so he and Fia didn’t have joined lives, really. But she felt like a partner. Felt like someone who was part of his family now. Linked to him.

He thought about that kiss. Damn, that had been hot.

But she’d said no. Unequivocally. And he couldn’t argue with that. Nor would he.

Because he’d screwed things up enough between them without pressing the attraction that was still there now.

Yeah. He felt some kind of way about her. But that was messy.

They had the friendship part now. That was what was important. He would never have guessed that they could get to this point.

He wanted to do everything in his power to preserve it now.

He wanted it more than he wanted to kiss her.

He was almost entirely certain of that.

The bonfire was going strong, and people had gathered to dance. He looked over at Fia. He had always wanted to dance with her at a bonfire. Not in recent years. When he had spent most of that time glaring across the expanse at her, letting his anger burn hotter than the flames.

But when he was younger, and they’d been engaging in a torrid, secret affair, he definitely had. And now?

Now they were family.

He held his hand out and looked at her. “Come on, Fia. I think it’s about time we had this dance.”

FIADIDN’TKNOWhow to respond to that. Except she was drawn to him before she could formulate an answer.

Part of her had always dreamed of that. Of dancing with him at the bonfire, like they were one of the couples.

Well, a long-ago version of herself had.

And it had always felt tricky and sharp and sparky in the years since.

Because no matter how much she hated him, she wanted him too. That had been, and always would be, the most difficult part of Landry King.

But right now... This was a celebration. So maybe it was the perfect time. The perfect time to cross the space and take his hand. Except even as she did, she knew it wasn’t just about making a show of being united. It wasn’t just about Lila or the adoption or the joy of the party.

It was about the fact that she was drawn to him like a moth to the flame. That she was inexorably tied to him. No matter how much you might want to pretend otherwise. His hand against hers set off a chain reaction inside of her. The whole landscape shifted that left her rearranged. That left her undone.

She tried not to show it, of course. Tried to breathe through it. Even as he drew her up against his body for a moment, before sending her away, and pulling her back. It was a light-footed dance. And the air around them shouldn’t feel sick. It should just be fun. But as they were spinning, she felt herself getting busier and busier. She felt the world shrinking down to just them.

And when he spun her, all she could see was the stars, the fire and Landry.

Everything was so clear.

She wanted him.

It was as simple and complicated as that.

They would never have been here. They would never have been dancing, if not for Lila. And yet their connection wasn’t only about Lila.

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