Page 40 of The Cowboy's Unlikely Love

“You. I’m enjoying this. Do you want to dance?”

“I’m good,” she said, misunderstanding the question.

The others were all up and dancing, and she was trying to reassure him that she was fine sitting by herself.

“You’re more than good, you’re awesome,” he told her with a smile. “And I wasn’t asking in a general way – not as a, do you wish you could dance? I meant do you want to dance with me?”

“I’d love to, but you’re working.”

He grinned. “Not anymore, I’m not. I’m done.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Don’t go getting in trouble for my sake.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not.” He grabbed Brody’s shoulder as he walked by, and Brody grinned at her. “My lady’s worried that I’m going to get myself in trouble for skipping out early.”

“You’ve got no worries, honey. I told him that he should finish early. We’ve got things handled back here. He does more than his fair share, so now that he has good reason to get out of here, I don’t mind covering.”

“Wow, thanks,” said Everly.

“My pleasure,” Brody told her before turning to Tanner. “Go on, get your ass out of here, you’re making the place look untidy. Go and dance with your girl before the band finishes.”

Tanner didn’t need telling twice. He hurried toward the hatch at the end of the bar to let himself out. He felt a little bit guilty leaving the rest of the staff to finish the night without him, but they all gave him encouraging smiles and nods. Perhaps he shouldn’t be too surprised; he usually stuck around until the very end of the night – no matter what his plans were afterward.

When he reached Everly, he couldn’t resist putting his hands on her waist and lifting her down from the stool. When her feet hit the floor, instead of letting go of her, he slid his arms around her waist and drew her closer.

He loved the way her eyes shone as she looked up into his. “Well, this is a nice surprise.”

He nodded happily. “Brody’s a good guy,” he said by way of explanation. He dropped a kiss on her lips. “What do you think? Do you want to dance? Or…”

He was surprised at himself, and his heart raced as he waited for her reply. He knew damn well what the question sounded like, and he hadn’t intended to ask that – although he hadn’t known if he’d be able to resist.

“I…”

He chuckled. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. Come on, let’s dance.”

He rested his hand on the small of her back as he walked her out onto the dance floor. Once he had his arms around her again, they started to move to the music. He had to laugh at the expression on Laney’s face as she and Luke went by.

Everly laughed, too. “I know, right?” she said to his sister. “I don’t know what’s going on, either, but I’m not complaining.”

Laney grinned at her. “Good for you. That attitude will serve you well around here; if things are going the way you want them to, just roll with it.”

Tanner felt as though her words were aimed at him just as much as they were at Everly.

The song changed, and the music slowed. He curled both arms around her waist, and she slid hers up around his neck. He rested his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes.

“How tall are you?”

She gave him a puzzled look and then laughed. “Five-five, why?”

He laughed with her. “Sorry, it’s just that it didn’t hit me until tonight how small you are.”

“Small?” she asked indignantly. “I’m not small.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way. I like it.”

She laughed. “Well, that’s a good thing; it’s not as though I can change it now.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. I wouldn’t want to change a thing about you.”

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