Page 67 of Single Chance

That moment came when the first notes of “All of Me” played over the speakers.

I beelined toward my sexy prey, who looked sharp and irresistible tonight—if you weren’t irritated with his cowardice over last night.

I sidled up near him as the couples in his group headed off to the dance floor.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, yourself.” He smiled, but I sensed an edge of uneasiness beneath the surface, as if he understood I wasn’t here to talk about work.

“Let’s go dance,” I said.

“Don’t you want me to introduce you to West and Luke?—”

“I want to dance.” I took his hand and tugged him away from his friends, who weren’t paying attention to us.

As he followed me toward the dance floor, he said in my ear, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I didn’t answer until we were in the middle of the dancing couples, my hands on his shoulders, his on my waist. “Sometimes coworkers dance at their company’s party. It’s fine. No one will think,oh, I bet she’s having his baby.”

He zipped a gaze around us at that, then seemed to understand no one could hear me. It was too loud, and people were wrapped up in their own twosomes.

“Just two coworkers sharing a dance to celebrate,” I said. “That’s what it looks like.”

“Got it. You’re right.”

Before he could let his guard down, I said, “You’ve been avoiding me.”

“I’ve been working with you all day long.”

I nodded. “But last night, you literally ran off before Sam could leave us alone.”

“It was late.”

“Chance, stop it. To quote a guy, we need to communicate. Not run scared.”

We swayed in silence for a bit, with me letting up so he could think.

“I owe you an apology,” he eventually said. “I went against our agreement.”

That wasn’t the angle I’d expected him to take. “I wasn’t upset about that.”

“I shouldn’t have done it.”

We swayed to the slow tempo, our bodies an appropriate coworker distance apart, which required effort to maintain because, in spite of being annoyed with him all day, I wanted to feel his body against mine. I waited, sensing he had more to say.

“Erin’s a tough subject,” he said. “Kissing you is much more pleasant.” His mouth curved into a boyish grin, dimple appearing.

I fought not to be affected by that smile that had the power to melt me. “So it was a diversion tactic?”

He tilted his head in thought. “Tacticmakes it sound cold and calculated. There was nothing cold about that kiss.”

I lost my battle to stay irritated, my own mouth flirting with a grin as I remembered the heat of that kiss. “No, there wasn’t.”

Our eyes met, and that pull between us was strong.

Another couple brushed against us from the side, popping us out of our connection, bringing us back to the here and now.

“Anyway,” Chance said, “Sam nearly walking in on us was a perfect reminder of why that can’t happen.”

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