Page 8 of Judas

At the conclusion of her speech, Eliza handed the microphone off to Paul and made her way to the sidelines alongside Judas.

“That was torture,” she whispered.

Judas smiled down at her, “You did wonderful.”

She rolled her eyes and shook off the last of her nerves, “Thank you, but unless I’m in a courtroom, public speaking is not my thing.”

“You seem like a natural. You were eloquent and perfectly professional up there,” he told her earnestly.

Eliza wrinkled her nose at his words playfully, “Are you flirting with me, sir?”

Judas felt the blush in his cheeks and hoped the lighting was dim enough to hide it, but Eliza’s matching red cheeks suggested otherwise. They both stared awkwardly toward the floor in hopes that the heat was leaving their faces.

After several quiet moments passed, Judas offered “You were beautiful up there too, for what it’s worth.”

Eliza’s lashes fluttered as she gazed up at him, “I think that might actually be flirting.”

Judas, feeling brave by her side, shrugged his shoulders, “And if it is, what would you do?”

Eliza pondered over her answer before responding. The butterfly feeling in her stomach was back. Looking up at him was the sweetest reward but absolute torture all at once. She wanted to touch him. She wanted him to touch her. She wondered what his lips would taste like.

Sucking in a sharp breath from the weight of her own thoughts, Eliza played coy, “A lady never reveals her secrets.”

Chuckling, he nodded his head head. She was absolutely captivating and without a single second of hesitation he decidedto dive in headfirst. “You are absolutely right, but I have to tell you,” he said leaning down closer to her and whispering in her ear, “This man will walk to the ends of the earth to learn every secret you have to offer, Eliza.”

His cheek brushed against hers as he pulled away and Eliza desperately wanted to grab hold of him and keep him near. His words made her head spin, her pulse quicken. She wasn’t used to feeling this out of control. She didn’t know what to think about how she felt or about him. Thankfully, the crowd began to clap as her father ended his speech and she was catapulted back into the here and now.

She turned her attention back to the podium in time to see her father walking toward them. He was beaming with joy at all the attention and immediately wrapped Eliza in a bear hug.

“How’d I do, Betsy?” he asked in his signature drawl.

Eliza cringed, but recovered quickly, smiling as she escaped the hug, “It was great, dad! Completely perfect and the crowd loved it!”

She, in fact, had absolutely no idea what her father had said up there. Every moment he was speaking, she was staring into the eyes of a man she barely knew and, undressing him in her mind. Recalling this in her father’s presence caused Eliza to stiffen and stare around the room to avoid her father’s eye contact at all costs. She was hopeful feigning boredom would cause him to move on to a more willing conversationalist, but luck was not on her side.

Instead, Paul frowned at his daughter’s seeming disinterest in this party just for him, “Listen, sugar, you need to lighten up. This is a party. Get out there on the dance floor and celebrate your daddy!”

Eliza looked horrified, “Oh, absolutely not.”

Paul was not the kind of man that liked being told no, especially by his daughter, and insisted she take his advice, “I’mnot offering ideas, Betsy. I’m telling you to get out there and have fun. Looks tacky if we don’t enjoy our own party.”

She firmly shook her head, “Dad, people are out there slow dancing. What do you want me to do? Go out there and sway by myself?”

Paul’s brows furrowed as he considered this dilemma before he glanced at his bodyguard, ”I’m plenty safe in here surrounded by friends. Take the boy. Christian, take my daughter on the dance floor for a while. She needs to get with the program. This is a party.”

Judas had to use every ounce of self-control in his being to not react in the way he would’ve liked to. Instead of grinning from ear to ear, Judas simply nodded solemnly and extended a hand to Eliza.

She stared from Judas to her father, biting her lip in uncertainty, but couldn’t resist this delicious opportunity that just fell into her lap. Eliza took his hand and let him lead her into the middle of the crowded dance floor.

Judas moved her across the floor like he had done this a thousand times before. He was graceful and sure on his feet. Eliza easily let her body lean into his as he twirled her through the notes of a slow, country ballad. She felt like Ginger Rogers to his Fred Astaire. Being in his arms was the most grounded she had felt in more years than she could count.

As the music faded into the faster melody of a new song, Judas changed up their movements, shifting seamlessly into a two-step.

Eliza smiled up at him, “You’re a very good dancer.”

He twirled her away from him then pulled her back in even closer than before, “I’ve not had a chance to dance in a long time, but it's something I very much loved to do once upon a time.”

“You are a constant surprise, sir,” she said, “Did you have lessons when you were growing up?”

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