Page 17 of More Than Falling in Love

“Come on, Dad.”Mason turns to Poppy and holds up one finger.

I stand, ignoring Parker’s chuckle.“I’m coming.”

Dag beats me to her, and I up my pace.Poppy shakes her head, points at me, then motions toward Goldie.Even though I can’t hear the conversation, I get the drift, and the tightness in my chest eases a little.

“Poppy, Mason said you wanted to learn to two-step.”I hold out my arm.“Want to give it a whirl?”

She wraps her hand around my bicep, then winks at Mason.“I’ll try to learn, okay?”

“My dad will teach you.He’s good at everything.”

Not this.Wooing women is something I’m not good at.Actually, it’s keeping them that’s the problem.

Once we’re on the dance floor, she slides one hand into mine and rests the other on my upper arm.“Your timing was perfect.Thank you.”

“If Dag is bothering you…” I don’t finish my sentence because I can’t think of any way to end it without offering to maim my friend.

She looks down at our feet before we’re even moving.“He doesn’t bother me.But he has a date.It’s not fair to her.”

I don’t explain that Goldie is around a lot, and she’s used to Dag dancing with whatever pretty thing catches his interest.She’s spent numerous evenings watching him turn circles around the dance floor.

“There are different versions of the two-step, but the way I learned was two quick steps, then two slow.”I nudge the foot she’ll start with.“Go back with this one.Quick.Quick.Slow.Slow.”

“Okay.”She smiles up at me as we start to move, then drops her gaze to our feet again.

I shift her closer to me.“When I focus on footwork, I end up stepping on toes.Look at my face.”

She meets my gaze.“I’m probably going to mess up another pair of your boots.Two pair in two days is probably a record, huh?”

It’s crazy to think I’ve only known her two days.“Don’t worry about my boots.”I break eye contact to make sure we don’t bump into other dancers.“Yesterday morning, Mason was all excited because Mad Dog’s little girl was coming to the ranch, and—”

“He told me.That’s so cute.”

“Clearly, you aren’t a little girl.”My mouth is currently not connected to my brain.That’s the only possible reason for those words leaving my mouth.“That didn’t sound right.What I’m trying to say is thank you for making my kid happy.”

“I’m happy too, Kent.”

I’m not sure how to respond to that.Thankfully, the song ends, and I step away from her.“So that’s the two-step.Think you get the idea?”

“Yeah.I get the picture.”Her smile hasn’t lost an ounce of warmth, but I can’t help but feel like she’s not talking about dancing.

I stride back to my seat, both my thoughts and my stomach churning.These last two days, I’ve reminded myself repeatedly that she’s leaving soon, but her dad lives here.She’ll be back.Being honest with Poppy is the adult way to handle things.Making sure we’re on the same page will avoid hurt feelings down the road.

Parker stares at me as I take a seat and continues until I meet his gaze.

“What?”

“Not sure what you said to her, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t have her in tears by the time I have to drive her back to her dad’s place.”There’s humor in his tone but also a hint of warning.

“Will you take Mason home after the wedding?I’ll drive Poppy into town.”

Parker rubs a hand over his face, then scratches his beard.“Yeah.But honestly, I’m surprised.I mean, I’m happy that you came to your senses, but I thought—”

“I need to be able to talk to her without little ears listening in.”I pin him with a look.“Poppy and I are friends.That’s all.”

He nods.“I’ll take him home and get him to bed.And I won’t even stuff him full of candy or anything.”

“Thanks.If he’s asleep when I get back, maybe you can give me tips on living in the friend zone.You’re good at that.”

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