Page 37 of Playing for Keeps
She didn’t have to know. She trusted him to at least keep her physically safe wherever they were. Trusting him not to break her heart again was another story. That was a pain she didn’t want to experience ever again.
The dark miles passed as he drove, and the distance between them on the bench seat stretched until they were miles apart. With the years and heartbreak that separated them, was it wrong to want the closeness they’d once had? Even now, she eyed his hand resting casually on the bench and wanted to reach for it. She wanted him to reach for her.
The cool front she’d played all day wasn’t the real her. She couldn’t stay mad at someone who’d cleaned her shop bathrooms, mopped under the shelves in the walk-in fridge, and taken out the trash three times without being asked. Perhaps it was foolhardy to rekindle the past with the boy who’d run off with her heart, but seeing a glimpse of the man who’d barged back into her life reminded her why she’d missed him all these years.
Justin turned onto another road, and everything clicked into place.
She turned to him and straightened her spine. “Why are we here?”
Shadows slid over his face as he drove toward the Reynolds’ barn. Even in the darkness, she knew every curve and angle of him. He’d changed but only improved.
“I thought we could have our own barn dance.”
Caroline gripped her hands together in her lap until her fingers throbbed. She was in way over herhead. This was more than her defenses could handle. “Justin, we can’t sneak into their barn.”
He turned to her, tilting his head down and looking away from the path long enough to ask, “Do you think I’d ever break the law?”
No. He wouldn’t. After all his dad had done, Justin was determined to break the lawless curse on his family line. It was one of the things they’d prayed endlessly about in that year. It was what had convinced him to believe in the one and only God—the one who didn’t punish the son for the sins of the father.
“So, they know we’re here?” she asked.
“I had help. The Reynolds are big fans of Alicia, and they let her come in and get things ready.”
“Ready for what?”
Justin parked the truck and killed the engine. The noise dispersed around them until the only sounds were the wisps of their breaths. “The barn dance we never had.”
Her chest was caving in—collapsing in on everything she knew. “We didn’t need a dance,” she whispered.
Justin nodded once before turning to look at the barn through the windshield. “You’re right. We had it all. I ruined that.”
Habit wanted her to disagree with him. He’d always been quick to criticize himself. In this case,she agreed with him—he’d shown her pure happiness, then took it away.
When she slid out of the truck, Justin held out his arm for her. She could take it. She could wrap her hands around his arm again without falling to her knees to beg for more.
Tentatively, she reached out and slid her arm into the crook of his, and he gently pulled her closer before resting his other hand on top of hers.
“Will you go to the Christmas barn dance with me?” he asked.
Oh cupcakes. When she looked up, he was staring, waiting for an answer. She’d agreed to dinner, not a full-on roundup of her wild heart.
Justin opened the barn door, and the light flooded the night. Chandeliers hung from the rafters, the Christmas lights wound around every beam and doorframe, and a single round table with two chairs sat in the middle of the room, draped in a white tablecloth. An old country love song brought her headlong into the annual event she’d skipped every year since Justin left.
Justin pulled out one of the chairs and waved his hand for her to sit before taking the other for himself. A short, clear vase on one side of the table held a single peony—her favorite flower. How had he even found one when they were out of season? She reached to touch it, and the soft petal brushed over her fingertips like air.
Alicia appeared beside the table with a pitcher of ice water and a smile that said she was firmly on Team Justin. “Good evening. I’m Alicia, and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with some water?”
“Sure.” Caroline handed over her wine glass and tried her best to stare a hole through her traitorous sister-in-law.
“Tonight’s menu has already been set, but we are confident you’ll love the surprise.” Alicia probably loved playing the part of matchmaker waitress. “I’ll be back in a moment with your appetizer.”
Caroline’s mouth hung open as Alicia walked away. “Appetizer? I thought we’d just grab a sandwich or something. It’s after nine o’clock.”
Justin leaned forward on the table, giving her a clear view of the face she’d once known better than her own. “I’m trying to keep you here as long as possible. Let me have this, please.”
Donut holes, the exhaustion made it difficult to argue with him. “Fine.”
Alicia was back before Caroline even finished her relenting and placed a platter in the center of the table. “Your first course is bacon wrapped shrimp with a brown sugar glaze.”
