Page 51 of Heirs and Graces at Highland Hall
‘Rebecca.’ Kieron’s eyes were practically sparkling as he looked at her. ‘I hope you didn’t mind my little toast earlier. I realised when I saw just how embarrassed you were that I probably should have checked you didn’t mind me doing it first.’
‘It was fine,’ Bex said. ‘Unexpected but fine.’
From the way Kieron’s lips twisted, he clearly didn’t believe her.
‘Well, I promise not to do it again, without warning, but I do believe we agreed to a dance,’ he said, offering his hand.
Her eyes moved across the room. If she was honest with herself, she knew exactly who she was looking for, but she was holding out no hope of seeing him. Still, it didn’t matter. Duncan had made it clear how he felt about her, and tomorrow, when she was clear-headed, she would tell him the truth. She felt the same. She wanted to be with him. Whatever it took. Then they would sit down like adults and work out how they were going to make it work. After stripping each other naked, obviously.
But for now, the least she could do was dance with Kieron. After all, he was the person who had scooped her up out of the snow and carried her back here. And she liked him as a person. She would use the dance to friend-zone him in the nicest possible way, she decided. Explaining that the kiss had been, like he said, down to trauma and nothing more. He was a grown man. A gentleman even. He would understand.
As he took her hand, Bex felt the infectious energy of the room sparking through her. The room, and her new beginning. Perhaps she wouldn’t even wait till tomorrow to talk to Duncan. She would have a few dances and go find him. Yes, that was exactly what she’d do.
‘One dance would be lovely,’ she said and followed Kieron through to the ballroom.
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As Bex moved over to the dancefloor, she couldn’t help but notice that everyone else seemed to have picked up the moves immediately. A band was playing at the end of the room, a far cry from the ones she’d seen at Christmas dos or weddings. This group featured an accordion, a tin whistle and a fiddle. All the musicians were on their feet, dancing as they played. She’d seen something similar at a wedding once, but there had been an extra person there, someone who called out the moves they were supposed to follow. Here, there was none of that. Everyone just knew.
‘I don’t know what I’m meant to do,’ she said, panic rising in her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was to sit out on the sidelines and miss out, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself either. ‘I don’t know these dances.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Kieron smiled, seeming unperturbed by her confession.
‘Look, it’s not hard. Just follow me.’
He lifted his hand in the air and spun her outwards, but as he pulled her back in, his hand settled lightly on her waist.
‘Will you look at that? You’re a natural at this.’
Bex laughed. ‘I’m not sure I’d go as far as to say that.’
‘Trust me, you just do the same things over and over. You’ll get it fast. I promise.’
Bex was caught between trying to watch what other people were doing and copying their moves without looking too far behind or treading on anyone’s feet. It wasn’t easy. Part way through the song, she thought she was getting the hang of things, and she jumped to the left, when the jump was meant to be to the right. The result was a collision with a tall, angular man who was dancing next to her.
‘Just… maybe slightly smaller moves,’ Kieron suggested.
A loud chuckle left her lips. It was hard to know whether the alcohol had helped or not. It definitely gave her confidence, although whether that was a good thing or not was debatable.
Regardless of how well Bex could do the actual dance moves, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had that much fun. Certainly not in a club. But it was far from conducive to the conversation she wanted to have with Kieron. Every time she got close enough to even consider talking, she was spun out again, or swung in for a sudden partner change, or simply too breathless to say anything at all.
Mid one spin she saw Gordon, standing at the edge of the dancefloor with a whisky in his hand, and another warmth spread through her, yet before she could acknowledge him, Lorna whipped past her.
‘It looks like you two are having fun?’ she said.
Bex tried to give her friend the look. The look that said yes, but this wasn’t what she wanted. Or rather, who she wanted. Yet stopping dancing was easier said than done.
‘You promised two, remember?’ Kieron said as the first dance drew to a close.
‘Of course.’ Bex nodded, hoping that perhaps this one would be a little slower and that she could have the friend-zoneconversation then. But if anything, the music was even quicker. Although thankfully the dance steps were easier to pick up, and she managed a full song without bumping into anyone.
As the second dance drew to a close, she was decided. She needed to talk to Kieron now. Nicely, kindly, but firmly. After all, the more dances she had with him, the more likely he was to think something was going to happen between them.
As the band finished and the applause rose into the air, she turned to look at him.
‘You and I make quite a pair, don’t you think?’ he said, his hand still on her waist. There was something to the way his head was tilted to the side that made her think perhaps he was going to kiss her. And she couldn’t let that happen. This was it. She knew it was. This was the moment she had to tell him she was spoken for. Yet as she opened her mouth to speak, another figure moved onto the dancefloor. He was here.
It was the first time she had ever seen him in full kilt and traditional attire, his long hair tied back in a bun at the base of his neck, and he took her breath away. He was gorgeous. A perfect specimen of a human, and he loved her. Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to draw breath.
