Page 39 of A Wild Card Kiss
In my wedding dress and his fireman costume, we dance it out. With every swish of my hips, I imagine leaving behind this afternoon’s hallway encounter at the Legion of Honor. I picture sayingsee you never againto the two people who upended my plans.
And I see moving on in my near future.
It’s as if I shed more of the pain with every single song. Did I even love Silvio? Were we too different all along? Did it happen too fast? Is this a blessing in disguise?
Maybe I was hoping he was the one when we truly didn’t even have that much in common.
He didn’t like bowling, or foosball, or Halloween.
Or fun.
Perhaps he was wrong for me.
I’ll move on, I’ll move forward, and I’ll move away.
When Madonna’s “Crazy for You” comes on, the ultimate 80stune, Harlan’s eyes darken. “This is a damn good song,” he says. “And you’re going to need to slide even closer to me for this one.”
I don’t want to say no. Not at all. I want to sing all the yeses. Daisy was right. So damn right. “Let’s do it, handsome,” I say, and Harlan brings me up against him, looping his hands around my waist.
“Wrap your hands around my neck, darling,” he says, that little hint of Southern drawl coming back.
My lips curve into a grin. “I hear your accent.”
He leans in close, nuzzles my neck, whispers in my ear, “Maybe I save it for dancing too.”
“I wonder if you save it for other things,” I whisper, enjoying the feel of his chest against mine, his body pressed tight.
“I just might,” he says, then murmurs softly against my hair, “This is a better dance for tonight, isn’t it?”
I smile against his warm skin, getting his meaning right away. This dance with him is worlds better than a wedding spin. He’s right. He’s so right. “It sure is,” I say.
“I like our celebration, Katie.”
“I like our celebration so much better,” I echo.
And I truly do.
It’s crazy, in some ways.
How can I have shivers sliding down my spine after what happened today? How can I have flutters in my chest?
But they’re here and they’re real.
I was going to wait for Harlan, but screw waiting. It’s time for me to take the reins.
I draw on those wild new sensations as I reach for the antidote. “I think Daisy had a great idea about tonight, Harlan. What about you?”
His lips crook into a naughty grin. “Are you asking me to engage in some red-hot rebound nookie?”
Those tingles turn into full-on sparks, igniting in the center of my body, pulsing between my legs. “I absolutely am, Harlan.”
“Then the answer is… I’m at your service.”
Chapter 14
Katie
“Ouch!” I hop on my left foot in the entrance to Harlan’s home, holding my right one as a sharp pain radiates through my arch. “Did a tarantula eat my foot?”
