Page 76 of Resisting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 3)

“Are you going out there?” Audrey asked Viv.

She shook her head. “Nope. Have fun,” Viv swatted Audrey’s backside playfully as she walked away.

When she got out on the dance floor, she tried not to think about the last time she’d been there. Or how amazing it had felt to be in Josh’s arms. Or about the motorcycle ride that had followed and the admission she’d made when he’d dropped her off.

The music started and she was paired with a guy named Jeremy. She’d seen him around town during the week and thought he was cute, but she didn’t feel anything close to the way she’d felt when she’d danced with Josh.

The next song was with a guy named Locke, she was pretty sure that was his last name. He was a dentist from Palo Alto and told her she had good teeth, which was one she’d never heard before.

Then there was Steve. They were all nice guys, who were very complimentary, and Steve even had a good sense of humor. But by her third dance partner, she realized as much as she enjoyed dancing, she really didn’t like strangers touching her.

So, when the song ended she tried to sneak off the dance floor. She was proud of herself for giving it the old college try and not just staying home and baking, but she knew when it was time to admit defeat.

“Okay, now it’s time to switch partners,” the MC announced.

She smiled up at Steve, thanked him for the dance, and started walking off the dance floor when she felt someone grab her wrist. She turned around to explain that she was leaving but then she saw who was holding her.

Josh, who was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt that highlighted his broad chest and sculpted arms. He’d shaven leaving only a five o’clock shadow covering his chiseled jaw. And he was wearing jeans that didn’t have any grease stains on them and shoes that didn’t have the word tennis in front of them. For Josh that was practically black tie.

Before she could ask him what he was doing there, the next song started and he pulled her into his arms.

Neither of them said a word as he gracefully led her around the room. There was so much to be said. He’d hurt her. Badly. And she wasn’t going to let him off the hook just because he’d shown up looking sexier than anyone had a right to look.

But one dance couldn’t hurt.

* * *

Audrey hadn’t slappedhim in his face when she saw him and had allowed herself to be pulled into his arms which were all wins in his book. But she wasn’t smiling. Her back was stiff as they moved together. This was nothing like the first night that they’d danced together. She didn’t look happy at all. She looked upset. Confused. Angry.

And it was his fault.

“You look beautiful.” She looked fucking hot but he didn’t think she’d appreciate him pointing that out when people were in earshot. She was the epitome of a freak in the sheets and a lady in the streets and she wouldn’t want him to draw any attention to her, even if it was positive.

“Thank you,” her response sounded distant and formal which he deserved.

He knew that he owed her an apology, and as much as he didn’t think this was the place to give it to her, he also didn’t think he could let another second go by without telling her what an ass he was.

“I’m sorry, Audrey.”

“For what exactly?” she asked in a clipped tone she’d never had with him before.

He kept his voice quiet enough that even the couples dancing within a foot of them wouldn’t be able to hear. “For telling you to date other people. Which for the record, I do not want you to do.”

“Then why did you say that you did?”

“Because, I saw the glasses, my glasses on your dresser. And there were pictures of us, and it just—”

“Freaked you out,” she interjected as her eyes widened in horror.

“Yeah, but not in the way I think you think it did.”

“Well, I think it freaked you out because you thought I had a creepy shrine to you.”

“No, that wasn’t it. It just made me realize that you had had feelings for me for a long time and that you really hadn’t had any other relationships. I got scared because I thought that if by some miracle we were ever together, for real, then after the newness wore off, you would get bored. Or curious about what else was out there. I was just scared that you’d built me up into something that would never be sustainable and you would leave, or worse, you would stay and be miserable.”

He stared down at her waiting for her to call him an idiot, just like Viv had so helpfully pointed out he was. But instead a crease appeared between her brows. “I’m sorry you thought that would happen, but it never would. It couldn’t because I haven’t built you up into something in my head. I know you. You’re my best friend.”

He should have known better than to expect her to react the same way Viv had. Just like she’d said that she knew him, he knew her. Audrey would never call him an idiot. Or if she did, it would be over something stupid. Not something real.

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