Page 45 of Always Mine

I look at Bryan, unable to hide my confusion.“Well, what?”

“You really are hopeless.” He shakes his head, grabbing my good arm and pulling me toward the party. “Are you ready to do whatever it takes to get Wyatt back?”

I let him drag me, fighting my instinct to run away. “Well, yeah, I thought that was obvious,” I mutter, not understanding what he’s getting at.”

“You’re going to start now.”

“Wait, what? How?” My voice sounds panicked. “We didn’t discuss anything. What am I supposed to do?”

He pauses, turning to look at me. “You’re going to be Paxton,” he says like I’m supposed to understand what that means.

“But I am Paxton?”

“Let me rephrase. You need to be theoldPaxton. Show him you’re the same boy he fell in love with.”

“And how do I do that?”

He groans in frustration, looking up at the sky for help. “Paxton!”

“What?” I bite out defensively. “You need to explain better.”

He reaches up, fisting his hair and shooting me a withering glare. “You can’t be this dense.”

“Apparently, I can, because this is going over my head. How can I be the old Paxton when I can’t act with him the way old Paxton would?”

“Oh, okay. I get it now.”

Well, that makes one of us.

Bryan thinks it over before finally saying, “It’s more than about the way youwerewith him. It’s the way you were with everyone. You’re a charmer. The go-to guy. You’re outgoing, confident, and you make everyone laugh. Everyone loves you. Your whole personality since you’ve been back has been different and it shows.”

“I’ve been trying to appease everyone. I didn’t want to come back, balls blazing. I didn’t think it’d be welcome.” Didn’t thinkI’dbe welcome.

“Well, I don’t know where you got this everyone-hates-me mentality, but you need to let it go. Unhermit yourself and show everyone you’re back, for real.”

“I just don’t knowhow.” My voice comes out shrill as my frustration rises.

“If this was four years ago, what would you be doing?”

What would I be doing? I rack my brain, trying to come up with something. The question is harder than it should be.

The song “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks & Dunnbegins playing in the distance and I shrug a shoulder, throwing out the first idea that comes to mind.“Probably a line dance in the middle of the dance floor.”

“Exactly!” he exclaims, grabbing my arm once more. “And that’s what you’re about to go do.”

Then he’s pulling me again before I have a chance to protest.

I’m not ready for this, but he tugs me through the throng of people regardless, only stopping when we reach our family near the front of the crowd. Well, shit. Now everyone can watch me mess this all up.

My body flushes and sweat covers my skin as I try to remember the moves.

Why in the hell am I so nervous? Sure, It’s been three years, but I’ve done this at least a hundred times in my life. I love this kind of thing. Music, dancing, events, I’ve always looked forward to them. I would even count down the days with anticipation, eager to cut loose and have a good time.

Have I really lost myself? The person I was? The more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s the truth.

My eyes slide over my family, taking them all in as they move in time with the line dance. I start to move slowly beside Lily, trying to get the feel of the music. It’s been way too long since I’ve done this and I’m slightly worried that I’m going to embarrass myself.

But Bryan is right. I never cared about that before. I’d have just kept going, laughing it off like it wasn’t a big deal because it wouldn’t have been.

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