6. Paisley
CHAPTER 6
PAISLEY
The Community Center had been transformed. I barely recognized it when Caitlin and I walked through the door. White twinkle lights draped across the ceiling, along with yards and yards of red fabric. Heart-shaped balloons floated above the tables and someone had hung a disco ball above the center of the marked off dance floor.
“I never thought it would look this good.” Shrugging my coat off my shoulders, I stomped the snow off my shoes.
Caitlin hung both of our coats on hangers in the coatroom. “They did a lot of work after we left.”
That was an understatement. She’d roped me into coming into town early this afternoon to help set up for the Valentine’s Day dance. I hadn’t planned on attending, but Caitlin didn’t give me a choice. All the proceeds were going to the women’s shelter, and she’d heard there would be a few saddles on the silent auction, so she’d argued that I needed to be there. Finally, I’d given in.
We’d shown up early to help set up tables and chairs, then changed in the room over Ace’s bar down the street. Shane was supposed to meet us after he and Aiden finished mending fences, though I was pretty sure Aiden would try to find a way out of it.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Ruby handed us each a plastic champagne flute full of pink punch. “Thank you both for your help this afternoon. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
I took a sip. Tiny bubbles burst open all the way down my throat. “This is delicious.”
Ruby leaned close. “I added a few extra bottles of sparkling wine. People tend to be a little more generous when they’ve had a strong cocktail or two. Make sure you check out the silent auction. There are so many wonderful items available.”
“We will.” Caitlin hooked her arm through mine and tugged me toward the tables in back. “Let’s go see what we want to bid on.”
I glanced around as we made our way to the auction items. The room was already almost full, though no one had started dancing yet. My gaze caught on a bouquet of metal roses sitting on a table in the corner. A group of people stood in front of the bouquet, waiting their turn to add their bid to the sheet of paper. The description said they’d been hand-forged. I’d never seen anything like them. The vase had been made out of horseshoes and the roses looked so real.
“Wow. Those are gorgeous,” Caitlin said when there was finally room for us to get to the front. “Are you going to bid on those?”
Nodding, I picked up the pen and scribbled my name at the bottom of the page along with my bid. “I doubt I’ll win, but they’re too pretty to pass up.” Thanks to living rent-free at the ranch, I hadn’t had to touch my savings yet. So far Mustang Mountain had been good to me, and I wanted to give something back.
“Come on, let’s go check out those saddles.” Caitlin wound through the crowd, stopping at a display featuring three custom-made, hand-tooled saddles. “What do you think?”
I ran my fingers over the soft leather. “I think they’re stunning.”
So far, no one had written down a bid. I jotted my name on the first line and crossed my fingers that the amount I put down would be enough to turn other buyers away. Just as I set the pen on the table, Shane slid his arm around Caitlin’s waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
I glanced behind him, my heart doing double time, hoping to catch a glimpse of Aiden. Disappointed, I took another sip of Ruby’s bubbly punch while Caitlin and Shane embraced. I was thrilled that my bestie had found the love of her life, but I was starting to feel more and more like a third wheel when I spent time around the two of them.
“I’m going to get more punch. I’ll catch up to you in a little while.” I excused myself and headed toward the bar area, pretty sure neither of them had even noticed I’d left.
“Paisley, right?” A man in a dark blue suit stepped up next to me while I poured myself a refill. “I’m not sure you remember me, but we met at the cafe when you first got into town.”
“Of course I remember.” Sage had been with his kids, and I’d helped his little girl draw a picture of a horse on the back of her kid’s menu.
“I wasn’t going to come tonight, but Ruby twisted my arm. She can be pretty persuasive.” He snagged a cup of water and nodded toward the dance floor, where quite a few people had started line dancing to a fast-paced country song. “Do you want to dance?”
“Dance? To that?” I was usually up for anything, but wasn’t sure I’d be able to follow the complex series of movements.
Sage laughed. “It’s easy once you learn the steps. Want to give it a try?”
“Sure, why not?” It’s not like I had anything better to do, and everyone looked like they were having fun. I let him lead me onto the dance floor and spent the next half hour laughing while I tried not to make a complete fool out of myself. Seemed like once I’d almost caught on to the steps, a new song would come on, and I’d have to learn a whole new series of moves.
The DJ, who appeared to be one of the guys from the Mustang Mountain Riders, put on a slow song. Sage smiled at me and stepped closer. He opened his mouth like he was about to ask me to dance, but before he could, someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned around, expecting to find Caitlin telling me I’d been outbid. My heart fluttered as Aiden stared down at me, his jaw tight. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans and a gray button-down flannel shirt that set off the blue in his eyes.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he mumbled, his voice low.
“Are you asking me to dance?” I gave him a sweet smile and held out my hand.
He glanced toward an empty table. “Can’t we sit down and?—”
I started to turn back toward Sage. After the cold shoulder Aiden had given me earlier this morning, I didn’t owe him anything. Even though my hormones raged at me to see what he wanted, it wouldn’t hurt him to wait a little while.
“Fine. We’ll dance.” He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and pulled me into his arms. Then he glanced at Sage. “You’ll have to sit this one out.”
The kickback to my nervous system caught me off guard. Attraction crackled between us, almost like static electricity.
“You didn’t have to be so rude,” I said, even though there wasn’t anywhere else I would have rather been in that moment. My cheek rested on his chest, and I inhaled the scent of horses, fabric softener, and soap. The combination was more intoxicating than the expensive cologne my last date in New York had worn. I didn’t know what it was about Aiden that made my body hum with awareness, but I couldn’t deny the chemistry between us.
“He’ll live.”
We barely knew each other, but that was exactly the kind of response I expected. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
He didn’t answer right away. When I pulled back and looked up at him, his arm tightened around my waist.
“I’m sorry I was an asshole earlier.”
“And yesterday?” I prompted.
He dipped his chin in silent agreement.
“And the day before that?”
One side of his mouth tipped up. “And all the days before that, too.”
“You couldn’t tell me that after my dance with Sage?” I arched my brows though inside, I was doing a full-on victory dance. He was apologizing. And smiling. We’d just had a major breakthrough.
“Can I be honest with you?” His voice sounded strained, like it physically pained him to ask.
The question caught me off guard. “Of course.”
“The thing is… I didn’t want you to dance with that guy.”
Cue internal freak out, though I forced myself to sound nonchalant. “Why’s that?”
His pulse quickened. I could tell by the way his heart beat double time under my palm. “I don’t have a right to expect anything from you, especially not after the way I’ve treated you, but…”
“But what, Aiden?” Every cell in my body waited, frozen in anticipation. I needed to hear him say the words, to admit that what I’d been feeling since the first day I set eyes on him wasn’t just a one-sided infatuation.
“Dammit. I don’t deserve you, but seeing you with him, it broke something deep inside me. Made me realize the only man I ever want to see you dancing with is me.” His words hung between us, and in that moment, everything changed.
Even as the next song began and couples pulled apart to start another line dance, Aiden and I stood frozen in place. Everything… everyone… faded into the background. I reached up, sliding my fingers into the hair at the base of his neck, pulling him closer. His lips brushed mine, but I needed more. I stood on my tiptoes, pressed my body against the hard planes of his chest, and parted my lips.
We could have stood there for hours or it might have just been a few seconds. I lost all concept of time when his tongue slid inside my mouth.
Then someone bumped into us. We parted. Aiden tangled his fingers around mine and stared down at me, his eyes wide like he’d had no intention of kissing me in the middle of the dance floor with everyone in Mustang Mountain looking on.
“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked.
At my nod, he led me toward the door. In my lovesick stupor, I almost forgot to grab my coat, but remembered as we passed the coat closet on our way out. He helped me shrug it on over my shoulders, then wrapped his arm around me. Together, we walked out of the community center and toward the truck.
I wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but there was no turning back now.