Chapter 1 #2
My insides dipped, and a spark pulsed through me as I took his hand. As he led me to the dance floor, he set the boom box aside on a table. I took a couple of swallows of my new cocktail, then set it next to the boom box. I wanted to dance more than I wanted that drink.
When he laced our fingers together, it felt natural, which was strange since I didn’t even know his real name.
Once on the dance floor, we faced each other. He kept holding my right hand and slid his other hand to my back, above my waist. I rested my left hand on his shoulder, and we swayed to the in-between beat with just a couple of inches between us.
“You look old for high school,” he said with a grin.
“High school?” Did he somehow know I was a high-school teacher? Then it hit me: He was still referring to my character. “Oh! Yes, well, you look too old for high school too, so I guess we have something in common.”
We both laughed.
“You’re not from Dragonfly Lake,” he said.
I shook my head. “You must be if you know I’m not.”
“I moved here a couple of years ago.”
“I arrived after the sun went down, so I haven’t even seen the town yet.”
“Where are you from?”
“Nashville. Where did you move from?”
“I’m originally from St. Louis.”
My brows went up. “You moved from there to this little town?”
He nodded. “When I was a kid, I went on vacation one summer with a buddy and his family to Dragonfly Lake. It left an impression, I guess.”
I had so many questions, but I bit down on them. The more questions I asked him, the more he’d ask me, and I didn’t have it in me to go into too many details, regardless of how attracted to him I was…and believe me, I was.
He was nearly half a foot taller than my five seven.
His jaw was covered with a scruff of facial hair I wouldn’t quite call a beard.
His eyes were a milk-chocolate brown, with the beginnings of crinkles at the outer edges, telling me he laughed frequently.
Beyond that, they were intent on me in a way that drew me in rather than made me feel uncomfortable.
The space between us lessened. I wasn’t sure if it was my doing or his—or both.
Our bodies were lightly touching now, and it awakened a pulse of desire deep within me.
I breathed in his scent, picking up notes of wood and spice.
It made me want to nestle up against him and soak in the feel of his protective arms and strong hands.
I’d never experienced this kind of instant, powerful attraction. Was it my vulnerable state? That I’d been on my own, without a man’s touch, for so long? Was it the magic of costumes and make-believe and a guy who’d fake serenaded me with a boom box in the middle of a crowd?
Or was it just this particular man? This man whose name I realized I still didn’t know.
I stopped overthinking, stopped questioning. I was exhausted on a soul level, and right now I had the opportunity to just be for the last two minutes of the song. To sink into the moment with this guy I was unquestionably drawn to and felt strangely safe with.
Next the DJ slowed the tempo down even more with “Take My Breath Away.” My partner pulled me in closer, dropping my hand to put both of his on my back. I slid my hands to the nape of his neck, his coarse hair brushing over my fingers, and we swayed as one, our bodies flush.
We kept dancing through “Saving All My Love for You” and “Against All Odds,” and then the DJ welcomed the band back for one more short set.
“Lloyd” took my hand, bent to my ear, and said, “How about a breather? I could show you your first view of the lake.”
“On one condition,” I said, more than ready for fresh air even though I knew it would be cold.
“Name it.”
“Tell me your real name.”
He flashed that dimpled smile down at me. “It’s Chance.” He raised his brows as if asking mine.
“I’m Rowan.”
“That fits you better than Claire.”
“Chance fits you a hundred times better than Lloyd,” I said with a laugh.
He led me out of the ballroom onto the inn’s terrace. The air was brisk but refreshing. The sudden quiet was a relief. I exhaled, sending a visible puff into the cold air.
“Here.” Chance took off his trench coat, stepped behind me, and held it out for me to put on.
“Then you’ll get cold,” I said, taking in his T-shirt and cargo pants.
“I’m good,” he said, so I slid the coat on and pulled it around me, noticing it smelled like him.
“Thank you.” Still secretly inhaling the smell of his coat, I took in the scene before me.
A string of lights lined the stone terrace that stretched along the entire common area of the inn. At the center was a stone stairway down to the water.
Chance took my hand again, and we went to the stairs and started down. On the right side, close to the water’s edge, was another terrace.
“In the summer there are loungers along here,” he said, “and they’ve held weddings here.”
“I bet it’s a pretty venue.”
“The lake is a lot prettier in the summer,” he said with a chuckle.
We reached the bottom of the stairs. Ice lined the lake from the shore, reaching several feet out before changing to open water.
“I didn’t know the lake was so big,” I said. The opposite shore was far away, only visible because of lights shining here and there.
“There’s a cove beyond those trees,” he said, pointing to the left, “and then an older lake community.” He pointed to the southeast. “In that direction is a relatively new vacation rental development. Over there”—he indicated the area to our right—“is the Marks Hotel and newer homes. That’s the town of Dragonfly Lake in all its glory. ”
The town looked sleepy and peaceful from here.
There were trees everywhere, and dark hills barely visible in the distance. The air smelled of pine and freshness. An unexplainable serenity came over me as I took it all in.
“It’s beautiful,” I said quietly.
Chance put his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side.
“You must be freezing,” I said.
He let out a sexy, quiet laugh. “I’m fine. Though I wouldn’t be opposed to having a princess warm me up.”
I laughed at his reference to my costume again. “Confession: I’m anything but a princess in real life.” I turned to face him. “But I might be convinced to help you warm up.”
He brushed my hair back from my face, his gaze dipping to my lips.
I moved my body into his to let him know I was on board.
My heart thundered as he leaned toward me, and then his lips were on mine.
A thrill shot through me at the first contact.
I lifted my hands and ran them through his thick hair, pulling him closer into me.
Kissing this near stranger should seem odd, foreign, dangerous, but Chance felt natural and irresistible.
As he plunged his tongue into my mouth, I felt it to my core.
I realized I might be open to more than a kiss from him.
It’d been years since I’d had a fling, and I hadn’t had many of them, but if this tempting man was up for it, maybe we could start the new year together. Just for a night. No strings.