Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Get me a Jack and Coke, will you?” Barrett calls.
“Get it yourself!” Wyatt calls back.
Barrett shoots me a wink and then trails after our brother, leaving me on my own on the dance floor. Not for long, though. All the bridesmaids are out here and a Rihanna song is starting up just in time. I’m almost out of breath by the time it’s over—we all are. The DJ recognizes that it’s time to transition to something slow, and here we go again with ABBA. It’s “The Winner Takes It All” and everyone immediately knows the drill. Pair up or scram, losers.
Jordy and Gabriella jokingly start to spin around me, dramatic and slow. Then, before I know it, I’m added to their circle. Those iconic crooning vocals pick up as we clutch hands. We spin fast enough that the room starts to blur, the crowd blends together, and even still, I catch the shift—the approaching black suit.
I gasp and break off from Jordy and Gabriella, a little off balance, my vision still swirling until all at once, Hudson cuts into view. I straighten myself and face him as he takes the last few steps toward me.
Jordy bumps my shoulder as she comes to a stop and curses under her breath. “Shit. He’s hot.”
Gabriella inhales sharply and leans in. “It’s him, isn’t it?”
I ignore her question and stare at Hudson while my heart beats out of my chest. There’s so much on the line—a heart suspended. I love him, and that realization has hit me like a freight train. From this point on, if he only wants friendship, it’ll feel like death. We look at each other as I hold my breath.
Then he holds out his hand for me, palm up. “Dance with me.”
Like a besotted fool, I can only nod.
It occurs to me that I should warn him that people are going to see us, but he already knows that and he’s still here. So I swallow my nerves and let him lead me deeper into the crowd, right to the dead center of the dance floor where the bodies are dense enough that we disappear among them.
He turns and faces me again, and I’m unsure of what to do, where to touch. He’s never seemed so tall, so intimidating as he does now. I stare at his chest as he steps forward and takes my hips, and instead of awkwardness, there’s recognition and possession, a smooth claiming. He doesn’t sound polite when he orders me to put my hands on his shoulders. I do it so gently I can barely feel the smooth material of his black suit jacket, the suit jacket I’ve been eyeing all night. He looks devastating in it. Devastating, always. The most handsome, kind man. Kind. I smile at the floor thinking of telling him that. He’d snarl at me.
When I work up the courage to look up again, I realize he’s studying me. His dark eyes start at my feet and travel up in the span of a slow, intoxicating breath. When our eyes meet, awareness settles over me. I somehow sense everything he’s not saying. I’m drowning in the sincerity of his silent compliment.
He tightens his fingers at my hips, gathering the material so it’s easier for him to bring me closer. We’re listening to ABBA croon away, and it shouldn’t be so good, this 1980s song, but it just says it all.
I open my mouth to ask him a million questions. Why have you seemed so sad tonight? Why did you leave a moment ago? Why did you wait so long to find me?
Nothing makes it out though. I feel paralyzed by the realization I had during the wedding. This feeling, choking me up, it’s the stuff of fairy tales, and I’ve been completely closed off to it, immune, or so I thought.
Scared, I look away. Then before I can think of the consequences, I lay my cheek against Hudson’s chest. He stiffens, and a beat later, he drops his chin to my head. We’re totally wrapped around one another. We barely move, swaying side to side, slower than the beat. It’s my favorite part of the entire night. My favorite moment…ever.
I close my eyes and embrace it.
Everything will come after this song, the unknown consequences. But for now, we hang suspended in the simplicity of holding each other. All I feel is Hudson’s broad chest, his arms wrapped around me confidently. I can’t think of who’s seeing us, of what they’re thinking. What is there to say but the truth?
I love him.
It’s a moment I’ll never forget. A moment though—that’s the painful part, knowing I’m only in his arms for the length of this song.
It’s over before I realize. People are starting to shift apart, talk and laugh, and prepare themselves for a new song. No one is holding on to each other like we are, resisting the end. Hudson’s the one who steps away first, fissuring my heart in the process.