The Davis family had a stubborn streak when they set their sights on something, and he had to admire his sister for wanting some independence. “Just promise you’ll let me know if you ever need something.”
The corner of her eyes crinkled and her lips quirked up at the edges. “What I need is for you to get your size thirteens off my toes.”
Ten minutes after handing Katie off to a groomsman, Grant’s ordeal was nearly over. “Try not to make a spectacle of yourself when you dance with Miss Roberts.” Katherine Davis looked up at her son, her lips thinned in a strained smile. She’d spent their dance fuming over being upstaged by the groom and his mother. Going by the Cajun two-step the pair had done, they obviously knew their way around the dance floor.
“That’s my goal every day, Mother.” Grant followed the statement with a kiss on the cheek hoping to cover some of the sarcasm that had leaked out.
As he crossed the empty dance floor, he slid his hands into his pants pockets where he’d placed a cotton handkerchief. His old man hadn’t been good for much, but he’d given him this trick to dry off his sweaty palms.
Two down, only one more to go.
He couldn’t remember anything specific about Jackson’s mother. He hadn’t been paying attention last night at the rehearsal, and he’d had to slip out to take calls from work during the dinner she hosted. He headed over to one table in the ballroom where he didn’t recognize any of the faces.
Of the three women, one was barely out of her teens. That left two who were huddled in a deep conversation and hadn’t noticed him come over. He aimed his query at the woman facing him since she looked about the right age to have a son in his mid-twenties. “Mrs. Roberts, may I have this dance?”
Both women stopped talking. The one who’d had her back to him turned to face him. Her whiskey-colored eyes smiled at him from a dark fringe of lashes. As she stood to take the hand he offered, all he could think about was how the color of her hair reminded him of ale, rich and full. “It’s Ms. Roberts and since we’re not in school, please call me Abby.”
She certainly didn’t look like any teachers he’d had. He might have enjoyed school more if they had. He hadn’t wrapped his arms around anything this lovely in the two years since Heather had divorced him.
The band struck up the first notes of “The Way You Look Tonight” and he moved them toward the center of the dance floor trying desperately to remember if there were three or four steps to the foxtrot. His feet might not have remembered their job, but his arms didn’t need coaching. His hand slipped around her waist as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Suddenly there was more at stake than family honor. He
wanted
to dance with this woman. If only he could remember what his feet were supposed to do.
Abby must have sensed his hesitation. “Wait till the next measure, then start on your left foot.”
He met her gaze. Her smile made everything, from the monkey-suit to the dance school torture, worth it. She didn’t only smile with her lips, which were full and a sultry shade of crimson but also with her eyes that snapped with pleasure. He followed her instruction and everything jelled.
“You’re getting it.” She gave him another reassuring smile. “Slow, slow, quick, quick,” she crooned. “You’re a fast study.”
“Not really. I think you ought to lead for a while.”
“You’re doing fine. Stop trying so hard and listen to the music.” Her throaty chuckle made him want to say something else amusing, but he obeyed her instructions. He’d heard Sinatra sing the old standard a hundred times and never cared for sentimental lyrics. But,
damn
if the rhythm wasn’t perfect, especially considering the way her hips swayed gently with the beat.
They moved around the dance floor without speaking. Her wide smile had softened and she had a distant look in her eyes. He imagined he carried the same look when he rode his sport bike.
God, he wanted to spend more time with this woman.
Was it socially acceptable for him to ask out his sister’s mother-in-law? Weren’t they now related?
He looked at her serene smile, thought about how good the creamy skin of her bare back felt against his hands, and decided all she could do was say no.
“I was wondering…”
She turned her attention to him and the spark in her eyes made him hopeful. But a tap on the shoulder cut off his question.
A portly man with jowls like a basset hound asked, “May I cut in?” Words Grant never thought he’d dread hearing.
Abby’s grip on Grant tightened. “Did my sister send you over here?” she asked the man.
The guy nodded. “Yeah.” Then he grinned. “All the same I’d love to have a turn around the dance floor with the prettiest girl to leave Magnolia Springs.”
Grant knew bullshit when he heard it. He opened his mouth to tell the guy to get lost, but Abby smiled and let the man ease her from Grant’s arms. Before the pair moved away, she glanced over her shoulder, winked, and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Chapter 2
“Must you be the belle of the ball at every event?” Sarah hissed.
Abby could hardly call the waltz she and her brother-in-law, Tripp, had done as an attention grabber. “Excuse me?”
From the corner of her eye she watched her niece, Jessica, slip away from the table. Abby would’ve made a break for it too if she could. A wedding was hardly the place to air old family issues.
Tripp patted his wife’s arm. “Sugar, calm down.”
If peacemakers really did get a heavenly blessing, this man had a lot to look forward to when he died. Abby appreciated his attempt to pacify her sister. But, Sarah didn’t look as if she planned on being mollified as she jerked away from her husband’s touch. “I will not. I could die of mortification.”
Abby’s temper warred with her sense of decorum. She leaned across the table and whispered, “Why, because I was dancing? It is a traditional part of most weddings.”
“It’s not tradition for a grown woman to dance like that at her son’s wedding. Katie’s brother is at least ten years younger than you.”
“Well, I can hardly help that,” Abby responded.
Chris grabbed her knee at the same time he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She sank back into her chair and let out a long sigh. There was no winning with her sister.
Tripp looked in Abby’s direction, flashing her one of his jowly grins. “I thought Abby looked very pretty out there. She dances nearly as good as when she won that scholarship to Julliard.”
Good God, why did he have to remind Sarah of that?
She smiled at him all the same. “Thank you. The dances were important to Katie. I’m glad I could help make her day special.”
The four of them fell into an uneasy silence. Abby picked at the slice of wedding cake in front of her, while Sarah turned in her seat and made a point of watching the couples on the dance floor. Chris patted the tabletop and spoke as if the past few minutes hadn’t happened. “Abby, it would be a shame for you and me to come all the way to Turks and Caicos and not at least put our feet in the water. What say we take a stroll?” He pulled her to her feet, grabbing her purse and wrap as he led her out of the ballroom.
The second her feet hit the sand, Abby kicked off her sandals and breathed in as much of the salt air as her lungs would hold. The latest skirmish with Sarah left her drained. She waited while Chris tugged off his socks and shoes then rolled up his pants legs. She walked toward the surf till the waves washed over her feet. “It’s cold,” she squealed, as she hiked up the hem of her dress to her knees.
“What did you expect?” he asked with a chuckle. He fell in beside her as she walked along the surf.
The sound of the ocean was already working its magic. She linked arms with him. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”
“What are friends for?” He cocked his head in her direction. “Tell me again why you invited that woman.”
She let out a breath. Words failed her when it came to explaining how she could love someone but couldn’t get along with her. “Tripp, Jessica, and Sarah are all the family Jackson and I’ve got left.”
He snorted. “You’re a better person than me.”
A dull ache set up in her chest. “Telling her off isn’t going to change what she thinks of me. All these years later, all she sees is the nineteen-year-old who came home from New York knocked up.”
Chris tugged her to a stop then took both her hands in his. “It’s her loss.”
It was, and Abby wasn’t going to let her sister’s attitude ruin another second of this day. “Didn’t Katie look beautiful in her dress?”
They’d reached the end of the light from the hotel, and as they turned around Chris nodded. “I want to know how she managed to time everything so she and Jack were saying their vows at the exact moment the sun was setting.”
The wind kicked up and Abby stopped to pull her wrap up around her shoulders. “You know, my favorite part was seeing Jackson’s face as Katie walked to him.” Tears stung her eyes. Her throat tightened as she told Chris what she’d been thinking all day. “I wish my parents had lived to see him grow up.”
He passed her his handkerchief. “He’s a good man. You can be proud of the job you did.”
She bumped shoulders with him. Chris had come into her life at the exact moment when Jackson had needed a good man to look up to. “I had help.”
“On to the next big thing in your life,” he told her then looked back at the hotel. “I promised to help Jack organize the fireworks.”
“You go ahead. I’ll be up in a minute.”
She ambled along the water’s edge for a few minutes longer. She had time before she was expected back at the reception. Ahead she saw the shadowy outline of a man standing a few feet from the metal gate separating the hotel property from the beach. His back was turned to her but she could see the glow from his cell phone. There could be only one silhouette with such a delicious combination of broad shoulders and long legs.
A smile crossed her face as she thought about the dance she’d shared with Grant. He’d been ill at ease with the steps and no doubt not too thrilled to be dancing with a woman he didn’t know. But, somehow he’d managed to turn a shortcoming into a good time. His willingness to make a fool of himself for his sister touched a chord within Abby.
She had her hand on the gate when his voice stopped her. Instead of the sensual timbre she’d enjoyed earlier, it now had an unmistakable edge. “I don’t give a flying fuck what parts you need. That airplane better be ready to fly by Friday or you'll be looking for another job.”
Her opinion of him dropped a few points. Clearly, the man was accustomed to having his employees do whatever it took. She hated the way people with money felt they owned those who didn’t. Not wanting to be privy to the tongue-lashing the poor employee was receiving, Abby looked around for another route.
Unfortunately, the only path back to the ballroom was past him. She stepped back into the shadows and tried not to listen.
Grant paused briefly, apparently listening to his employee’s defense. When he spoke again his tone was brusque. “If you offer a man enough money, he’ll forget all about fireworks and football and get his ass to work.” He paused while the person on the other end started up again, but Grant stomped on the reply. “Never mind, Jones. I’ll handle this myself.”
Abby heard the beep of Grant’s cell phone and prayed he’d walk away so she could get back inside. Instead, he opened the gate with a flourish. “You can come out now. I’m through acting the big bad wolf.”
Heat crept up her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I tried not to eavesdrop.” She stepped through the gate and took her time rinsing the sand off her feet at the shower the hotel provided. She hated hearing his conversation but from the look on his face, it didn’t seem to bother him. Then a thought occurred to her. “If you knew I was here, why didn’t you move away?”
Grant moved in closer, cutting off her path to the ballroom. Her crossed arms signaled she hadn’t been impressed with the way he’d handled his foreman. He didn’t want to be a hard-ass, but sometimes being the boss meant he had to do things he didn’t enjoy. “I’m sorry you had to hear that, but I wanted to talk.”
After their dance he’d planned to hunt her down, preferably far from anyone who’d steal her away again. Fortunately, the phone call from work had taken him outside and serendipitously put him in Abby’s path.
Now he had her alone, his brain became a jumble how to convince this beautiful woman to spend time with him.
Who was he kidding? Saying she was beautiful was the greatest of understatements.
It was like saying the sea was wet. Beyond the enticing way her dress clung to her curves, he liked her confidence. “I was surprised to see you on the beach. I would have thought they’d have to drag you off the dance floor.”
She looked over her shoulder at the water. “With all the wedding preparations, I’ve barely gotten to see the water much less get in it.”
Grant’s brain kicked in to hyper-drive. Now he knew how to get her to stay. “You like the water?” He envisioned a long weekend on the beach with her.
“Love it. I’ve only ever been to Jekyll Island and the Gulf Coast, but nothing spells vacation like my toes in the water and my butt in the sand.” She laughed as she said it, her voice sounding like ice cubes in a glass of twelve-year-old scotch.
“I have an idea. Why don’t you go diving with me tomorrow?” He bet she’d look damn good in a bikini.
Her eyes grew wide and she took a step backward. “Thank you, but I’d be too terrified to do that.”
He wasn’t ready to admit defeat. Once he made up his mind, he stuck it through to the end. He’d made up his mind about Abby. “I’m a dive master. I could teach you. It’s only fair since you shared something you’re good at. You have to give me a chance to play teacher and you be the student.” He wasn’t above playing dirty to get what he wanted.
“I have to leave in the morning.” She dropped her gaze and edged her way around him.
He touched her arm. “No, you don’t. School doesn’t start again till Monday.”