Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Bradly fell into a conversation with Duke and Will as I watched Lily dance.
As if she could feel my eyes on her, Lily turned to face me. She said something to Renee and made her way over to the table. I sat up straighter and wondered if she was going to ask her cousin to dance—or worse yet, Duke or Will.
Ever since the whole fiasco with Ben at her house, Lily had been going out with her friends more often. Of course, it could’ve just been because she was home for good now. Or maybe she’d always gone out a lot, and I’d just never paid attention.
It seemed like lately, I paid attention to every single little thing when it came to Lily.
Making her way over to me, she reached for my hand and gave it a tug. “Come dance with me, Mav.”
I shook my head. “Not tonight.”
Lily jutted out her lower lip into a pout…and I wanted to pull her onto my lap and suck on it.
“But I never see you out. You’re such a great dancer, and I’m tired of dancing with my friends.”
Bradly turned as if only just noticing Lily. “Hey, thanks for the drinks.”
She smiled. “No problem. Come on, Maverick. You owe me at least two or three dances.”
I laughed. “How do you figure?”
Instead of answering, she gave me one more hard tug, and I stood.
Setting my beer down, I said, “Looks like I’m dancing.”
“Have fun!” Bradly called out.
I didn’t recognize the song, but thank God it was a fast one. I wasn’t sure how my body would react to being up against Lily’s tonight.
We danced through two songs, and I was about to call it quits when I saw a guy by the bar watching Lily. He straightened as the song ended. I could tell he was about to come over and ask her to dance.
Not tonight, asshole.
I smiled to myself when a song I knew started. I spun her around and pulled her to me as Jason Derulo’s “Slow Low” began. I moved my body to the Latin beat, with Lily matching me step for step.
“Remember at Rose’s wedding, you said you wanted to see what moves I had?”
She nodded, and I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes turned darker as she moved her hips against mine.
“Ready?”
Biting down on her lip, she said almost breathlessly, “Yes.”
I shuffled my feet faster as the song sped up. I was impressed that Lily was keeping up with the salsa moves. I pushed her out, spun her, and pulled her back, then I did a fast dip and drew her up achingly slow, tightly against me, as the song slowed again.
Lily smiled as she fell right into rhythm with my hips. As the song sped up again, she moved faster. I placed my hands on her hips as Lily wrapped her arms around my neck, her body rolling against mine in a way that would have her father tossing me from the top of the barn if he saw us right now.
“You really are a great dancer, Maverick. But there’s no way you learned to dance like this at seven.”
Smiling, I replied, “So are you, Lily—and no, I didn’t.”
“Where did this come from?”
“I could ask you the same thing! But my excuse is that I took lessons a few years back when I had some free time.”
Her brows raised. “Well, you make it easy for me to be good when you’re the partner. Plus, I took lessons when I was younger.”
Smiling, I drew a bit closer.
The music sped up and slowed, and so did we. I dipped her slowly next time, letting her feel every inch of me as I eased her back and brought her forward until we moved fluidly together again.
“Jesus, Maverick,” she whispered as she dug her teeth into her lip.
I showed her a few more moves, then pushed her out for one last spin before pulling her back to me.
The song ended, and we stood still, with Lily’s arms around my neck and my hands on her hips. A slower song started, and Lily grinned.
“Dance one more with me?”
Ignoring the way my heart pounded in my chest, I nodded.
“I like this song,” Lily said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.”
She laughed. “Maverick, tell me you’re kidding.”
Returning her laugh with one of my own, I replied, “By the shocked look on your face, I’m guessing I should know it.”
“Yes! It’s Taylor Swift.”
I shook my head. “Never listen to her.”
Lily took a step back. “Oh my God, are you serious? I have to fix this. I need to fix this right now!”
I chuckled. “What are you going to do, ask the DJ to play all her songs?”
Her face lit up as she asked, “Did you drive here in your truck, or did I somehow miss you coming with Bradly?”