Ruby
“They look so happy,” I said to Jett as we watched the bride and groom share a dance.
I’d talked Jett into going back to the reception. There was no way I wanted him to leave when he was the best man, and the bride was his sister. Not because of me.
My body was still singing after our activities in the dark, and my heart was so full of love that I could hardly breathe.
I’d briefly wondered if anybody had seen us, but it would have been difficult since we’d been so far away and there was very little light. But even if they had, I couldn’t regret it. And I’d noticed that Jett had positioned our bodies so his back was to the resort. Even when we got crazy, he was always protecting me.
“Marcus has no idea what he just signed up for,” Mason said from his position next to us at the table.
“None,” Jett agreed.
“Dani’s a wonderful woman,” I told Jett as I slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “Marcus is a lucky guy.”
“She’s a handful,” Mason observed. “You have no idea how much trouble she got herself into when she was a kid.”
“Marcus is screwed,” Jett answered with humor in his voice.
“Both of you stop,” Harper insisted from across the table with Blake at her side.
Strangely, both of the guys went quiet, and I saw Blake smirking as he looked over at Mason and Jett.
It was amusing to see two super-rich guys stop talking the minute their sister scolded them.
Carter was noticeably absent, but I’d told Jett the whole story that his older brother had shared with me, hopeful that he’d eventually forgive and forget. Even though Jett was angry that Carter had tried to control his life, I thought that I’d heard a note of relief as Jett was grumbling about Carter stepping too far over the line.
As I looked around the table, I told myself I’d do everything I could for the man I loved to get his broken family back together.
They needed each other, even though some of them still probably didn’t want to admit it.
“The cake is fantastic, Ruby,” Harper said as she set her fork down on her empty plate.
I opened my mouth to tell her that it wasn’t bad for a non-professional, but I shut it again. I was done critiquing everything I did. So I just said, “Thank you.”
“You’re learning,” Jett said in a low voice next to my ear.
I smiled at him. “Yes, I think that I am.”
“And the cake was fantastic,” he said with a grin.
“Have you ever met a cake you didn’t like?” I asked with a delighted laugh.
“Not that I can remember,” he answered. “But I happened to love yours.”
My heart did a happy dance as I realized that we were talking about more than cake. “I love you,” I whispered quietly.
“I love you, too, baby,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice. “And I don’t give a damn who knows it.”
“I don’t care, either,” I confessed. “I’ll get on the table and announce to everybody here that I love you, but I guess I just kind of want to keep it all to myself for tonight.”
“No getting on tables,” he warned. “Every guy here could see up your dress.”
“You’re impossible,” I told him.
“You’re beautiful,” he replied.
My body infused with a warmth that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the fact that Jett Lawson loved me. Sometimes he said outrageous things, but I knew he meant every one that he uttered.
“My Cinderella story isn’t over,” I said softly as I watched the bride and groom take the floor again for a slow song. “When I’m here with you, and I look at this ballroom, it feels kind of surreal. Not long ago I was homeless, and now I’m all dressed up like a person just going about a regular life. Okay, maybe not regular. More like extraordinary.”
“It’s finally how it was supposed to be,” Jett concluded.
“I’d do it all over again if I’d still end up with you,” I told him.
“Not happening,” he argued as he wrapped a possessive arm around my waist. “You don’t need to do it all over again. I already have an ulcer from thinking about something happening to you.”
I sighed. I had no idea how I’d gotten from one place to another so fast, but I wasn’t going to question fate.
I slowly rose to my feet. “Will you dance with me, Jett?” I asked as I put a hand on his broad shoulder.
I held my breath as he gave me a startled look. “Ruby, you know that I can’t—
“We’ll take it slow,” I said, feeling several pairs of eyes on us as I encouraged him to do the very thing that his ex-fiancée said he’d never be able to do again.
Both of us had grown so much, and I was pretty sure I knew what Jett was capable of doing.
He just wasn’t so sure he knew what he could do.
“I was a lousy dancer before I had the accident,” he warned, his voice slightly uncomfortable.
“He’s lying,” Harper said. “He’s a fantastic dancer.”
I looked at Jett’s sister, giving her a look to let her know I was grateful for backup.
“But it will give you a good excuse to feel me up,” I bent down and said in a whisper.
My heart lurched as I straightened up and saw genuine fear in his eyes.
Maybe I’d made a mistake.
Maybe I’d pushed him too far.
Maybe I’d hurt him.
He stood up and wrapped his arm around my waist. “You really know how to convince me to do anything. You got me with the feeling you up part.”
I beamed up at him as I took his arm. “Good. Because there’s nobody else I want to touch me but you. And I don’t believe you can’t dance.”
I searched his face, trying to tell him with my eyes that there was nothing to stop him except himself.
“You’ll find out if I end up dumping us both on our asses,” he said roughly as he took my hand and led me slowly out to the floor.
I didn’t give him time to think about what he was doing as I slid my arms around his neck. “I think dancing can be like making love to someone in a different way,” I told him.
“I’m pretty okay with the old way,” he rumbled as he took my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist.
I laughed as he led me slowly around the dance floor. It was a very slow beat, and Jett was easy to follow as I leaned into him just enough to try to make him forget that he was dancing.
I rested my head on his shoulder, and we fell naturally into a slow rhythm that was comfortable for both of us.
We swayed together until I finally said, “You’re a phenomenal dancer.”
“You’re nuts,” he said, his voice lighter. “And you lured me into this with lustful promises.”
At that moment, I knew that everything was going to be okay. Jett and I were made to challenge each other, but only in the best of ways.
I felt his hand stroke across my back, and the sensation made me shiver.
“I’m sure you were born with lustful thoughts,” I answered, teasing him.
“I’m only that way with you,” he said huskily as he leaned back to look at me.
I fell into the emerald green of his eyes, my heart stuttering as I tumbled.
When he swooped in to kiss me, everything that had ever been wrong in my world righted itself.
I might not be completely healed, and I had no doubt that I’d still struggle with my issues for a very long time.
But tonight, my broken soul had come back together again, and I was more than happy to live with the cracks that needed time to disappear.
As long as I had the beautiful man who was holding me, there was very little I couldn’t do.