“What will it be, champ?” the bartender asked.

“The best you’ve got! A Moon Doggie, of course,” Cannon said.

“Just one? Or should I make it two—one for the lady friend?”

Cannon glanced back at Nova, who was still sitting at the table. “No. Make it just one for now.”

“Sure thing.”

When the bartender returned a moment later with Cannon’s drink, he thanked him and told him to keep the change. He stood at the bar and took a sip before heading back to Nova. To say she looked confused was an understatement.

Cannon laughed to himself, wondering if she could possibly be anywhere near as confused as he personally felt at the moment. He was not a shallow guy, so looks alone had never been enough to capture his attention when it came to women. Pretty ladies were plentiful, and they would always come and go. Granted, he realized it was a tall order to be more beautiful than Nova Windego, but still, his taste was particular—pretty hair, a nice body, and sultry eyes could only carry a woman so far with him.

Yet, even he had to marvel at the abrupt change of heart, or at least in behavior, he was currently feeling towards Nova. Just mere hours ago, she had annoyed him to no end. Earlier in the day, she had been his enemy and the only thing he had wanted was for her to go away, leaving his job and home intact. But now, for reasons he couldn’t even explain to himself, something had changed. He felt different about her.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. The past several hours had taught him just how wise that advise was. Not long ago, he could have sworn he had Nova’s number completely figured out. Pretty spoiled rich girl who thought the sun revolved around her and who was used to always getting her way—he had been so sure there was nothing more to her than that. But somewhere along the lines, he had started getting glimpses of her that indicated there was more to her than what met the eye. And to his utter astonishment, he was intrigued. Very intrigued.

After breaking up with his ex, it had been a while since he actually paid a female much attention. His heart and pride had still been too wounded. Yet, when he looked at Nova Windego, he started to feel that perhaps his heart had already mended more than he initially realized.

Hell, maybe it was time for him to step out and smell the roses again.

Taking another sip of beer, he navigated through the crowd and back to their table.

“All right, Ms. Windego—I’ve got a tall glass here,” he said, holding it up to her. “Go ahead and pick your song, and I’ll chug it down, we’ll have our dance, and then we can get out of here and call it a night. If you stall, however, I’ll sip this drink very slowly and even order another one until you’re ready to give me my dance.”

Nova stared back at him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion even though Cannon thought he saw a slight smile forming on her lips—unless the beer was making him hallucinate.

“Fine,” Nova said, her voice mixed with annoyance and resignation. Cannon scratched his nose, wondering if he had imagined the smile after all. “What kind of music do you like?” she asked.

He shook his head. “It’s not about me. Pick what you like.”

“It is about you. You’re the one insisting I dance with you.”

“Surprise me then,” he said. “Just pick something, and we’ll see if I happen to like it too. We’ve got people in common,” he nodded toward Dax, “let’s see if we’ve got music in common too.”

Nova shook her head, but stood from her seat nonetheless, quarter in hand. “Let’s get this over with, because you definitely don’t need another beer. I see two is already going to do you in. Light weight.”

Cannon laughed and watched Nova make her way to the jukebox. He then grabbed his glass and downed the rest, belching loudly afterwards and thankful that the belch had happened outside of Nova’s presence. Belching in front of a pretty girl you wanted to impress was never the way to go.

His face was feeling a little warmer than normal, Cannon listened as a tune he didn’t recognize drifted through the bar. It was a sensual melody—not too fast and not too slow. From the first few notes, it had several people in the bar whistling and bopping their heads along to the beat. Even Dax and his brunette resurfaced from their own little world to notice it and within seconds, she was grinding on him—so much, in fact, that he hadn’t even noticed Nova when she passed right by him, which was fine by Cannon.

Dax may not have noticed Nova, but the same couldn’t be said for other men in the bar. More than a few men watched as Nova crossed the area back toward him, and he felt a pang of frustration—or was it jealousy? Cannon didn’t want to think about it too hard.

“Nice song,” he said once Nova was close enough. “What is it?”

Nova shrugged her shoulders. “No idea. I picked something at random and it turned out to be a good one. Lucky me.”

“Hey, that’s no fair. You were supposed to pick something you actually like—and know—so that I could compare our taste in music. You cheated.”

Nova laughed. “I cheated? Well, not as bad as your ex did.”

“Ouch,” Cannon said, placing his hand to his chest, pretending to be hurt. “Good one.”

“I try.”

The easy banter between them dying off, Nova stood before Cannon, looking somewhat awkward. It was a strange sight to behold, for Cannon tended to presume pretty girls never felt unsure of themselves. As the seconds kept ticking by and the song kept playing, Cannon realized time was wasting and if he didn’t make a move soon, the chance would be up and there would no longer be a move to make.

So he reached forward, grabbed Nova by the wrist, and proceeded to lead her to the dance floor. After finding a descent spot, he turned around to face her and slinked his arms around her thin waist, drawing her in closer to him. He pressed his fingers into the small of her back. Even through her clothing, he could imagine how smooth her skin was.

Nova narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him again, but slowly wrapped her arms around his neck nonetheless. Cannon breathed in her scent, and marveled at her beauty. Her eyeliner was still smudged, but not even that could really mar the effortless beautify of her flawless face.

Their bodies began to sway to the beat in unison. Cannon slowly moved one hand down to her hip, enjoying the way it swayed at his palm.

“I’m thinking you may be a loose cannon, Cannon,” Nova said suddenly. “Pun intended.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

“Well, for starters—you treated me like crap earlier today. And now this? It’s like I’ve witnessed you as literally two different people.”

“I was just in a bad mood earlier.”

“Or maybe you’re just drunk now.”

Cannon laughed. “I plea the fifth on that.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Nova said, shaking her head and laughing.

While they danced in silence for a moment, the thoughts going through Cannon’s head were far from silent. Never mind the beer—he was becoming more intoxicated by the second from the feel of Nova’s body pressed against his, the way her hips moved, the scent of her skin…

He pressed the side of his face to hers, her cheek soft against his. In response, she slid her hands down from his neck and held on to his biceps.

An urge came over Cannon so strongly, he knew that it was just a matter of seconds before he became powerless to resist it. Overcoming his hesitancy and giving in to that urge, he brought his lips to rest at the side of Nova’s neck, giving it a gentle kiss. Nova pulled back just slightly, and their eyes locked.

Something about the gorgeous green shade of her eyes emboldened Canon in ways he couldn’t fully understand. In that instant, he could have sworn he saw something flash in those eyes of hers, daring him. Challenging him.

Inching his face closer to hers, when she did not pull back, he pressed his lips against her mouth. The kiss was soft and brief, happening right as the song played its final note.

Nova pulled back from him first. The two of them stared at each other for a prolonged moment with their arms still around one another.

Finally, Nova shook her head, unwrapped her arms from around Cannon, and stepped back. “Yeah, I’d say the beer is definitely at work. Time for us both to go home. Just give me one second. I need to go to the little girls’ room.”

Releasing a long breath, Cannon watched her walk off and disappear behind the swinging door of the women’s washroom.

Despite what Nova had said about him being a light-weight drinker, it wasn’t true. Cannon was well aware of the effects alcohol had on him, for it wasn’t possible to work in a winery without knowing such information. Consequently, he knew what he was feeling toward her had absolutely nothing to do with the beer he’d drank—not even a beer as strong and tasty as a Moon Doggie. Ten Moon Doggie beers wouldn’t even have caused the thoughts and desires he currently had.

Shit, he was falling for Nova Windego, and fast.