Page 50 of Dirty Love

I nod silently, disappointment sliding through me. This is a warning sign.Danger. Getting too attached.“I like the tux, by the way.”

“It serves a purpose.”

“More than just seeing me?”

He hesitates. “Yes.”

I probably can’t ask what that other mission is. So I change the subject because all I want to care about in this moment is how good it feels to dance with him. “This is nice, though.”

“It is.” He kisses my temple and his arm tightens around my waist.

“Tell me something,” I whisper.

“Like what?”

“Anything. Something surprising.”

He leans back enough to look at me. His eyes are crinkling at the corners, like he knows he’s actually going to surprise me. He does. “I know how to knit.”

I laugh in delighted surprise. “You do not.”

“I do.”

“How?”

“A client taught me.”

“A woman?”

His mouth tightens as he gives me a hard look. “A client.”

“Okay.”

“There’s nobody else.”

“I know.” I hesitate. “The same, you know.”

“I do.”

Obviously, we’d exchanged health reports and the promise was implicit there, but jealousy was on a whole other level.

I take a deep breath. “Knitting. Huh. What else do you know how to do?”

“Everything.” He says it lightly, but there’s a hint of a challenge in the back, faint as can be. I wonder if anyone else has ever noticed that he worries he might not be good enough.

“I have no doubt,” I say softly. “I’m impressed.”

He smirks. “Sure.”

Oh, no. Challenge accepted. I’m going to prove to Mr. Tough Guy that I really am impressed. “Teach me how to knit.”

He shrugs. “Yeah.”

“No, I mean it.”

The music changes, but he doesn’t let me go. “Where are you going to be next month?”

“I’m going home for a few weeks before we start rehearsing for tour.”

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