Page 59 of Bloom

I'm waltzing across a dance floor at a wedding with Hunter freaking Whitlock.

I don't think I actually responded to his question verbally. Or at all. I just remember being led into the hustle and bustle.

No, wait. I definitely did respond—I glanced over my shoulder with wide eyes, then pointed to myself and gasped, “Me?” And Hunter laughed and he nodded and he dragged me out here, and now we're dancing. Holding me by the hips, my arms wrapped around his neck, my head tucked against his chest kind of dancing.

The latter I only did because I couldn't stand the intimacy of such close eye contact. But I misjudged. This is infinitely more intimate, hearing his heart thumping steadily in his chest, soaking in the warmth of his skin through the thin cotton, feeling the vibration of his voice when he rests his cheek against my head and murmurs, “You look really beautiful, Caroline.”

I stiffen with the effort of resisting the urge to gape up at him—and maybe ask him to repeat himself. He must mistake that as discomfort because his grip loosens, and he moves like he's about to step away.

My grip tightening prevents that.

“Thank you.” I pause, holding onto the words brewing on my tongue for a moment before saying a silent‘to hell with it.’“You look handsome.”

The chest beneath my cheek rumbles. “You think?”

Iknow. Handsome is the understatement to end all understatements. He looks… unfathomable. Hunter in jeans and a t-shirt is enough to break a girl’s brain; Hunter in an indecently unbuttoned shirt and perfectly tailored slacks is downright cruel. “I think Marcy was wishing she’d left her new husband at the altar.”

Fingers glide up my back, tangling themselves in a fistful of my hair and tugging my head back gently. “You’re good for a man’s ego.”

“I’m just telling the truth.”

Hunter smiles, but there’s something else there. Something I don’t know the name of. Something severe yet soft—solemn despite the upward curve of his mouth. His throat contracts with a heavy swallow, and mine does the same, my pulse quickening too, when he tucks a strand of hair behind my ears. Faster again when his gaze drops and settles on my lips. Starts thundering towards some kind of fatal palpitation when he dips his head, when I convince myself he’s about to kiss me.

But he doesn’t.

Abruptly, he pulls away. Something unreadable contorts his face as he backs up a step. Without explanation, without so much as a goodbye, he weaves his way off the crowded dance floor and disappears from sight, leaving me confused and flushed and on the verge of mortification.

For a long moment, I simply stand there, staring at the spot he vacated until my brain kicks into gear and I force my legs to move. With my head down, I retreat back to the bar, hoping no one saw that. As always, my wishes go unfulfilled—the second I look up, I meet Lux’s mischievous grin.

She leans against the bar, a glass of wine poised halfway to her lips, that grin only growing the closer I get. To her credit, she waits for me to quench my parched throat with another soda—and contemplate something stronger—before pouncing. “What was that, lovebird?”

I aim for nonchalance as I shrug, but I fear my fingers dancing erratically against the side of my glass give me away. “What was what?”

“You. Hunter.” Lux shimmies her shoulders, brows wiggling. “Dancing.He's smooth, for such a big guy.”

Two seconds ago, I was thinking the exact same thing, equally amused and amazed. Now, I wish I could burn the moment from my memory, if only so it would erase the following too. “We're friends. Friends dance.”

Lux’s snort calls bull, as does the look she pins me with. “Is something going on?”

I swallow. “Nope.”

“It looks like something's going on.”

“Nothing is going on.”

“Caroline.”

“Alexandra.”

An elbow jabs me in the ribs, hard enough to chastise, light enough not to hurt. “You can tell me, you know.”

“I know.” I would like to tell her. To gossip. To have something normal to fret over, something as mundane as a boy. But it feels so… inconsequential. Too small to warrant feelings so big. And I guess I’m scared if I voice it aloud, I’ll hear just how silly I sound, thinking anything of it at all. “It was just a dance.”

It was just a dance, I repeat internally, hoping my thundering heart gets the memo.

Lux hums softly. Slinking an arm around my shoulders, she pulls me into her side. “For what’s it worth,” she murmurs. “I thought he was gonna kiss you too.”

I force myself to laugh. “Yeah, well. You’re drunk.”

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