Page 63 of Hello Trouble

And I didn’t have time for something temporary. Not if I wanted a family.

All my spinning thoughts had me off-kilter when I heard the doorbell ring.

Hayes was here.

And tonight, we weren’t staying in Cottonwood Falls—he was taking me to a dance hall in Roderdale. So I tried to focus on that, because I was excited to go dancing with him. After seeing his moves at the spring festival, I couldn’t wait to have him spin me around the dance floor.

Maybe part of me thought it would be a good test too. If the dance hall was anything like I remembered, there would be plenty of pretty young women there dressed to the nines. If his eyes wandered, if his focus drifted, I’d have my answer on his priorities, no matter how disappointing it might be.

I zipped my phone into my purse and then hurried in my heeled boots to the door. My turquoise dress swayed around me as I walked, and my hair brushed over my shoulders, curly and wild.

I’d hoped to take his breath away, but when I opened the door, I nearly gasped. Instead of his usual distressed wardrobe, Hayes had on dark jeans, a black dress shirt unbuttoned to reveal the mural of tattoos across his chest. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms, showing more of the inky designs there. His lip ring glinted under my porch light just like the glittering dance of trouble in his blue-green eyes.

But he looked just as mystified as I was. “Wow,” he breathed. My cheeks felt hot under his gaze, and he made no act to hide the attraction he felt as he bit his bottom lip. “Stunning, Della,” he rasped.

I smiled at the compliment and how genuine it seemed. “And look who stepped away from the GQ cover shoot to go dancing with little ol’ me.”

He shook his head as he circled his arms around my waist. “I can’t wait.” He drew his lips to mine and took my breath away with a heated kiss.

My thighs clenched, and I had half a mind to ask him to stay here and dance in my bedroom with our clothes off or some other cheesy pickup line. But just as I was about to drag him to my bedroom cavewoman style, he linked his fingers with mine and said, “Let’s get going.”

“Okay,” I whispered begrudgingly, still coming out of my kiss-induced daze.

He led me out to his truck, our feet making soft scraping sounds over the sidewalk. It blended perfectly with the sounds of crickets filling the night air. I always loved this part of spring, when the nights came alive with the sounds of nature, even in our small town.

After helping me into his truck, he walked around to the driver’s side, backed out of the driveway, and laced our fingers over the middle seat. We’d only been seeing each other for a week, and already we were falling into a rhythm.

He drew my hand to his lips. “I missed you.”

I giggled. “We saw each other Monday.”

“And now it’s Friday. Such bullshit.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m sure my hunk of junk car will bring me back to your shop soon.” I shook my head. “Maybe it’s time to look for something new.”

“Your car isn’t a hunk of junk,” he countered. “It’s one of the more reliable brands.”

I raised my eyebrows. “It’s broken down twice in the last month, and it’s still under a hundred thousand miles. I wouldn’t call that reliable.”

His jaw tensed for a moment, and I wondered what was behind it. “What?” I asked him.

“Nothing,” he said too quickly, staring hard at the road.

“Hayes Brain Madigan,” I warned.

He let out a heavy sigh, a smile threatening at the corners of his mouth. If it was a little lighter in the car, I’d have sworn he was blushing. As it was, I was about eighty-five percent sure he was.

“So that night your car broke down before your date with Bennett...” he began.

“Yeah?” I asked. “Did you overcharge me? I swear, people always say you need to change your filters when you don’t really.”

“No, you need to change your filters,” he said. But he hesitated again.

“Hayes! Tell me!” I pressed.

“I may or may not have... disconnected your car battery while you were working so you couldn’t go on your date.”

My. Jaw. Dropped.

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