Page 13 of Make it Real
“She’s being ridiculously modest,” Harper put in. “She’s really good, knows the moves to all the songs, and she helps anybody on the dance floor who doesn’t know what they’re doing. She guided me like a baby my first time out.”
Jed’s gaze became a laser beam, his curious look making my skin tingly and warm.
“How have I never heard about your line dancing prowess?”
“We go line dancing at the honky-tonk,” I said. “I didn’t think you’d like to join us there. You seem like a very straight-arrow type.”
He stared at me for half a second, processing his own words I’d parroted back to him. Then he threw his head back and laughed like he’d never heard anything better. Truly,I’dnever heard anything better. His laugh was a firework bursting to life—I wanted tooohandaahand break into applause, begging for an encore.
“Touché, darlin’.”
A shiver cascaded up my spine at that short word. I knew he wasn’t really calling me darling—lots of people tossed that word around—but the ripples trailed across my skin anyway.
“Well, we’re in,” Eliza said, halting the shivers in their progress. “Anything to dance with my man.”
Dean’s low-key smile was one part affection, two parts smug.
“Jed, how about you?” Harper asked. “Might be fun.”
He turned to me. “I might be up for it if the line dancing champion is going.”
“Oh.” All the little whirls of excitement rushing through me crashed together in a full-stop. “I can’t tomorrow night. I have a…”
I didn’t really want to elaborate. I’d agreed to meet Greg for dinner, but nobody here needed to know a stitch of that, least of all Jed. Although, judging by the way his smile slowly faded, he probably already guessed.
“You have a what?” Eliza repeated. “A date?”
Man, she looked so eager, like I was about to tell her I had Taylor Swift tickets. I hated to disappoint her, but even if Jed weren’t standing six inches away from me, I wouldn’t ever crow about my plans with Greg. Also, I’d never call meeting any of the guys my gran and her friends arrangeddates.Awkward encounters with strangers I hoped never to see againdidn’t have the same ring to it, though, so I guess I’d work with what I had.
I shook my head, not really in the mood to prove my lying chops tonight. “I have plans with my gran tomorrow night, I’m sorry.”
A passable story, since they knew already just how deeply ingrained my granny was in my life. I kind of wished I’d come up with a better lie, since hanging out with women in their seventies didn’t make me come off much stronger than admitting I was being set up on dates by women in their seventies.
“We’ll miss you,” Harper said. “Boot-scooting just isn’t the same without you.”
I forced a laugh, but Jed’s laser beam eyes on me made it tough to act natural. I hated that he had any clue about what I’d really be doing tomorrow night. I’d much rather he thought I’d be spending the evening doing old lady things with my gran instead of enduring a pity date that was ninety-nine percent sure to end in disappointment on both sides.
Eliza told a story about the last time we went line dancing, but I couldn’t focus on it. Grinning away at nothing, all my attention stayed stuck on the man at my side, even if I refused to actually look at him. Jed’s silence was odd enough in itself—like me, he had no problem speaking up in a group—butthissilence had a weight to it I couldn’t escape, full of unasked questions and a heavy layer of judgment. Well, he could go on and judge me for my choices all he liked. A few awkward nights were nothing if it meant keeping my granny happy and on her way to Florida.
ThenIcould be happy.
Eden and Booker joined us, cutting off the tail-end of Eliza’s story about a guy who’d busted out break dancing moves in the middle of the honky-tonk.
“We’ve got to get going,” Booker said. “It’s about time to get this little one to bed.”
He had their two-month-old daughter tucked up against his chest, her crown of black curls beneath his chin, her pale brown fist clutched tight around his darker finger he seemed unwilling to free. I had to fight the urge to coo over the adorable scene. In my defense, seeing this big man cuddle his tiny daughter would make any woman stop and sigh for a minute. Already asleep, she worked her mouth, smacking her little lips in her dreams.
“I have something for you before you go.” I rushed across the dining room to grab the box from beneath my purse where I’d left it. Returning to the group, I passed it over to Eden.
“What’s this for?” She ran her fingers over the plain brown box and started undoing the orange bow.
“It’s just something I made. You don’t have to open it now.” I didn’t want to make a big deal over it—I just couldn’t think of a better time to give it to them. Eden hadn’t joined a girls’ night since the arrival of their newborn, but popping it in the mail had felt too impersonal.
“Oh my gosh, open it now.” Eliza edged behind Eden to get a better view over her shoulder. “I can’t wait to see this.”
“What am I missing out on?” Eden asked, lifting the lid.
“It’s just a thing I made.” I really should have found a better time to give it to them. Right as they were leaving a party wasn’t ideal, and the crowd made it even worse.
