Page 35 of Save the Last Dance
They broke apart to find a flashlight pointed their way.
“Busted,” Nina muttered, drawing her coat tighter around her and cursing ill-timed interruptions.
“Want to make a new memory on this football field?” Mack asked as the flashlight bobbed closer.
The wicked gleam in his eye called to her as much as his kiss.
“That was half the reason I came out here,” she reminded him.
“Good.” He grabbed her hand. “Because we’re going to run for it.”
With no other warning, he leaped to his feet and drew her with him. They pounded down the metal stairs,laughing while the flashlight-wielding school official shouted after them.
“I’ll find out who you are!” The man called after them. “You’ll sit in detention all next week for this.”
Nina matched her pace to Mack’s, the blanket clutched to her chest, her feet flying across the damp grass toward her pickup truck.
“Leave it.” Mack pulled her toward the El Dorado instead. “Come with me and we’ll cap the night with a joy ride.”
Grateful she didn’t have time to think about it, Nina jumped into his car and closed the door behind her, breathless and still laughing over their escape.
There were a million reasons not to get more involved with Mack Finley. But sitting beside him in the convertible under a fat harvest moon, she couldn’t remember a single one.
Chapter Eight
Speeding along anold access road behind Spencer Farm, Mack searched for a good place to turn around. Nina sang along to his car radio, her fist pumping the bass beat with one hand while the other hand corralled her long hair in a ponytail so it didn’t blow in her face.
Top down, they’d cruised around town for about half an hour while headlights from oncoming traffic had roved over them every now and then, illuminating Nina’s face and making his breath catch. He’d had no idea what to do with her after the impulsive run from the school. He’d only suggested it because she’d always loved stuff like that—any adventure to break up the monotony of life in Heartache. Maybe some of her spirit had rubbed off on him over the years, since he’d ended up leaving, too.
Now, he steered the El Dorado onto a low hill overlooking a creek that ran alongside one of the old orchards near her grandmother’s farm. The fire inside him from their kiss had been banked, but he still wanted her. That kissback at the football field had turned hot in a hurry, reminding him that his feelings for Nina were coming back stronger than ever. He’d been crazy about her as a teen. What would it be like to be with her now, with the deeper wants of a man?
She leaned toward the radio and lowered the volume as the song came to an end.
“I can’t believe you remember your way around these roads.” She sat straighter in the seat as he slowed down. “I would have gone right over the edge of the bank into the creek.”
Mack pulled over to the side of the road and switched off the headlights, the darkness deep out here away from ambient light. He killed the engine, telling himself they could talk for a few minutes and then he’d bring her home or back to her car.
“Scott used to bring us up here to play long before you moved here. He was always good about trying to get all the kids out of the house when my mom was having a bad day.” And what had Mack done for his family? His move to Nashville had only forced everyone else to pitch in more.
“Did you ever swim in the creek?” She shifted in the seat next to him, staring up at the sky where the moon hung low above the trees.
“Of course.”
“This time of year?” she asked, turning her head toward him, a wicked gleam in her eye.
The fire that had been banked in him flared to life again, faster than he was prepared for. Hotter than he could handle. He recognized a dare when he heard one.
“Nina.” He wasn’t sure if he was cautioning her or himself, but he reached to stroke a finger down hercheek, her skin almost flawless in the moonlight. “Don’t flirt with me unless you mean it.”
He’d asked her out, damn it. He’d tried to make a legitimate offer to heal the past. She was the one who hadn’t wanted to risk getting hurt again, even with a short-term thing.
She closed her eyes for a long moment and drew a slow breath. When she looked at him again, she’d shuttered some of her natural playfulness. He felt equal parts relief and regret.
“Maybe you shouldn’t take me parking unlessyoumean it.”
“That’s the problem. I do. I told you I’m ready to see where this leads.” He was old enough to know what he wanted. And whether it was wise or not, he still wanted Nina.
“I’ve thought about it,” she admitted, tracing the piping on the leather console between them.
