Page 31 of Unlucky in Love
“Why you—”
He kissed her lightly on the mouth again and then sauntered out of the cafe to the backdrop of hoots and whistles, leaving Taylor feeling happy, confused, and completely overstimulated.
Chapter 10
Taylor
Taylor locked the café door with a sigh so heavy it felt like it carried the weight of an entire circus. All day she’d endured sidelong looks, smirks, and unsolicited congratulations from townsfolk who apparently believed her personal life was community property.
She was ready to crawl into bed, hide under the covers, and never emerge.
Instead, Ryan was waiting by his truck, leaning against it like he had all the time in the world. His hands were shoved into his jacket pockets, his posture easy, but his eyes tracked her every step.
“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” she asked, tucking her cafe keys into her bag.
“Here’s good,” he said. Then he held up a folded note.
Her heart stuttered.
He crossed to her and placed it in her palm, his fingers brushing hers deliberately. Taylor opened it, breath catching as she read:
“Even heroines need a soundtrack. Go where the music plays, third button from the top. The story continues there.”
She stared at it, pulse racing. “The diner.”
Ryan’s mouth quirked. “Good deduction, Sherlock. Let’s go.”
The diner was nearly empty, just a few regulars nursing coffee and the tired-looking waitress refilling cups. Taylor’s nerves jittered as she walked to the old jukebox against the wall.
She pressed the third button from the top. The machine whirred, and a familiar song crackled to life—her guilty-pleasure, cheesy love ballad she only ever played when no one else was around.
Her cheeks burned. “Oh, no.”
Ryan grinned. “Oh, yes.”
She turned to scold him, but he was already holding out his hand. “Dance with me.”
“What if I was supposed to dance with my secret admirer, and you just keep running him off?”
“I think it’s pretty clear that this is my intent. You gonna go against the town hall edict and pick some creeper who won’t show his face?”
“You wanna dance together in public?”
He leaned closer, his voice low. “Pretty sure after today, your love life is already a public broadcast.”
She wanted to argue. She wanted to say no. But when he closed his hand around hers and tugged gently, her body betrayed her.
They moved to the open space near the jukebox, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead, the linoleum floor sticky in places. Hardly romantic. And yet, when Ryan slid an arm around her waist and guided her into the slow sway of the music, the whole world fell away.
Taylor let herself lean into him, her head brushing his chest. His heartbeat was steady, his warmth seeping into her until her bones felt molten.
Taylor’s cheek brushed against the fabric of Ryan’s jacket, the faint scent of cedar and soap clinging to him. The song crooned through the diner’s scratchy speakers, syrupy and dramatic, the kind of ballad teenagers slow-danced to in gymnasiums decorated with crepe paper.
She smiled despite herself. “God, this song is so embarrassing.”
Ryan’s laugh rumbled low in his chest. “Embarrassing maybe. But kind of perfect.”
Her head tilted back so she could look up at him. “Perfect? It’s a prom cliché.”
