Page 89 of Finding New Dreams

Chloe and Sarah squealed and raced toward their men. Even Gina drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes were trained on Wyatt, who wore a striped shirt and spun his fedora on his finger, gazing at her all the while.

But I felt rooted to the spot. Even as Flynn’s eyes shot up to meet mine when he heard my friends squeal.

His brow furrowed as his gaze traveled over me, from feathered headband to beaded-fringe flapper dress to sparkly heels. He rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip. A devilish smile curved under his prominent cheekbones.

Yes. He was mine. And now, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

22

FLYNN

It was like the first night I’d seen her all over again.

I just looked up and, bam, there she was. Beautiful, dazzling, glowing with joy. She’d looked a little shell-shocked at first, but then that smile—painted a seductive ruby-red—lit up her wide, dark eyes.

She and Gina tapped toward us in their fancy shoes. I’d yet to tear my eyes away from Rose, but I could see in my peripheral vision that Gina had yet to look away from the man next to me: Wyatt.

The moment Rose was within range, I stole her hand and lifted it to my lips. “You look amazing,” I murmured before kissing her fingers.

She blushed, but the look in her eyes said she was anything but embarrassed. She stepped closer to me, the beaded fringe of her dress tapping against me in a way that I liked a bit too much. Her lips caressed my cheek, and I froze.

“You’re like a fantasy come to life,” she whispered in my ear.

I swallowed hard. Before I could respond, Wyatt nudged me. When I shot an irritated glance at him, he jerked his head to where our group was piling into the casino.

For one wild moment, I considered gathering Rose up in my arms and not sharing her with anyone. Locking us up somewhere no one could find us.

But Chloe. Her plan. I had to wait.

Sighing, I slid Rose’s hand around my arm and escorted her through the entrance.

The casino hit me all at once. The frantic chiming and myriad of lights from the machines. The smell of years of cigarette smoke. Hundreds of people gathered around old slot machines, new arcade-game-looking ones, and the fancier, roped-off card tables. The mirrored ceiling and walls made the casino feel endless.

“Oh, look!” Rose pointed to the center, where a live swing band had set up. Their horns and drums fed into the frenzied energy.

Our group waved us over.

“All right, Owen, Louis, Wyatt, and Gina are headed to the machines,” Chloe said loudly. “Hunter, Sarah, Carter, and I were going to go dance.”

Rose turned to me, her face eager. “Want to dance?”

“Absolutely.”

Chloe smiled and waved everyone off with promises to check their phones regularly in case we wanted to meet back up.

The six of us joined a half dozen other couples who were already galloping and spinning around the dance floor.

Rose took both my hands in hers. “Do you know how to swing dance? We can go slow while I show you.”

I grinned. “Sure. Or—”

She gasped when I spun her in a tight circle then slipped my arm around her waist. Her hand clutched my shoulder as I started to rock-step and triple-step with her, forward, back, side to side.

Her head fell back with a laugh. “How did you learn to do this?”

I pushed her away from me then spun her back without breaking rhythm. “Worked at a swing dance bar during art school. They really liked it when the employees got out there to show their stuff.”

“So you did have a secret talent all this time! Why didn’t you tell me?”

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