Page 90 of Finding New Dreams

I winked. “Why tell you when I can show you?” I spun her again. Really, I could never get tired of watching her twirl, her face lit up, that dress flying and sparkling. “Do you trust me?”

Panting, she held tight to my leading hand. Excitement glittered in her eyes. “Yes.”

I grinned and tossed my hat aside. Then I executed a well-practiced series of moves that spun her in tight circles around me, our hands dropping and linking. I whipped her away from me, then slid back to her.

She twisted her hips and feet outward like some of the other dancers, waving her finger in the air like a pro. I grabbed her around the waist and flipped her whole body around my arm. She squealed and laughed as some applause came from the sidelines.

With a flourish, the band finished their song, and everyone clapped. They announced a break and set aside their instruments.

Sweating but smiling, I retrieved my hat, and we met up with our other two couples—who weren’t quite as out of breath.

“Holy shit, Flynn, how’d you learn to do that?” Carter rumbled.

Chloe gave me a playful shove. “Yeah, what other secrets are you hiding from me?”

I winced inwardly but shrugged. “Never came up. And Carter, I learned at a bar I worked at.”

Sarah smiled at Rose. “And let me guess, you joined that Uffda series on swing dance that the Ludlows taught a few years back?”

Rose nodded. “Yep, but they never covered tricks quite like that.” She smiled up at me, still holding my hand.

“What the hell?” Hunter suddenly exploded. I almost jerked away from Rose entirely until I noticed he was looking at his phone. He flashed it at us. “Owen said he just won five hundred bucks off a Sex and the City machine! Something about a Mr. Big round.”

The women laughed, and Carter demanded they go play the machine. We found the others and played a few of the machines, laughing at the games, celebrating every time we won a few bucks. Rose slipped away for a few minutes to go to the bathroom, and when she got back, everyone decided to get another round of drinks.

But as they wandered off, Rose tugged me back. “Want to play blackjack?” she asked, a little breathless.

“Now that I don’t have a secret talent for.”

“But I do. And I’m prepared to make it interesting either way.”

Immediately curious, I eased closer to her. “Like a secret bet? With me?”

She nodded.

Ribbons of heat unfurled through my body. “Stakes?”

“If I win,” she said softly, her fingers toying with one of my suspenders, “we get the best suite they have for tonight. Just the two of us.”

My heartbeat roared in my ears as the heat in my blood surged to an inferno. “And if you lose?” I asked in a strangled voice, even as the idiotic idea of counting cards zipped through my mind.

Her smile quirked with confidence. “I won’t.”

It struck me how that first night she’d purposely won to avoid the potential one-night stand I’d been angling for. And now she meant to win…me.

Hell, she could have me by crooking a finger. But for how long? Just tonight? Why did the thought of only getting one night bother me so much? Usually, that was my go-to because hardly anyone I hung out with, including myself, wanted more. And the last time I had, I’d gotten burned.

But that didn’t stop my fickle heart from wanting Rose for as many nights as she’d give me.

And if it got hurt, I could heal the needy organ after I left. For now, why not let it have what it wanted?

I rested my forehead against hers, breathing her scent in deeply. “Deal.”

She squeezed my hand and led me off to one of the tables. After getting set up with chips at a table with three other players, she started to play.

And I started to sweat. Good thing I wasn’t playing. They’d see through me in a second.

But Rose remained a calm, cool, witty player. I could barely keep up with the rules, so I focused on her. Once in a while, she’d bite her lip or tap her toes, but she didn’t lose. I kept a supportive hand on the small of her back, rubbing my thumb over her spine.

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