He took the remote for the Bose speaker out of his pocket and hit Play. The sultry sounds of blues guitar filled the patio and he walked over to Gabi.
“Dance?”
She nodded. He pulled her into his arms and danced her around the patio under the stars. And though he knew he’d done this all for her, he felt himself falling under a spell. He wanted to pretend that it was the trappings or romance that were making his heart beat faster, but he knew that was a lie.
It was the girl... Gabi was the one responsible.
* * *
The music changed from slow blues to “Smooth” by Santana and Rob Thomas. She’d loved that song when they’d been in college. Rob Thomas had been her first teenage crush. And she was pretty sure she’d mentioned it to Kingsley.
She tipped her head back and smiled up at him. “I like this song.”
“I remember. You played it for me and made me listen to the lyrics.”
“God, I was so annoying back then,” she said. “Seriously, what was I thinking?”
“This song meant something to you,” he said. “I did listen to the lyrics, and not just because kissing you made me hotter than I’d ever been in my life.”
“That’s saying something,” she said with a small smile. “Why are you romancing me tonight?”
“I like you,” he said simply.
“I like you, too,” she said. “But that’s not enough to warrant all of this.”
“Why do you think I’m doing it?” he asked.
She studied him in the light from the flickering candles. His face was serene and as usual he gave away nothing that he was feeling. In fact, the only time she’d seen real emotion on his face was when he looked at Conner. Then she saw alpha dad in his eyes. Now, though, she wanted to see affection and maybe a little devotion, but she didn’t see anything.
“I don’t know,” she said, pulling the gem-encrusted scarf closer around her shoulders as she stepped back from him. “You’ve got every detail planned, don’t you?”
He shrugged and turned to the pitcher of margaritas, pouring each of them a glass. She took one from him.
“To old friends.”
Old friends? That wasn’t what they were. Maybe she’d been taken in by the house and the kid. Maybe she was pretending there was something more between Kingsley and her. Or was she?
“I’m so unsure tonight,” she said. “That’s not like me. I don’t know if it’s the past making me feel this way or you.”
He set his drink on the table and came over to her. He took her glass and placed it next to his. Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, rubbing his hands up and down her back.
“Either way it’s me. I’m trying to make up for everything that I took from you. We both know I never can. That night we were together I was your first. It should have been romantic and special. Not a frat party and then sex in your dorm room. And I knew it. Even then. I wanted to give you more, but I never had the chance. This is me making up for it. I know it’s not enough. It will never be enough, but maybe this could be a start.”
His words warmed her from the inside out. That cold dark place where the young woman she’d been cowered inside her was suddenly not so cold and definitely not dark. These were words she’d always longed to hear.
Words she’d never really thought she would hear. Kingsley had wounded her deeply—not the night he’d taken her virginity, but the next day when he’d cruelly turned her away.
And she had to remember it.
“That doesn’t help, does it?” he asked. He dropped his arms and moved away from her.
She had a choice to make. She could keep punishing him for the past—and she could come up with a million reasons to justify that. Or—and it was a big thing—she could forgive him and accept this.
She took a deep breath. Fear held her where she was. Fear held her tongue. Fear had her wrapped in an icy grasp. She could let it go.
She needed to let it go.
“It does,” she said at last.
She heard him exhale and he turned back to her.
“Good. Now let’s drink these margaritas and you can tell me about your favorite things,” he said.
“My favorite things?” she asked, picking up her glass and going to sit down on the padded bench again. “Like what? You already know I love Rob Thomas,” she said with a wink.
“Still?” he asked, sitting down next to her.
“Yes.”