Entice - By Ella Frank Page 0,108

looking over here. I’m pretty sure she wants to get her hands on you.”

Josh chuckled, looking over his shoulder.

Shelly was indeed staring across the room at them. Looking at his watch, Josh nodded and told Rachel, “I think I’ve got time for one more dance.”

Rachel smirked then. “Before what? You turn into a pumpkin?”

Josh stood and shook his head. “No. Before I hit the road.”

Rachel tried for a full grin but once again failed. This sad version of her was worrying Josh a lot.

“Drive safely, okay? And, Josh, thank you.”

“Anytime, Rach. You know I’m just a phone call away,” he reaffirmed.

Then, he turned, heading toward a certain blonde.

***

Shelly watched as Josh made his way across the dance floor to her.

Mason and Lena had left half an hour earlier, and the festivities were starting to wind down. All night, Shelly had wanted to talk to Josh, but there hadn’t been one moment where she could get away. But right now, well, she had nothing to do except watch him walk toward her.

He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit that molded to every tight muscle the man possessed. Under that, he had the same crisp white shirt as Mason, and instead of the cobalt blue tie that Mason had worn, Josh’s tie was a light blue to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. The man looked sexy in a suit, and Shelly wanted to take it off of him, piece by piece.

When he finally stopped in front of her, holding out his hand, Shelly slipped hers into it, allowing him to pull her out onto the dance floor. Tugging her in tight, he held her in a waltz-hold as the music switched, and Sinatra started singing “The Way You Look Tonight.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever get to speak to you tonight,” he spoke softly against the side of her head, moving them gently around the floor with the other couples.

Who knew he could dance so well? Shelly thought as she held on and let him lead, loving the feel of his body as it swayed against her own.

“I know. It was crazy how busy it was—all the photos and people and food,” she said.

“Oh god, yes, the food,” Josh said with a false groan.

Shelly chuckled a little, and then looked up to see he was looking right back at her.

“I love this song,” she told him with a smile.

His eyes crinkled at the sides as he stared down at her while moving them in a slow twirl.

When they were back to a basic step, he agreed. “Yes, it’s one of those classics that definitely stood the test of time.”

Shelly felt his heartbeat against her chest, and she was starting to get nervous as he watched her with an expression she hadn’t seen before. It was almost as though he was unsure of his next move.

Well, she could help that along. After all, she didn’t want him to guess what she wanted tonight. She planned to make it crystal clear.

“Will you come home with me tonight?” Shelly asked, and then licked her bottom lip, waiting for the answer she assumed was inevitable.

The one thing, however, that Shelly had not expected was being taught the valuable lesson of one should never assume.

***

Josh looked down at the beguiling woman in his arms and hated what he had to do next. He had no clue what her reaction was going to be. In fact, he was almost worried that she might tell him to go to hell and never talk to him again, but he had decided last night that this was what he needed to do if he was ever going to be more than a roll in the sheets to her.

“I’m leaving tonight,” he told her as the music stopped.

As they stopped swaying around the floor, he watched as the hurt moved across her eyes, and she pulled back a little, shaking her head.

“I don’t understand,” she stated in an annoyed tone before she turned away.

Josh followed as she moved off the dance floor toward the door leading to the front porch of the venue. When he got outside, he saw her making her way down to one of the seating areas that overlooked Lake Michigan. She must have heard his feet crunching on the gravel because she suddenly turned to him.

“You’re running away!” she accused.

Josh took a step closer to her and was about to reach out, but at the last minute, she turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.