lifted the champagne flute out of her hand (the champagne flute Jared had made sure was never empty) and shoved it at Jared.
“You were rude,” Jenny said to her brother as they danced.
“I’m beginning to not like that man.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know you liked him at all.”
“I’m not sure I did.”
“Play nice,” she half-jokingly admonished. “No big brother Neanderthalness. I’m here to have a good time tonight, and nothing is going to ruin my fun.”
That drew a reluctant smile from Paul.
When that song ended, a son of a family friend asked her for the next dance. As he whirled her around, she learned that he’d gotten divorced, had a son, and wanted to know if she was interested in going out sometime.
So caught off guard by being asked out on a date, she missed a step and stumbled. “Let me think about it. Okay, Ryan?”
“Sure.”
From then on she had a blur of partners. Her feet were beginning to hurt from being stepped on, and her head was feeling a little fuzzy from all the champagne. When the next song ended, she felt herself being swept out onto the floor with a flourish. Looking up, she smiled. “Kenny. I didn’t think you were going to make it.”
“And miss my dance with the belle of the ball?”
She laughed. “Hardly that.”
He stared at her, his voice turning serious. “You really don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“Jesus, he’s a lucky man.”
Confusion furrowed her brow. But before Jenny could say anything, a deep voice sounded from behind her. “Hart.” Her heart leapt at the sound of the achingly familiar voice.
Kenny twirled her around until they faced Jared.
“I’m cutting in.”
“Later,” Kenny said.
“Now.” Jared didn’t wait for a reply but scooped Jenny into his strong arms.
“Hello,” she said, slightly giddy from champagne. “I was wondering where you were.”
“Watching.”
“Who?”
“You.”
Her whole body flushed at the look of raw desire in his gaze. “You should have been dancing.”
His stare was direct and held a wealth of meaning and a promise that made her shiver, but not from cold. “There’s only one partner I wanted.”
“And who would that be?” she asked, knowing it wasn’t only the champagne that was causing her to be so bold.
He pulled her close, pressed their bodies together, until she could feel every hard inch of him. “I think you know.”
She did. They’d been dancing around this attraction for weeks. She wanted him. And now she knew without a doubt that he wanted her. She was done denying it.
Stretching up on her tiptoes, she wound her hands around his neck and brushed her fingers through the back of his hair like her hands had ached to do outside. Unlike her other partners, Jared danced with a slow, languid confidence. “Thank you.”
He leaned down until his warm breath brushed across her. Even in a tux he smelled of the outdoors, of fresh air and sunshine and aged whiskey. “For what?”
For everything. For that kiss I can’t forget. “For fixing the kitchen faucet.”
He smiled. “How do you know it was me? Maybe Cody fixed it.”
It was her turn to laugh. “Somehow I don’t think so.”
“And here I thought you thought he was a great assistant.”
She blushed, remembering how she’d sent her nephew out to work with Jared in the hangar. “I plead the Fifth.”
His voice lowered a fraction. “I can think of a lot better things to plead for.”
Her heart slammed against her chest and heat spread through her, pooling low in the pit of her stomach. “Name one.”
He pulled back until there was just enough room for a shaft of light to fit between them. “Come out onto the deck with me, and I’ll show you.”
She didn’t resist as he led them through the crowd and onto the patio. Soft light spilled out from the double set of open French doors. In the warm night, the air was heady with the fragrance of the flowers that overflowed from the huge containers bordering the patio’s perimeter.
Jared didn’t say a word as he pulled her into a corner. His large body blocked her from anyone’s view as he leaned into her. She met him halfway, pressed herself against him. His hand caressed the side of her face, his callused thumb rubbing her cheek. His hand slipped lower, down her neck, across her shoulder, until both his hands were on her bare back, the heat from his touch burning her, fueling her desire. He crushed her against him. Instead of the fiery hot kiss of before, he lowered his head slowly, trailed