the hut.
“Come on. How often are you going to be in Hawaii?” Christine said.
She had a point. Although the thought of dancing made Cole want to hurl, Penn loved getting out on a dance floor.
“Give us a minute,” he said, resigned.
When he returned to Penn, she looked none too pleased. “What if I don’t want to go dancing?”
“You love dancing.”
“That’s not what they think.” She scrunched up her face and said in a mimicking tone, “Pennie doesn’t dance.”
He laughed. Okay. Now he actually wanted to go. “Come on. This is your opportunity to show them up. I know you’ve got moves.”
On the dance floor and in the bedroom.
“But what about our special night?” She pouted.
He wasn’t happy about the interruption, either. But it did give him more time to gather his thoughts. And his courage. Work out the best way to tell her about his past. He could use the extra time.
Besides, he’d wanted her to come out of her shell with her family all day, and this was a golden opportunity.
“I know you have a lot of moves you can show me on that dance floor. And frankly”—leaning down, he whispered in her ear—“if I can’t have you rubbing up against me on that pillow, I’ll take whatever rubbing I can get.” He stood and pulled back his shoulders to gather his thoughts.
That was kind of dirty. Wasn’t it?
“Thank you.” Penn’s eyes sparkled, that gorgeous cobalt blue color returning to mesmerize him. She stood, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’ve made this trip so much easier.”
“You might want to keep the thank-yous for later,” he whispered, “when I’m fucking you under the moonlight.”
That was definitely dirty.
Her eyes flared with desire. “Where did that come from?”
He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “I have no idea.” He pressed his lips to hers. “But you know you love it.”
Love.
How the hell had that word snuck into his vocabulary? He didn’t love Penn. He couldn’t love Penn.
Could he?
She squeezed his hand. “Let’s go show my family who doesn’t have two left feet.” Her lips curled up, making a face, but she relented. “But I’m bringing the champagne.”
And she did.
The entire bottle.
Without a glass.
The drinking didn’t stop on the beach on the way to the club. It happened outside the club. Inside the club. And on the dance floor. With the exception of Christine, they were all three sheets to the wind.
There were at least a hundred people in the club. It was sweaty and hot, but the perfect venue for them to get lost in each other, without thinking about the future.
But then a spotlight fell on their table, and the DJ walked out to the front of the stage that sat to the left of the dance floor. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve been asked to help out with a family rivalry.” He pointed down at their table as the crowd hooted and hollered. “Pennie and Beth?” He waved his arm toward the stage. “Why don’t you come up here?”
Penn went rigid beside him, a shocked expression replacing the contentedness that was there only a second ago.
“What the hell is going on?” she spat.
He looked around the entire table, from one sibling to the next, but they all looked at each other with confusion, except for Cathy, who laughed under her breath.
“Cathy, what did you do?” Penn yelled from her seat beside him. Her breath had picked up, and he noticed her foot tap in nervousness, making her leg move up and down rapidly.
Cathy shrugged, then sat back in her seat. “I thought it would be fun to see Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes shake her booty on stage.” She waved a finger toward Penn.
Cole suppressed his laugh. Penn was anything but a goodie-two-shoes.
“What!” Penn shouted. “Do you hate me or something?” A small whimper escaped her mouth as she shook beside him in terror.
“Ian and I won’t be winning anything this year.” Cathy let out a gleeful noise. “I’ve got to get something out of it.”
He’d always thought Cathy was nosy, maybe a little intrusive, but never vindictive. Alcohol really did show peoples’ true colors.
“What do you say, ladies?” the DJ asked. The spotlight had gotten brighter, hotter, over their table, and Cole had to squint to make him out on stage. “Will we be judging a hula contest, or what?”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Penn mumbled beside him, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
“Penn, you don’t have to do this,” he whispered from his seat.
She looked up at him, some