I wasn’t even sure what the event was for—some charity, I believed. What I knew for sure was that Theo West would be there because my father told me he’d donated a mass sum of money to the cause. He’d looked uncomfortable when I finally laid eyes on him, across from the large ballroom everybody mingled about in, until he saw us. My chest had warmed when he made his way over, greeting my father with a typical handshake and me with a kiss on the cheek.
“You look beautiful, Della.” Maybe it was those words that had cemented the thought I’d already made myself before being dropped off at the doors that night. The dress was gorgeous and fit my body perfectly, my hair was styled in a skillfully curled updo, and I’d put makeup on that made me look older. I realized the moment I’d captured Theo’s attention that I subconsciously did it on purpose. I wanted to catch his eye and see his reaction and wasn’t disappointed.
Lifting fingers to the cheek he often kissed, I found myself smiling. From somewhere in the distance, music thumped loudly. Nothing I knew, but the bass was evident from whatever place it traveled from. A car maybe? One of the rundown apartment buildings a block away? Whatever song it was shifted to something slower, and I found my head swinging in a slow melody, my feet moving to the new beat, muscle memory taking over.
I wasn’t sure when it happened, but my sketchpad was set on the crate and I was on my feet swaying. Eyes closed, I turned to the beat and found my feet gliding me across the floor as I hummed to myself.
Getting lost in the old me as my feet swept across the cement, I gasped when an arm hooked around me, and familiar spicy cologne took over my senses. Before I opened my eyes, the hardened body against mine pressed us closer together as he took lead. One rough palm held mine while the other rested on my waist as he led us in a slow dance.
Cracking my eyelids open, I saw the fitted light blue button down against a bulky body wrapped in earned muscle before drifting my gaze upward to light scruff, full pink lips, and up to dark blue eyes gazing down at me.
“You don’t smell like tobacco today,” was the brilliant greeting I gave him as he turned us. If I looked down, I’d see Tom Ford shoes, polished, stepping to the practically non-existent music.
He grumbled, “Trying to quit.”
My brows drew up. “Really?”
One head nod was all I got in return as he tightened his grip on my hand and waist. “You were dancing.”
Swallowing, I rested my cheek against his chest and listened to the thrum of his heartbeat as my body eased into him. “Not really. Just…playing more than anything.”
He hummed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, changing the topic to something lighter.
“Dallas called.”
Pressing my eyes closed, I nodded against him. It made sense, I guessed. Dallas was striking up conversation the whole way he drove me here, something he did more times than he probably liked. I enjoyed the thirty-something-year-old’s company. We had light conversations and he seemed to genuinely care. Plus, he knew my mother. Not well, he admitted, but enough to tell me on occasion how much I reminded him of her. It always made me smile when I heard those words.
“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself,” Theo scolded quietly, his chin resting on the top of my head. “We’ve been over this.”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, something he would have given me grief over if he’d seen me do it. “I’m not alone. Dallas is lurking outside pretending not to be.”
His silence told me I was right.
“Plus,” I added softly, “you’re here.”
Another hum.
We danced liked that for a moment longer, our breathing on the foreground of sound that took over the warehouse. I found myself remembering all the times I’d begged him to do this with me when I was younger. Sometimes it called for dancing when we were at events—other times it was in the living room of my parents’ house when he visited, and I clung to him until he caved. It never took much.
I found myself softly laughing over the fond memory. It seemed like so long ago. I wasn’t sure what it was like to be as innocent as I was back then. “Remember when I used to stand on your shoes while we danced like this? Where were we when that woman, the blonde, had a fit when I stood on top of those fancy Fords you had on?”
My smile widened when his deep chuckle vibrated against me. “Arabella. I remember well. She reprimanded me all night until I finally told her to leave.”
I hadn’t known that. “Oh.”
“She was a bit much,” he admitted. “I needed a date and your mother insisted…” Ah. My mother always meant well, but I’d heard my father and Theo talking about her matchmaking skills. Or lack thereof. I loved her, but I agreed with the men. I didn’t like anybody with him, though I tolerated Mariska because I had no other option when they’d gotten married. If he’d found somebody he cared for, who was I to stop him? I was raised to be proper and civil, and that was what I was. Sometimes, I even liked Mariska, even if I was a little moody toward her because she got to spend so much time with Theo.
“I’m surprised you didn’t get sick of me always bugging
