“Really?” Made sense, actually. Derek had always been a classic rock kind of guy. “Like what?”
“I don’t know.” He pointed to the screen. “Like this one. ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams? Sounds kind of childish.”
“Oh, that one’s fun. It was on the radio all the time when it came out.”
His lost look and shrug made her giggle. She pulled her phone from her purse and navigated to one of her music apps. “Here, I’m sure you’ve heard it.” After she found the song and hit Play, the peppy beat pumped throughout the small room. Ashley lifted her hands in the air and swayed her hips to the music. “Ringing any bells?”
“Nope. Sorry.” But he didn’t look sorry. He looked amused, his lips twisted in a grin, eyes laughing at her.
“You’re hopeless.” Ashley kept moving. “How can you sit there when this fun song is playing?”
“I’m having a lot of fun just watching you.”
With a laugh, she yanked him out of the chair. “Too bad. Come on. Show me your best moves.”
“Ash, you’re crazy. I don’t dance.”
She pretended to hold a fake microphone and sang into it, still bouncing, one arm lifted in the air like she was a gospel singer. “Dude, you’re getting married soon and there will be dancing. You’ve got to figure it out.”
“The only move I know is the shopping cart.”
“I’m sorry, the what?”
“You know.” He held his arms straight out and waist high, walking in place. Then he reached one arm up at a time, pretended to grab something on an imaginary shelf, and threw it down. “The shopping cart.”
Ashley folded in half with laughter. “That’s the best thing ever.” Then she straightened. “But can you do the sprinkler?” Placing one hand behind her head and the other straight out, she pulsed the second arm around in a half circle.
Now it was Derek’s turn to guffaw. “You look ridiculous.”
They alternated dance moves until the song ended, slinking into a soft ballad randomly chosen by the music app on her phone.
Ashley’s ribs ached from laughing. “You’re a natural.”
“Yeah, well.” Derek leaned back against the desk, cheeks red. His black T-shirt had mostly dried by now, but the ends of the sleeves still clung to his biceps. “I’m not quite sure that’s the kind of dancing I should do at the wedding.”
The wedding.
Like the waves from earlier this evening, reality crashed back in. Ashley sucked in a ragged breath, then coughed. “You’ll be fine.” A beat. “I could teach you.”
Eek. Why had she said that? That was a very bad idea. Worse than swimming in freezing cold water with a former flame.
Derek pushed off the desk, advancing a step toward her. “You want to teach me to dance?”
Ashley found herself nodding. “I mean, I don’t have to. But it’s not really that hard.” A nervous chuckle bubbled up from her chest. “You just put your arms around each other and sway. Nothing to it.”
He drew closer, encircling her waist with his strong arms. “Like this?” His voice was low, throaty.
Their gazes collided, and her whole body flooded with want for him, needing him.
Needing to feel his lips on hers.
Needing to belong to him.
But she didn’t belong to him. Claire did.
Then again, she’d never seen him look at Claire the way he was looking at her right now.
“Mm-hmm.” She looped one arm around his neck. The other hand found its way to his cheek. Slowly, she trailed her traitorous fingers over his beard, the bristles like tiny needles against her skin.
“Ash.”
She froze, sensing the serious nature of his tone. She’d gone too far. Ashley started to drop her hand, but he caught it and gently placed it back where it had been.
Ashley swallowed hard. “Yeah?”
“Then what do we do?” A pause, a searching of her eyes. “Sway?”
At her nod, he started to move them in a circle. The slow music poured from the phone, encouraging them on. Ashley’s nerves fired in every direction, her heart pitching against her chest in a rhythm at least twice as fast as the song.
Derek’s arms tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. “You’re a good friend, Ashley.”
She stopped moving, dropped her arms, withdrew, the back of her legs now pressing against the desk. The palms of her hands found the top of the desk as she sat on the very edge. The movement grounded her.
Friends.
Right.
He closed the gap between them once more, leaning down, close. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About how I shouldn’t marry someone without loving them.” Moving his head to the left, Derek’s lips now hovered above her ear. His warm breath puffed against her lobe, tickling her, making her shiver. “About how I’ll regret it forever.” His mouth grazed the middle part of her ear.
What was he saying?
He drew back his head again, looking down at her, and licked his lips. “I can’t think with you so near.”
“So stop thinking.” Instantly, she regretted the words. They were too bold, even if she’d been someone who was used to asking for what she wanted.
But then Derek swooped in and kissed her, and Ashley’s whole body caught fire. A guttural moan bubbled up from her chest as his mouth burned a trail from her lips to her cheek to her ear to the curve of her neck. Both her arms hooked around him again and their mouths found each other once more, giving and taking in equal measure. Ashley pushed her hands through the sides of his hair, her fingers massaging the back of his head as she deepened the kiss. Pulling back slightly, she nipped at his ear. He growled with pleasure before turning his head and catching her lips again.
Finally, they stopped. Both of them huffed air in and out, and the most delicious warmth curled through her as she laid her head against his chest. “I love you, Derek Campbell.”
He didn’t say anything at first, and reality dawned as the music in the background shifted once more—this time to something dark, foreboding.
She risked a glance
