Page 43 of Worth the Risk

The things he’d said and done this week didn’t erase the pain of the breakup, but they made me sure that I believed I was important to him.

The music had been turned up a little since we’d entered the dancing portion of the evening, and other people were already on the dance floor. I shot Ford a surprised look when I spotted Kelsie and Damien not just dancing but kissing in the middle of the floor. He chuckled and shrugged.

Then, I was in his arms.

His hands went to my hips and my arms looped around his neck. He looked down into my eyes as we moved together—nothing fancy or elaborate, just two people swaying to the music.

I couldn’t help thinking of the gala. I knew it was only a couple of weeks ago, but it felt like so much longer. As I’d watched him on the dance floor with Delilah, I’d been burning with sickening jealousy. But thinking back on it now, I could tell that he was stiff, his smile forced. There was no softness in his eyes, and she made sure to keep a little space between them.

It was completely different from what he was doing now.

Ford’s grin was the most natural thing in the world, and his eyes darkened with desire because he had my body as close to his as possible.

“You look so beautiful this evening,” he said.

I was wearing a purple strapless dress that was tight around my torso and flared out a bit at my hips, ending just above my knees. I knew it was a good look for me, but Ford’s eyes were only focused on my face.

For some reason, that made warmth bloom inside me.

It didn’t occur to me until the song ended that we’d just danced together in public for the first time. All those months of hiding what we were to each other, and now, it felt like we’d stepped out into the light for the first time.

I didn’t even think about it.

Some people might just assume that we were friends sharing a dance, but I doubted it. No matter how conflicted I felt about my feelings for Ford, even I couldn’t deny that we had palpable chemistry.

Oh well.

The time for hiding whatever we were had passed. We’d move on from that. We weren’t the same people we were even just a couple of weeks ago.

I mingled with friends and family for the next hour, and by the time the party was starting to break up, I was tired but happy. Jake ended up coming to sit by Dad after dinner, so I didn’t have to keep him company myself anymore, and I was able to actually have a good time.

I came to say goodbye to him before I went back to my bungalow, knowing that he’d leave this evening, probably taking a red-eye flight back home because God forbid he even sleep here and possibly miss out on a few hours at the office.

The man even worked on Sundays.

But I placed a kiss on his cheek and told him it was good to see him because he was my dad, no matter what. We’d never be close, but he was still the only parent I had.

As I walked through the French doors and out into the humid air, it didn’t surprise me at all that Ford followed me. I paused and looked at him.

His eyes held mine as he slowly reached out for my hand. I let him take it. There were people walking out of the reception around us, plenty of witnesses to it, but I allowed him to entwine our fingers as we headed to the bungalow without saying anything.

It was satisfying in the way that felt earned, even if it changed nothing between us.

We both knew it. But we kept walking together anyway. When we reached the bungalow, I let him come inside, but it wasn’t like the last time he was here. We didn’t rip at each other’s clothes or rush to the bedroom.

Instead, I went to the hall closet, where I’d discovered a collection of board games our first day here. There was a chess set inside, so I set it up on the coffee table for us. Ford had taught me how to play while we were together, and we’d spent many evenings challenging each other to games, sharing lighthearted smack talk, and whoever won had official bragging rights until the next time.

Tonight, it felt like we were visiting the past. This chess set was old and one of the rooks had the top broken off, but we both decided that was part of its charm.

After the game, we watched a movie together, cuddled up on the couch in a way that we always had before; his arm slung over my shoulders and my body tucked in close to his. It was… the perfect way to say goodbye to what we had.

Chapter Sixteen: Ford

Irolled over in the big bed, only half-awake as I reached for Zoey. But she wasn’t there.

I opened my eyes and lifted my head to look around the bedroom of her bungalow. After we played chess together last night, she’d fallen asleep on the couch while we watched a movie. I’d carried her to bed, intending to leave, but she’d woken up a little as I placed her on the mattress and tugged on my wrist, asking me in a sleepy voice to stay.

I’d never say no to that.