Page 88 of Resisting the Fall

The next song was slow, and he lifted a hand to me again.

“What about Penny?” I asked.

“She won’t want to dance this one with me,” Ben said. “She’ll want a fast one so I can twirl her.”

Accepting that he was right, I took hold of his hand. Instead of doing any sort of leading, he just pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms around my waist like he’d done so many times. I settled my arms around his neck, relishing the way it felt to be so close to him.

“I didn’t go out dancing last week,” he said. “I have a project I’ve been working on.”

My heart gave a little flutter of relief. “What’s the project?”

He just smiled.

I shook my head. “And here you were, so close to falling back into my good graces.”

“What if I tell you Dominic has a thing for Reese Berkeley? That I only asked her so he would? Which he did.”

“And what about Liv? Trying to force Tate’s hand too?”

“I figured it had worked once. Why not try it again?”

I studied him. “So annoying me was just an added benefit?”

His smile increased at my admission. “I thought it didn’t matter who I danced with?”

Standing here with Ben’s arms around me and his eyes drinking me in like they had so often done, I was suddenly sure the heartache I’d feel when our lives pulled us in different directions again would be worth taking advantage of these last few weeks we had together. “Turns out I was wrong.”

He lifted his brows. “You were wrong?”

“Don’t let it go to your head. But maybe for the rest of the night, you should stick to dancing with your wife.”

His eyes narrowed, like he wasn’t sure if I was teasing or not. I maybe should have been, but I wasn’t. He gave a satisfied smile. “I’m not sure how Penny’s going to take that news.”

I released an exaggerated breath. “Fine. But she’s the only exception.”

“Deal.” His arms tightened around me, and I rested my head against his chest and breathed him in. Yes, this would definitely be worth the heartache.

Maven

Ben stuck around to help clean up after the dance. He apparently hadn’t had a long enough day waking up at five to get things prepped for the barn raising, then overseeing the build. But that’s one of the things I loved most about Ben—he was always willing to help where he could. Which meant, as his capabilities had grown, so had others’ needs of him.

By the time our small crew of volunteers had the lights unstrung, the stage dissembled, the generators loaded, the trash cans emptied, and the refreshment tables put away, it was just past ten.

“Did your mom and Penny head home?” Ben asked, coming to join Carson and me where we were chatting by the open barn doors. The cold night air had felt good after dancing and cleaning up, but now, standing here waiting for Ben to finish, I regretted not bringing a coat.

“Yeah, all that dancing exhausted Penny.” Carson sent Ben a grateful smile. “Maven said you were taking her home. Do you mind if I catch a ride?”

Ben’s gaze flicked to me, clearly assuming I’d requested that Carson ride home with us so we wouldn’t be alone.

I actually hadn’t.

Carson glanced between us. “…unless you aren’t headed that way?”

“We are,” Ben said. “And I’d be happy to take you.”

“I really can grab a ride with⁠—”

Ben placed a hand on Carson’s shoulder. “You’re coming with us.”