“What about Smokey?”
“You’re going to watch him. You owe me, remember.”
“That’s a deal.”
“Hey, I see your mother. I’ve got to go. Oh cripes, wait till you hear this—she’s even got me dancing.”
****
Kit stood at the entrance of the ballroom. The band played a familiar old favorite from the Sinatra era, and the bride and groom danced in the center of the parquet dance floor. Other couples danced around them, all taking the same measured steps, their movements in unison. Hop and Mom kind of swayed side-to-side but didn’t actually go anywhere. Now and then Mom lifted her head and laughed with her mouth open.
Her eyes found Shane. On the edge of the dance floor, one foot on the parquet, the other on the dark blue carpeting, he danced with Abigail in her flower-girl dress, and she looked up at him, eyes wide, broad grin cutting across her face. They ignored the other dancers and made their own steps. He twirled Abigail, and she pirouetted as she’d promised, moving as she’d learned in dance class with one arm held gracefully in the air. Kit’s heart squeezed and expanded in her chest. That was Shane—spontaneous, taking his own steps, no calculations, moving with the flow. She loved him.
She made her way across the room as the music changed to a faster, upbeat song with a lot of percussion. Most of the choreographed dancers left the dance floor and went back to their seats. Abigail dashed off at her mother’s call, and Shane made his way across the dance floor.
She squared her shoulders and stepped toward him, her heels clicking on the parquet. He stopped and stared at her.
“Care to dance?” she asked. “I’m not much of a dancer, but I’d like to try.”
He tilted his head, the one side of his mouth curving up into a half smile. “All you have to do is go with it.”
“A wise man once told me all you had to do was let yourself feel it.”
He slipped his arms around her waist. Being in his arms was like coming home, and she pressed closer. He swayed left and then swayed right. His words came out in a whisper. “And do you, Kit? Do you feel it?”
She held his gaze. She placed a hand to her own chest. “I feel it here.” She kissed him. “I love you, Fireman.”
He tucked his head and whispered so close it tickled her ear. “I love you, Kit. Only you. For now and for always.”
“I can’t believe this has happened. This is crazy.” She laughed to keep the tears that filled her eyes from falling.
“It is. But I have something even crazier to say. Ready?”
Maybe. No. Screw maybe.
She uttered a breathless “Yes.”
“Okay. Kit Baxter, one of these days I’m going to marry you.”
A smile claimed her lips. “And when that happens, I’ll be wearing a pink dress with a rhinestone buckle.”
He laughed. “That I gotta see.”
“Oh, you will, Shane. You will.”
And she fell into step with the music, aware yet uncaring that she didn’t know what the heck she was doing with her feet. The only direction she needed was there in the green eyes of her fireman.
A word about the author…
Born to a feisty Italian mother and a gentle blue-eyed Irishman, multi-award-winning author M. Kate Quinn draws on her quirky sense of humor, hopelessly romantic nature, highly developed sense of family and friendship, and her love for a good story while writing her novels.
Her books have won and placed in such contests as The Golden Quill Award, a win and a subsequent final for the Golden Leaf Award, and the Heart of Excellence Readers Choice Award.
Her next project, The Sycamore River Series, is a trilogy of romances set in a quaint New Jersey town, the first installment, Saying Yes to the Mess, released August 2018.
M. Kate Quinn, a lifelong native of New Jersey, makes her home in Central Jersey with her husband, where they enjoy big raucous gatherings with their large family and three amazing grandchildren.
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Also available from The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Saying Yes to the Mess
by M. Kate Quinn
On Rylee McDermott’s 30th birthday, she doesn’t have much to show for her life. Dumped by her sometimes boyfriend, she’s living back home with her mom and stepfather number three. But when she inherits her grandmother’s bridal shop, she is determined to make it work.
Darius Wirth, host of TV’s business-rescue program, Wirth More, needs just the right fit for the show’s season one finale, one that will both wow their main sponsor enough to garner a second season and keep him from letting his father down again.
Rosie’s Bridals fits the criteria, and before long Darius and Rylee begin work on the episode. Sparks fly, despite the no-fraternizing clause in their contract. So it’s hands off.
But what’s a girl to do when all she wants is her hands on the guy? Can these two wounded hearts find both success and their way to love?
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History expert and publisher Dominic Stewart notices the fairy-tale shoes first, but author Meg Crawford, the woman who wears them, is no Cinderella. Meg should use those red stilettos to walk away from the powerful, determined man who challenges her to do what she never thought she could. Her refusal is quick and adamant, and the stakes are too high. Ultimately, she can't resist his extremely tempting offer. If she fails, they both lose; if she succeeds, it may be at too big a price. Both believe "happily ever after" is pure fiction, but their chance encounter in a bar just may give them a shot at romantic history on and off the page.
Mr. Maybe Page 19
