Page 27 of Maggie’s Match

Maggie wrapped her body around his and held on as he moved them to the music, traveling across the floor with the rest of the crowd until other dancers surrounded them.

He spotted Becca dancing with Colton but avoided looking around for Royce. The man had to have gotten the hint by now. He leaned in closer as the music slowed and whispered next to Maggie’s ear.

“I have told you how beautiful you look tonight, right?” he said, feeling her body plastered next to his.

“I believe the word you used earlier was amazing,” she said next to his ear.

He could hear that she was breathless from dancing and hoped deep down that a little of it was due to her feelings for him.

“Maggie, I—” Just then there was a nudge on his shoulder.

“What luck in finding you here,” Royce said to Maggie, ignoring him as he motioned towards her. “Dance?”

Maggie glanced at him for a moment, then slipped out of his hold and into the other man’s waiting arms.

Rick stood in the middle of the dance floor, feeling like a fool. He walked back to their table, kicking himself for not making his claim on her years ago. For not making her all his.

He watched as the pair danced to the slow song while he sipped his beer. When the song was over, Maggie leaned in and said something to Royce and the pair headed back his way. He pasted on a smile while gritting his back teeth.

Maggie’s eyes locked with his as she took a large sip of her beer. He could see the worry in them and hated knowing it was because of him. Of what his next move would be.

Reaching over, he took her hand under the table and squeezed it lightly to assure her that he’d behave. After all, Royce wasn’t the first man he’d had to fend off.

“Royce was just telling me that next week there’s going to be a live band playing here,” Maggie said over the music.

“Cool,” he said, not really interested.

“I told him that your brother-in-law is Trace Butler,” Maggie said with a smile.

“That’s really cool,” Royce said loudly just as Becca and Colton sat down. Becca drank half her beer while Colton and Royce ordered another round. Maggie talked about all the music talent that had come out of Fairplay and how Emma, Rick’s younger sister, had met and fallen for Trace before he’d signed a record deal with Tessa and Lucas James.

A bucket of chips and pretzels was delivered to the table. He ordered some fries and pizza rolls for them since they hadn’t eaten dinner yet. By the time the food came to the table, Becca and Colton were back on the dance floor.

He tried to dominate the conversation with Maggie, but Royce kept interrupting them.

After the food was delivered, he made sure both Becca and Maggie had their fair share of the meal since they were both on their second beers. Maggie was leaning heavily on the table, so he ordered a pitcher of water and switched to drinking that in order to watch out for the women.

Royce was downing beers quickly and taking shots of hard liquor in between. He tried to get Maggie to partake as well but, thankfully, she shook her head and told him that she only drank beer.

Rick knew exactly why she stuck to beer. After her twenty-first birthday, she’d had to take an entire week off of work to recover from a hangover due to too many shots.

When Maggie’s favorite song started playing, he took her hand and led her back out to the dance floor. Maggie hummed the slow song as he held onto her.

“This reminds me of your seventeenth birthday,” he said softly into her hair. He felt her tense slightly, then she glanced at him. “Our first time together.” She sighed.

He smiled. “Best night ever,” he said softly, and she nodded.

“It was a perfect night. I think it was the only time anyone has been able to surprise me.” She smiled at him.

“You got me back the next year,” he pointed out and had her laughing. “Who throws a birthday party in a field?”

“I did.” She laughed again. “Now that was a perfect night.”

“It was,” he agreed, remembering how she’d strung lights between the large oak trees near the river. She’d used a large flatbed truck as a stage, and Tessa and Lucas had entertained a large group of friends and family members that night.

The moon had been full and the evening had been just the right temperature for the party.

“I’d hoped we’d have plenty more nights like that,” he admitted.