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The women were moving off stage as someone else stepped up. The man’s voice was a sour note compared to Gennessey’s performance, and the crowd booed him, much to the man’s delight.
BB ignored him as Cohen caught Autumn’s attention. The bride-to-be hurried over to them with a squeal, launching herself into her fiancé’s arms. The others followed more slowly, all of them looking pleased to see them, except Gennessey. She wouldn’t meet BB’s eyes, though he couldn’t take his off her.
“What are you guys doing here?” Autumn waited to voice the question until she shared a lingering kiss with her fiancé.
“I missed you. I talked BB into giving me a lift.”
“Thank God,” one of the bridesmaids declared as she plastered herself to BB’s side, her arms slipping around one of his possessively. “Now I have someone to dance with!”
One of the others rolled her eyes. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s not been without a dance partner anytime she’s hit the dance floor.”
BB could care less about the bridesmaids, but he didn’t like the downturn to Gennessey’s lips or the disappointment shadowing her eyes. He extracted his arm from the bridesmaid’s grip.
“That’s good to hear since there’s only one person I want to dance with.”
He moved to Gennessey’s side, lightly grasped her hand, and pulled her behind him to the dance floor. The song was a mellow tune with a definite beat meant for dancing that was nothing more than grinding bodies spinning around each other.
BB instead took Gennessey in his arms and led her in a rhythmic sway which may have been better suited for a ballad but somehow managed to keep the beat of the faster song.
He was amazed she didn’t resist dancing with him. She wasn’t happy to see him and even less pleased to find out he heard her sing. For her, the move was just for show. For him, it was an excuse to be close to her, to give notice to all the ones ogling her on stage that she was his. He would enjoy every second she stood in his arms, even if it was only temporary.
“You didn’t have to do that.” She kept her gaze fixed on his chin. “She’s had her sights set on you since the rehearsal.”
“She’s not my type.”
Gennessey snorted. “Of course, she is. She looks like every woman you’ve ever dated.”
“I’m not here to hook up with a bridesmaid, remember? I’m here for you.”
She lowered her head, shaking it in disbelief. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
His hand nudged her chin until she raised her eyes to meet his. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The flirty glint in your eye. The charming smile. The sexy drawl of your voice. Even when you’re pretending, even when no one else is around, you can’t stop playing games with me like I’m a conquest for you to make.”
Her words effectively doused any flirtation he may have been making. Careful to keep a scowl from his face since they were being watched, he couldn’t stop his gaze from hardening.
“What do you want me to say? You want me to admit I flirt? Then, yeah, I do. But I treat women with respect. I don’t use and abuse them. What I have experienced with women has always been mutual. I haven’t always been the ones to break hearts. Sometimes mine is the one broken. I’m guessing it’s happened to you too. I’m guessing you’ve flirted before. You’ve dated before. You’ve had lovers before. Why judge me for something you and a lot of other people in the world have done?”
BB knew he had her stumped when her only response was to blink. Twice. Three times. He pulled her a little closer and spun her around to hide his grin. She sighed, and he caught a whiff of alcohol on her breath. Her body moved in time to the music as someone who was used to dancing, but he could see from her faraway expression and her fixated stare on his collarbone that she was lost in her thoughts.
He took the moment to watch and imagine…his lips trailing across those cheekbones, his tongue tracing the outside of her ear, his fingers caressing her neck.
He knew if he didn’t do something, he would make a move that could ruin everything.
“You should sing more often. Your voice is beautiful.” His own voice sounded rough and a little husky. He swallowed against the dryness in his throat.
“Thank you. I sing all the time in my apartment, but I try not to be too loud to disturb our neighbors. There’s also not a lot of opportunities to sing at work.”
“I promise, your voice wouldn’t disturb anyone, so sing as loud as you want.”
He was rewarded with a sweet smile. The song changed to a ballad. BB kept his arms around her and continued to dance, thankful Gennessey never tried to pull away.
“Does anyone else know?”
“About my singing? I take it you mean our friends at home. No, I don’t think so. It’s not really something that comes up in conversation, and I told you, there aren’t a lot of opportunities for me to burst into song. It’s not like we live in a musical or anything.”
“If we could all sing like you, maybe we should.”
