Country Bride. Debbie Macomber

beat. Kate wasn’t fooled; her newfound friend was pretending he had Lonni in his arms. It was a good thing her ego wasn’t riding on this date.

      “I need a little more room,” she whispered.

      He loosened his grip for a moment, but as the song continued, his hold gradually tightened again. Kate edged her forearms up and braced them on his chest, easing herself back an inch or two.

      “Excuse me, please.” A harsh male voice that was all too familiar came from behind Eric. Kate wished she could crawl into a hole and die the instant she heard it.

      “I’m cutting in,” Luke informed the other man, who turned his head and looked at the intruder incredulously.

      Without a word of protest Eric dropped his arms and took a step in retreat. Neither man bothered to ask Kate what she wanted. She was about to complain when Luke reached for her hand and with a natural flair swept her into his arms. The immediate sense of welcome she experienced made her want to weep with frustration.

      “Why did you cut in like that?” she demanded. She felt disheartened and irritable. Everything she’d worked for this evening was about to be undone.

      “Did you mean for that city slicker to hold you so close?”

      “How Eric holds me isn’t any of your business.”

      “I’m making it my business.”

      His face was contorted with anger. His arms were so tight that Kate couldn’t have escaped him if she’d tried. Judging by the looks they were receiving from the couples around them, they were quickly becoming the main attraction.

      The instant the music ended, Kate abruptly left Luke’s arms and returned to Eric. Her date stood in the corner of the room, nursing a shot glass filled with amber liquid. Kate groaned and hid her displeasure. Eric had already had enough wine without adding hard liquor.

      “I thought you said there was nothing between you and Luke Rivers,” he muttered, when she joined him.

      “There isn’t. We’re just good friends.”

      “That’s not the impression I’m getting.”

      Kate didn’t know how to respond. “I apologize for the interruption. Do you want to dance?”

      “Not if it’s going to cost me my neck.”

      “It isn’t,” she promised.

      Another lively song erupted from the band. Eric took her hand and she smiled encouragingly up at him. As they headed for the dance floor, Kate tried to ignore Luke’s chilly glare.

      Midway through the song, Eric stopped dancing. “I’m not very good at this fancy footwork,” he declared. With that, he pulled her into his arms, tucking her securely against him.

      “This is much better,” he whispered, his mouth close to her ear. Once more his hold tightened.

      “Eric, please. I’m having trouble breathing,” Kate told him in a strangled voice.

      “Oh, sorry.” He relaxed his grip. “Lonni and I used to dance like this all the time.”

      Kate had guessed as much. It was on the tip of her tongue to remind him that she wasn’t his ex-wife, but she doubted it would make any difference. Eric had spent much of the evening pretending she was.

      At the moment, however, her date and his ex-wife were the least of Kate’s problems. Tiny pinpricks moved up and down her spine, telling her that Luke was still glaring at her from the other side of the room. She did her best to act as though he wasn’t there.

      She smiled up at Eric, she laughed, she talked, but with each breath she drew she could feel Luke’s eyes on her, scrutinizing every move she made.

      When the music stopped, Eric returned to their table and his drink, swallowing the remainder of it in one gulp. The music started again and he pulled Kate toward him.

      “I think I’ll sit this one out.” She hoped that would appease Luke, who looked as if he were about to rip Eric in two.

      Her gaze fell to her lap and she folded her hands, concentrating on not letting him know how much a single glance from him affected her.

      “How much have you had to drink, Wilson?”

      While her eyes were lowered, Luke had come over to their table. His voice was controlled but unmistakably furious.

      “I can’t say that’s any of your concern, Rivers.” For his part, Eric seemed nervous. He leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs, and raised his empty shot glass.

      “I don’t agree,” Luke countered, moving closer. “From what I can see, you’ve had plenty. I’m taking Kate home with me.”

      “Luke,” she protested, “please don’t do this.”

      “Your date’s in no condition to drive.”

      It was all Kate could do not to stand up and defend Eric. Unfortunately Luke was right. She’d known it even before they’d finished dinner, but she wanted to handle things her own way.

      “I can hold my liquor as well as the next man,” Eric said, daring to wave his glass under Luke’s nose. It was apparent to everyone that his courage had been fortified by whiskey. Few men would have taunted Luke in his present mood.

      Luke turned to Kate. “You’ve got better sense than this, Kate.”

      Kate did. But she had no intention of telling him so. “I think Eric knows his own limit,” she returned.

      “Then you plan to ride home with him?”

      “I’m not sure yet.” She wouldn’t, but she wasn’t about to give Luke an armful of ammunition to use against her.

      Luke scowled at her with such fury it was difficult for Kate to swallow normally.

      Slowly he turned to Eric. “If you value your teeth, I suggest you stay exactly where you are. Bob,” Luke called to the sheriff’s deputy across the room, “would you see that this newcomer gets home without a problem?”

      “Sure thing, Luke.”

      “Kate,” he said, addressing her next, “you’re coming with me.”

      “I most certainly am not.”

      Luke didn’t leave her any option. He leaned forward and pulled her upright, as if she weighed no more than a bag of popcorn.

      She struggled briefly but knew it was useless. “Luke, don’t do this. Please, don’t do this,” she pleaded through clenched teeth, humiliated to the very roots of her hair.

      “Either you come with me willingly or I carry you out of here.” Luke’s composure didn’t falter. When she resisted, he swept his arms behind her legs and lifted her from the floor.

      “Luke,” Kate cried, “put me down this instant. I demand that you put me down.”

      He completely ignored her threat as he strode toward the door, his gaze focused impassively ahead of them. The waitress who’d served her dinner came running up to hand Kate her coat and bag. Her eyes were flashing with humor.

      “Stick by your man, honey,” she advised. “That city slicker can’t hold a candle to Luke Rivers.”

      “Luke’s the man for you,” someone else shouted.

      “When you gonna tie the knot?”

      Two men were holding open the lounge door for them. The last thing Kate heard as Luke carried her into the cold night air was a robust round of applause from inside the lounge.

Five

      “I have never been so embarrassed in my life,” Kate stormed as Luke parked his pickup outside the house. “How could you do