Texas Magic. Nancy Robards Thompson

empty flute with a full one.

      “Pathetic, huh?” he asked.

      “Pretty much.”

      “Damn, I guess that means I’ll have to make it up to you. Or at least prove to you that I’m not pathetic. At least not when it counts.”

      Good Lord, his smile was enough to push her over the edge of that slippery slope.

      “Would you wear your sugar pumpkin dress out on the town if I wore this monkey suit? Tie and all—we match. See, pumpkin tie. Pumpkin dress.” He motioned back and forth.

      She blinked, unsure of what to say. If she let herself go there, she might believe he was asking her out on a date.

      “But that would mean you’d have to rent the monkey suit again, and I’d have to postpone burning this hideous dress.” She shook her head, feeling pretty clever for keeping up her end of the push-and-pull banter. “So, I don’t think it will work.”

      He frowned and, oh, how she wanted to believe he really was disappointed by her pretend rebuff. This was simply casual flirting, but somehow it didn’t feel like the brand of casual they’d established this weekend.

      “Well, then, if you’re turning me down for a date,” he said, “the least you can do is make it up to me some other way.”

      Date? So he was asking her out on a real date? She in her hideous pumpkin-colored bridesmaid dress and he in his matching bow tie. That was a vision. Something in the mischievous look on his face hinted that he never took life seriously. She wasn’t quite sure if he was serious about this pumpkin-themed date.

      Still, play along...

      “What exactly did you have in mind?” she asked.

      “Right at this moment?” He smiled, grabbed another glass of champagne off a passing waiter’s tray and set it in front of her.

      She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m onto your plans for the moment. You’re trying to get me drunk. So, does that mean you plan on taking advantage of me?”

      “Is that an option?” he asked. “Because if it’s not, you’re perfectly welcome to take advantage of me.”

      The dance beat slowed to something soulful and their gazes locked. The air between them shifted.

      “You have to admit, Caroline, there’s some serious chemistry between you and me. And I don’t think you’re going to be in any shape to catch the bride’s bouquet until we do a couple of chemistry experiments and contain all this...you know—” he motioned back and forth between the two of them again “—this energy. Otherwise, it might throw you off your flower-catching game.”

      See? He’d done it again. He’d started off talking about the chemistry between them—a chemistry that was so real it was almost palpable. No one with eyes could deny that. But then he switched tracks to something light and funny, leaving the serious edge hanging between them. Still, Caroline was no dummy; she knew that when he defaulted to light and funny it was because what was happening between them was simply casual flirting.

      So keep it casual, Caroline. Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.

      “Whoa there, Romeo, what makes you think I want to catch the bridal bouquet? And don’t you dare say all women want to catch the flowers.”

      “You don’t like flowers?”

      “I love flowers.”

      He leaned in a little closer, resting his arm along the back of her chair. He was so close, she could feel the heat of his body and smell the intoxicating scent of him. It made her want to breathe in a little deeper. Suddenly, she forgot her entire case against catching the bride’s flowers. But then again she wasn’t really going to make a case. She was keeping this light and casual.

      “Then why wouldn’t you want to catch them?” He whispered the words in her ear. His breath was hot on her cheek. It was all she could do to keep from dragging him straight up to that big marble Jacuzzi and having her way with him.

      Instead, she reached out and ran her finger along the edge of his bow tie. Good lord, the man looked devastating in a tux, despite the dreadful pumpkin tie. Actually, it didn’t look bad with his dark eyes and hair...and he was so close. All she would have to do was lean in a fraction of an inch and her lips would be touching his. The realization made her bite down on her lower lip.

      “My philosophy,” he said, “is you have to go after what you want in life. If not, what’s the point of living?”

      His words hit home and were a little sobering. Why not go for something she wanted? Why not just this once do something completely out of character and take something just for herself? Even if it was impermanent...even if she could only have Drew for one night...

      She had never slept with a guy before they were solidly in a committed relationship. The thought of getting physical with Drew left her breathless—or maybe it was the way Drew was looking at her. Whatever it was, something was different tonight. Was it the wedding? The champagne? Or maybe it was just the physical reaction of a woman wanting a man who seemed to want her back. Why make it any more complicated than it was?

      His words echoed in her head, in her heart. You have to go after what you want in life. If not, what’s the point of living?

      She really had not been living, had she?

      “There’s definitely chemistry between us, Drew. But rather than trying to figure it all out, like a science experiment, don’t you just want to enjoy the magic? You know, get lost in the fantasy? Science steals the magic because it explains too much. I happen to like fantasy even more than I like flowers.”

      “Science never was my thing,” he said. “Maybe we should...dance, instead.”

      Chapter Two

      Sometimes a girl just had to say what the hell and go for broke with the gorgeous guy who’d been flirting with her since the moment they’d first laid eyes on each other.

      Even if it wasn’t going to last longer than the moment...or the night.

      Liquid courage wasn’t fully to blame for Caroline turning a moment with Drew into a night. Nope, blame wasn’t even a factor in this equation.

      Although she would like to know what had come over her last night. She raised her chin as she peered at herself in the bathroom mirror, wiping away the remnants of stubborn makeup smudges that had not washed away in the shower.

      They’d danced until the moment Claudia had tossed her bouquet. Claudia had looked Caroline in the eye, turned around and tossed the flowers right to her. There had been no running or lunging or fighting. With one clean toss, the bouquet had tumbled through the air in a surreal sort of slow motion, before it landed right in Caroline’s hands.

      Then, her sister and Kyle had gotten into the limo and had driven off into the night.

      Caroline and Drew had wasted no time finding their way up to Caroline’s hotel suite.

      Yes, she had been perfectly in control of her choices. Even if nearly every move she had made since abandoning her second trip to the cake table had been out of character.

      It was too late to second-guess herself. It was six o’clock in the morning and Drew had been sound asleep when she had tiptoed off to the shower. She took her time, thinking that if he awoke and wanted an easy out, he could dress and slip out while she was occupied in the other room.

      No awkward morning-after dances...especially since their “dance” last night had been so perfect. She wanted the end of their tryst—God, was that what this was, a tryst? When was the last time she had used that word? Probably never. That’s why she wanted the end of whatever this was to be as easy and unforced as the beginning: They’d danced during the reception after the limo had taken Claudia and Kyle away, Caroline and Drew had ended up back in her suite with a bottle of champagne, sharing