Reclaiming His Legacy. Dani Wade

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СКАЧАТЬ her face. His lips suddenly felt dry. “Me, too,” he murmured.

      To his surprise, she leaned a little closer. “So you’re not from around here?”

      “Yes—” Suddenly the music cut out, making Blake’s voice sound loud. “Yes, I am from here, but it’s been a while. Care to be new together?”

      Again her teeth pressed against the fullness of her lower lip, causing blood to rush into the curve as she released it. “My friends will be back soon.”

      Blake ignored the subtle rejection. “Good, then they can watch me not stalk you on the dance floor.”

      Suddenly the music started up again, this time with an exuberant trumpet player in the lead.

      He moved in closer to make himself heard. Leaning toward her ear, he asked, “Would you like to dance?”

      Her breath caught, trapped inside her throat as she swallowed once more. Then her body gave a quick shiver, though it was far from cold in the room. Blake should be grateful for her reaction, this confirmation that she wasn’t immune to him, but instead he felt a strange mixture of grim determination and melting heat low in his belly. Did she feel the same attraction as he found trickling through his unprepared consciousness?

      Madison’s gaze swung longingly toward the dance floor. Until now, the lively sound of jazz tunes had filled the air all night but she hadn’t once approached the dance floor.

      “Well, I don’t think so.”

      To his shock, she pulled back a couple of inches. “What’s the matter? Part of coming to a dance party is to dance.”

      “I think people come to parties for a lot of different reasons,” she said, glancing down as she ran her finger over the edge of the drawing once more. “To socialize, to drink, to eat, to be seen…” She paused, and he swore he saw a flush creep over her cheeks, even in the dim light.

      A woman who still blushed? Blake couldn’t remember the last time he’d dealt with one of those. Before he could confirm it, she glanced the other way. Maybe to look for her friends? Maybe to hide the evidence?

      He wasn’t sure, but part of him, the part that had been watching her tonight, wanted to know for sure. In fact, the more he watched, the more he wanted to know. And that interest made him even more uncomfortable with what he was doing here tonight.

      “I’m Blake Boudreaux, by the way,” he said.

      To his relief, no recognition showed in her expression.

      “I’m Madison.” She seemed to relax a little before she asked, “Did you move away for work?”

      Oh, she was gonna make him earn that dance, wasn’t she? “More like life management.”

      “Seriously?”

      “Yes. Leaving allowed me to have a life.” He softened his unexpected answer with as charming a grin as he could muster.

      Madison cocked her head to the side, awakening an urge to kiss her delicate chin. He straightened just a little. “I’m just visiting long enough to handle a family issue.”

      She nodded, the move containing an odd wisdom considering her youth. “Those aren’t easy.”

      “Never, but they are the reason we drink and have fun.”

      The laugh that came from her surprised him. No giggles for this girl. Instead she gave a full-bodied laugh that made tingles run down his spine. She didn’t try to hide her enjoyment of his little joke or keep her response polite.

      “So how about that dance?”

      Suddenly a strange look came across her face—a combination of surprise and panic and almost fear. This time her retreat was obvious. Blake sat stunned as she mumbled, “I… I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean…” She waved her hand in front of her as if to erase her response but inadvertently bumped her drink and knocked it over.

      “Oh, my. I’m so sorry.”

      “It’s okay.” Blake wasn’t sure why, but he reached out to grasp her hands in his. “It’s okay, Madison.”

      She started to smile, but then her face contorted and she jerked her hands away. “Good night,” she said, then turned on her heel and ran into the crowd.

      Blake stared for a moment in confusion. They’d seemed to be having a good time. She wasn’t as comfortable with men coming up to her as he’d expected, but she hadn’t shown any signs of hating him during the conversation. What had gone wrong? This was not at all how he’d expected tonight to turn out. But then again, not much about Madison had turned out how he’d expected.

      Honestly, this hadn’t happened since he’d passed his eighteenth birthday, and he had no idea how to handle it. Something had spooked her. Should he leave it for tonight and try to find another way in?

      Thoughts of Abigail and what might happen to her in the amount of time it might take him to find another opening into Madison’s life had his heart pounding hard in his chest. He clenched his fists. He would not let her down.

      Reaching out, he righted the now-empty wine glass. The small amount of liquid that had been inside had already been absorbed by the tablecloth. Next to the stain lay the napkin with Madison’s sketch on it and a small lavender bag.

      A bag? As the realization hit that it must be Madison’s, so did a renewed sense of purpose. A one-night stand might not be an option, but at least he could arrange a date? It would afford him a chance to impress her and possibly find another way into her house to do some digging.

      Plunging into the crowd, Blake didn’t give himself time to think or plan. Halfway across the room he saw Madison and her friends near the door, speaking to the hosts as if they were about to leave. Adrenaline quickened his step as he realized his window of opportunity was closing.

      The opportunity to find the diamond and save his sister. To understand more about the unusual woman with her emerald green eyes. To explore the strange feelings she called up inside of him.

      Blake called out her name when she and her friends were just steps from vanishing through the door into the warm Southern night.

      “Madison.”

      She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw him. She turned back to her friends, but Blake wasn’t going to let that stop him. He stepped into the circle without an invitation.

      “Madison, I believe this is yours.” He held out the lavender bag.

      “Oh, yes.” She frowned as she looked at the offering. “Yes, I’m so sorry—”

      “I thought you might need it,” he said, cutting off her words, which seemed to just compound her awkwardness.

      “Thank you so much.”

      He glanced at the couple standing with them, but the woman simply gave a composed smile. “We’ll meet you at the car, Madison,” she said and they turned to leave.

      Madison took the bag from his outstretched hand, then fiddled with СКАЧАТЬ