Can’t Hurry Love by Nadine Millard (little red riding hood ebook TXT) 📗

“Beth.”

This time it was nothing short of a bellow.

And she surely looked crazy. She could tell by Damon’s frown and Brooke’s widened brown eyes.

The sound of applause sounded as Zoe and Beck’s dance ended, and the band switched songs. All around her, couples made their way to the dance floor.

As maid of honor, she could dance with the best man next. But since the best man was her brother Grayson, who was currently nowhere to be seen, Beth seized the opportunity before her.

Without a word and refusing to acknowledge the blond hunk of no good behind her, Beth reached out and clasped Damon Wakefield’s wrist. “Come on,” she commanded before dragging him to the dance floor.

Making a mental note to apologise later to Brooke, she kept her nose in the air and stalked away, feeling a set of ice-blue eyes on her the entire way.

Chapter Two

So. She was still mad then.

Josh felt a grudging smile pull at his lips as he watched Beth’s tiny figure stomp across the room, dragging Damon behind her.

Feeling a stare on him, he turned to see Brooke’s speculative gaze raking over him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Beth mad at someone,” she said, her dark eyes narrowed.

“Lucky you,” he murmured, his own eyes already hunting for Beth again.

For months now, he’d been torn between trying to talk to her and explain himself or just carrying on a friendly-but-distant neighbourly relationship.

In a town as small as Rocky Valley, completely avoiding each other wasn’t an option. Though she gave it a hell of a shot.

Sometimes, when he caught a glimpse of her golden curls, or she accidentally made eye contact and looked him with those huge blue eyes, he’d remember the lust that had caught him by surprise the night he’d kissed her. And he’d want her with a force that bordered on desperation.

Other times, he’d call himself all kinds of crazy for reacting that way to a woman who, while she was beautiful, was just a woman.

Mostly though he just felt an ever-present sense of guilt. Especially when he played cards or had a beer with her brothers.

Brothers who were rightly protective of their baby sister.

Josh figured that Beth hadn’t told Grayson, Zach, or Seth about their date night considering it’d been a year since then, and he still had all his limbs attached and two un-blackened eyes.

Maybe it hadn’t been that big a deal for her. Although a year of her shooting daggers at him or completely ignoring him and commandeering unsuspecting dance partners would suggest otherwise.

“What happened between you two?”

Josh had forgotten that Brooke was even standing beside him.

His entire focus was on Beth. On how she laughed up at Damon. The yellow dress that clung to her in a way that made him want to tear it off her.

Her body might be tiny, but it was mighty, and remembering exactly how it had felt pressed against his was starting to make things uncomfortable for him.

“Nothing,” he croaked. “I mean — I didn’t — we didn’t—“

He stopped talking because, truthfully, he had no idea what to say.

“Well, whatever it was, you should apologise.”

That got his attention enough for him to look a Brooke directly. He lifted his eyebrow, a little surprised by her audacity. He shouldn’t be, though. He’d learned pretty quickly upon arriving in Rocky Valley that everyone knew everyone’s business. And everyone felt compelled, even entitled, to comment on everyone’s business.

He’d found it stifling at first. Then charming. Now it felt like a stick to beat him with.

“You assume that I should be the one to apologise?” he asked with a wry smile.

“Aren’t you?” she shot back, obviously unimpressed with his attempts to charm her.

He gave up, pretty sharpish under her scrutiny. “Well, yeah,” he admitted, “but how did you know?”

Brooke rolled her eyes before turning them on Beth and Damon, and Josh noticed that she looked as happy about the couple dancing as he felt.

“You’re a man, aren’t you?” she asked, sounding way more bitter than he’d ever heard her before and, without waiting for an answer she moved away, gliding passed the dancefloor with her chin in the air.

Man, the ladies in this town took no prisoners.

The song ended, and Josh watched closely to see if Damon would hold on to Beth for longer than necessary, knowing that it would be none of his business and wondering why the idea of it bothered him so much. To his relief, they parted straightaway, and neither of them looked like anything other than two lifelong friends dancing at a wedding.

The band waited for the smattering of applause and hollers to die down before Chase, the lead singer and local lawyer, spoke into the mic. “We’re gonna slow things down again, folks, before we take a little break, so grab someone special and make this one count.”

He watched Beth refuse someone’s offer to dance and turn in the direction of the bar.

But he wasn’t about to pass this opportunity up.

Josh hurried around the bodies on the dance floor and stood directly in Beth’s path. He waited for her to look up but, just like that first night, her eyes were down, and she wasn’t looking where she was going.

Preparing for impact, Josh reached out and, just like the tiny hurricane she’d been at Bella’s Diner that night, Beth barrelled right into his arms.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she gasped before looking up and seeing who she’d bumped into.

She’d never be able to join their poker nights, Josh thought as he watched the myriad emotions flit across her face. Even if she was a dude, her expressions would give her away. The scowl she was currently directing his way, for example, was definitely screaming Not. Happy.

But right before the scowl, he’d seen a flare of desire, tiny and flickering out before it really got a chance to ignite. But it was enough that he didn’t drop his hands right away.

“You owe me a dance,” he said softly.

Her mouth popped open and