get ideas about me.” Her face flushed a pretty shade of pink, but she held his gaze. “I’m just here to dance, nothing more.”
Riley liked the spunk shining on her upward-tilted face and had to fight the urge to kiss her mouth again. “You shouldn’t get ideas about me,” he warned. “I’m simply making conversation with the beautiful woman I’m dancing with. Nothing more.”
Her gaze narrowed. He grinned. After a moment she sighed in resignation. “Fine. You win.” A sly smile slid onto her mouth. “This round.”
He looked forward to future rounds. “And?”
“I’ve been a nurse for four years,” she admitted, as if giving away some top secret. That would likely make her around twenty-six.
“Where did you nurse prior to coming to work for Pensacola?”
She tensed in his arms and stopped moving. “You don’t have to play Twenty Questions or even make conversation at all. For the record, I’m a girl who appreciates silence in a man.”
Riley chuckled. Oh, yeah, he liked this woman. “Shut up and dance, eh?”
She nodded.
“Problem is, I want to know more about you.” Lots more. “Where did you nurse prior to coming to Pensacola?”
She sighed. “How about I save us a lot of time and send you a copy of my résumé?”
He stared at her stubborn expression.
“Oh, all right,” she relented, and pushed his chest, motioning for him to start dancing again. “I went to school at University of Tennessee in Memphis and went straight to work at one of the hospitals there. I worked in the cardiac unit until I took the job here in Pensacola.”
“Now, was that really so painful?”
“Excruciating.” But a smile played on her lips. He really liked her smile. And the sparkle of gold in her brown eyes.
“Now, be quiet and dance.”
He laughed at her order. Talking with her was like a breath of fresh air. Stimulating. Fun.
“I have a friend who went to medical school in Memphis. He says it’s a great place. What brought you to Pensacola? Family?”
With a look of what he hoped was feigned annoyance that he hadn’t taken her order of silence seriously, she shook her head.
“Friends?” he persisted, despite her glare.
“Nope,” she answered after a moment’s hesitation.
The music picked up tempo. When she went to pull back he tightened his hold. “Boyfriend?”
“Ha. Exact opposite.”
No hesitation there. He frowned. “You have someone in Memphis?”
“Not any more.”
There was enough sadness—or was it regret?—in her voice that he felt a little guilty at just how much relief flowed through him at her denial.
“I’m glad there’s not someone waiting for you in Memphis. Or anywhere else, for that matter.” Because he hadn’t liked the thought that she might belong to someone else. “Very glad.”
For the first time since they’d started dancing she mis-stepped and caught his toe. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” he assured her, thinking that as petite as she was she could stand on his toes and not hurt him. She was like a pixie. A curvy pixie. He couldn’t recall ever having the urges that rushed through him when he looked at Trinity. There was something about her. Something intriguing that had him hooked. Was it just that she wasn’t the type of yes-girl he was used to? “Recent break-up?”
She gave an ironic laugh and shook her head. “Forever ago. If you insist on talking, let’s talk about something else. Anything else.”
As much as he’d like to know more so he could understand what made her tick, Riley didn’t push. Instead, he loosened his hold and caught her unawares by spinning her out and back to him. “Fine, we’ll save the talking for later and dance now,” he told her as he caught her.
Looking more than a little relieved, she smiled, then caught him unawares by dipping backwards in his arms and laughed as if she’d been set free. “Deal.”
Trinity felt light-headed. Giddy almost. Despite her boisterous claim about her dancing skills, she stepped on Riley’s toes more than once. He didn’t seem to mind, just kept smiling at her and making silly little comments that made her laugh.
For once she relaxed enough to just enjoy the music, to let loose and move to the beat even if she looked ridiculous. Something about the way Riley looked at her, the way every bit of his attention was focused solely on her, boosted her confidence and let free her love of music.
Riley. He smelled so good. Spicy. Musky. Heavenly.
Her gaze dropped to his lips.
Somewhere in her brain she registered that something was wrong with her thought processes, that she wasn’t thinking clearly. Still, she licked her lips, wondering if the flavor of him lingered there from his impromptu kiss. She wanted to taste him again.
“You’re killing me, princess.”
“Princess?” Had anyone ever called her princess?
And had she really just giggled?
A kiss under the mistletoe and a few fancy steps to one of their coworker’s karaoke singing “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” and she’d morphed into someone she didn’t even recognize. Who knew that pretending to be the life of the party could be so much fun?
“Well, you have me royally torn up so, yeah, princess.” He grinned, his gaze going to her just-moistened lips. “Don’t tease me, Trinity.”
He’d said her name. She liked him saying her name. Her cloudy mind registered that she hadn’t officially introduced herself. “I’m Trinity, by the way.” Which seemed a really dumb thing to say as he’d called her by her name repeatedly. She grimaced at her lapse and wondered what was wrong with her brain.
He smiled indulgently at her. “Trinity Warren. I know.”
“How?”
“I asked about you before I came over.”
She blinked, wondering if she’d misheard. “You did? Why?”
His hand pressed against her lower back. “I wanted to know more. I’ve never dated a woman who works at the hospital. Too messy.”
“Dated a woman who works…” Was he saying he wanted to date her? Or just letting her know that he didn’t date women at the hospital so she wouldn’t take any of tonight the wrong way?
“Messy?” she prompted, then added, “Not that I’d date you.”
