right now I’m going to be young and wild Pippa.”
“No arguments here,” he said, taking her hand and leading her onto the dance floor.
She’d expected him to let go of her hand, but he didn’t. Just held her as they swayed to the music. She didn’t have a hard time getting into it and remembered the last time she’d danced like this had been years ago when she’d gone to the winter formal at her boarding school before her mom had died and everything had changed.
After a period of grief, the board of the House of Hamilton had informed her father that he was no longer an official partner and would only be voting Pippa’s shares until she came of age at twenty-five. Her relationship with her father changed after that. And when she turned eighteen, he had become obsessed with who she would marry and determined that she should choose a distant cousin of his who was his protégé.
Unexpectedly she felt the sting of tears and she shook her head until she could shove the emotion back down. She twirled away from Diego, who looked as if he were going to ask a question, and continued dancing with her back to him until her emotions were under control.
So much of her journey had been fed by her mom’s death, but she was cool now. She was in control and she knew exactly what she was going to do.
The song ended.
“We’ve had a lot of requests for this song and I think it’s about time I played it. ‘Save a Horse’ by Big & Rich, so, ladies, grab your cowboy and enjoy,” he said.
She knew the song well as it was one of her favorites, but until tonight she hadn’t had a cowboy of her own. She did now. She took his hand. All around them on the dance floor, there was laughter that soon turned into close embraces and kisses. But Diego just smiled and kept his eyes on hers as she sang and danced with him.
The crazy surge of emotion she’d had earlier changed into something else as she realized just how long it had been since she’d let her hair down and just danced.
At the end of the song, Diego pulled her close and their eyes met moments before he lowered his head and kissed her. Unlike the embrace on stage earlier, this one didn’t feel like it was for show.
* * *
Diego and Pippa stayed on the dance floor for the next three hours. Some couples disappeared, then came back looking...well, like they’d enjoyed themselves. But Diego remained where he was. He drank champagne, which hadn’t escaped Mo’s notice. His brother gave him a look and Diego knew he was going to hear about it later. Alejandro was dancing with someone Diego didn’t know, but he was pretty damned sure she wasn’t his longtime girlfriend. According to the gossips at the coffeehouse, they’d had a fight about Alejandro’s inability to commit and she’d dumped him about six weeks ago.
Pippa stuck close to his side and hadn’t mentioned the kiss he’d been unable to stop himself from giving her. He knew that it was a bachelor auction, and all in good fun, yet as he’d held her hand and danced her around the floor, he’d wanted to be hers. He’d wanted her to have really claimed him.
“I don’t want this night to end,” she said as the DJ announced that there was time for only one more song.
“It doesn’t have to,” he said. “Wait here.”
He went to the bar for a bottle of champagne and two plastic flutes before leading Pippa away from the party to one of the patios that overlooked part of the golf course. It was quiet as they moved away from the party.
“One of the things I really love about Texas is how big the sky is,” she said, putting her hands on the railing and looking up. There wasn’t that much light pollution out here, so the stars were visible.
“Me, too,” he admitted. “Where are you from? I mean, you’re obviously British.”
“Caught that, did ya?” she asked as she turned and leaned back on the railing.
“Yeah, I’m smart that way,” he retorted, pouring her a glass of champagne and handing it to her.
He poured another one for himself as she took a sip.
“I was born in Hampshire, but we mainly lived in London except when I was at boarding school,” she said.
“I have to admit I have no idea where Hampshire is,” he said.
“That’s okay. I had no idea where Cole’s Hill was until Kinley moved here,” Pippa admitted.
“Why did you come with her? Las Vegas is way more exciting than this,” he said.
“I had nothing holding me there. My job as Penny’s nanny is important to me,” she said, taking a sip of her drink. “I made Kinley a promise when Penny was born that I would stay as long as she needed me.”
“You were there when Penny was born?” he asked. This was the most she’d told him about herself since they met, and he was curious.
“Yeah. We were on a city bus when Kinley went into labor. I just stayed with her when she was taken to the hospital because she was scared and alone and we’d been chatting before her water broke... I think we both needed a friend in that moment,” Pippa said. There was a note in her voice that hinted there might be more to the story, but she shook her head and looked over at him. “We’ve been friends ever since. What about you? Who’s your oldest friend?”
He took a sip of his champagne. It was never going to replace Jack Daniels as his favorite drink, but the taste was growing on him. “If I’m honest, my brothers. Maybe Mauricio, since he’s younger than his twin, Alejandro, by several minutes. Inigo is five years younger than me and closer to my sister, Bianca. He’s a Formula One driver like Bianca’s first husband was.”
Why was he telling her all of this? But he knew. He didn’t want to make any moves that would send her running away from him again. Even though she’d bid on him tonight, every other time he’d tried to connect with her she’d shut him down. And he didn’t want to let this end.
Not now.
Not until... Well, not until he figured out the secrets behind those gray eyes. She always seemed so calm and controlled, but tonight there was a fire and passion in her gaze that he wasn’t going to walk away from until he uncovered its source.
“You have such a big family...like the Carutherses. Is that a Texas thing?” she asked.
He had to laugh. “Well, they do say everything is bigger here. The families in Cole’s Hill certainly are.”
“I guess that’s true,” she said. “I do like this area of Texas. So lush and pretty with the green rolling hills. I mean, it’s a bit of a stretch, but it does remind me of our country houses in England.”
“Country houses?” he asked.
She shrugged. “You know, big old Georgian mansions that have been in one family forever.”
“Then why are you here in Texas and not with your family?” he asked. “Sounds like legacy is important to you.”
“It is and it isn’t,” she said. “This champagne is really good.”
He knew she was changing
