Dance with Me by Luanne Rice

Author:Luanne Rice
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780553898705
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2004-02-17T05:00:00+00:00

Dylan stood at the sink, filling the coffeepot. Jane leaned against the counter. He felt her nearness all through his body, like an electric current. She had come by to drop off pies—the first time he’d seen her since last Friday night—and he’d asked her to stay for coffee.

“You drink yours black, right?” he asked, remembering from dinner.

“Yes, thank you,” she said.

He nodded, taking down mugs from the cupboard. Everything seemed so outwardly casual, but every muscle in his body was tense, feeling their kiss. They had talked once on the phone—Jane thanking him for dinner and Dylan placing the pie order. And when he’d opened the door to her today, he’d looked into her eyes and wondered whether she felt the same way he did, whether she’d lost sleep thinking about it, whether she’d mind if he took her in his arms and kissed her again. Again, their quick and sudden ease of connection surprised him; shocked him with happiness.

“I should have brought an extra tart or something,” she said. “To have with our coffee.”

“We could have one of these,” he said, gesturing to the large box she’d brought, “but Chloe made the order, and I know she’ll be expecting them all to be there.”

Jane smiled. “Then we can’t disappoint her. She’s doing a good job at the stand?”

“Very. School’s out next week, and she’ll be working full-time,” Dylan said, pleased that Jane seemed so interested in his niece.

“That’s great,” she said.

Dylan nodded. His chest felt hot. His heart was working hard. It was a big country kitchen, and they were standing a good twelve feet apart, but he could feel energy pouring off her. She wore jeans and a sweatshirt—the pants fit her really well, and the shirt was too big. The shape of her taut body was visible under the fabric, and he just wanted to hold her, and feel her against him.

He hadn’t felt this way in so long; it had been years. Not just since Amanda’s death—even before. Their relationship had been strained for a long time, and Dylan had shut down. He had thrown himself into his work, and that was easy enough to do. He’d had a work log as big as he wanted it to be: plenty of criminals to catch, witnesses to protect in New York City.

And then the shooting happened, and then he was in the hospital, and when he came out he was still in shock. That’s how he had to look at it now: He was going through the motions of life, feeling nothing. Just a man imitating being a man. He blocked out his family, his feelings, his memories. Everything.

Emotions could be overwhelming, and when they were, he did what he’d started doing recently: lit a cigarette. He saw Jane watching him.

“Does it bother you?” he asked.

She shook her head, not very convincingly.

“It does,” he said.

“Just,” she said, “that it’s not good for you.”

“I know.” He exhaled a long stream of smoke, looking at the picture of Isabel on the refrigerator.

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