Cindy Kirk - A Sweetheart for Jude Fortune

He took her arm as they stepped out into the cool night air. They walked down the sidewalk, the full moon hanging like a large golden orb in the clear sky overhead.

“Thank you for the dinner,” Gabi said again.

“You didn’t eat much.”

“It was good.” She gazed into his eyes and had to resist the urge to reach up on her tiptoes and plant a kiss on those full lips. “I enjoyed it.”

His eyes locked on hers. She saw them darken. Held her breath as he took a step forward and lowered his head to hers.

Chapter Four

Jude slipped his arms around Gabi’s slender frame and watched her eyes close. His mouth skimmed the edge of her jaw, testing the sweetness of her skin. He nuzzled her neck then found himself shoved off balance from behind.

Irritation spiked. Jude whirled. If Chris was screwing with him again, his brother wouldn’t find him so understanding this time.

“Sorry ’bout that, dude,” the young shaggy-haired cowboy called over his shoulder as he lurched down the sidewalk, laughing with his friends, all three men obviously intoxicated.

When Jude turned to Gabi, he discovered she’d taken a step back. Just a small one, but enough to tell him the moment had passed. Still, the heat simmering in the air practically guaranteed there’d be another moment, another opportunity, before the night ended.

“There are so many out tonight.” Gabi gestured toward the business district. People stood in front of the Superette, the saloon and The Grill. They talked, flirted, and one couple kissed as if no one else in the world existed.

The same way he’d felt only moments ago, Jude realized.

“I didn’t know this many people lived in Horseback Hollow,” Gabi said.

“It’s Saturday night and unseasonably warm.” Jude raised a hand in greeting to several ranch hands then refocused on Gabi’s beautiful face. “Most of the cowboys from nearby ranches come into town to eat, drink and dance.”

Her eyes went round as quarters. “Dancing? Really? Where?”

“The Two Moon Saloon,” Jude said, mentioning the business adjacent to The Grill. “The owners bring in bands on Saturday nights. In fact—” he glanced at his phone “—the party should be getting started anytime now.”

“I like to dance.” A wistful look crossed Gabi’s face. “Salsa mainly.”

“We mostly two-step around here.”

She inclined her head, her brown eyes thoughtful. “Is it difficult to two-step?”

The way she looked at him told Jude she could be persuaded to prolong the date...if dancing was part of the package.

“Naw.” He took her arm. “Easy. Want to give it a try?”

After a second’s hesitation, she nodded. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”

He looped an arm companionably around her shoulders as they walked. “Have I told you I like a woman with an adventurous spirit?”

Gabi simply laughed, the moon scattering light on the dark hair that hung past her shoulders.

As Jude expected, the place was packed. He’d hoped to find a quiet table in a corner where he and Gabi could be alone when they weren’t on the dance floor. But the second he walked in and saw friends and relatives scattered throughout the bar, he knew there would be no alone time. Not this evening.

They ended up at a table with two of his brothers and several ranch hands. When one of the cowboys kept talking to Gabi, Jude gave the guy a dark glance, making it clear the lady was with him.

But was she? Though Gabi didn’t flirt with the other men, she also didn’t cling to him. It was almost as if they were buddies, out for a night on the town together.

If that’s the way she wanted it, he’d be her buddy. In time, they’d be more. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Liam and Sawyer she was The One. The moment she’d run into him, he recognized her as the woman he’d been waiting for his whole life. Corny, but true.

When the band began to play a current country classic, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor. As predicted she picked up the steps easily. Two quick. Two slow.

“You’re doing great. That’s it.” Approval mixed with the encouragement in his tone. “Let your feet glide.”

Gabi had a natural sense of rhythm. Her lithe but curvy body surprised him with some great moves within the simple step. As they danced, her cheeks flushed with color and her smile flashed often.

The band took a brief break, and he and Gabi were on their way back to the table when they ran across Sawyer and Laurel. While Gabi chatted with them, Jude excused himself.

When he returned, her head jerked up at the Richie Ray tune that the band had begun to play.

“That’s salsa music.” Delight filled her eyes even as they narrowed suspiciously. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

“Do you want to stand here and talk?” he asked then held out a hand. “Or shall we dance?”

“You can salsa?” Delight filled her voice.

In answer, he led her to the dance floor and proceeded to show her some of his moves.

The night passed quickly. Jude couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun or danced to so many songs. By the time she grabbed his arm and pulled him from the dance floor, his breath came in short puffs.

Gabi’s own breath wasn’t all that steady. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Her cheeks were pink and her lips reminded Jude of a plump, ripe strawberry from his mother’s summer garden. She looked so pretty, and he wanted her so badly that he almost kissed her right then, in front of half the citizens of Horseback Hollow.

Then he remembered what Sawyer had said about her father being overprotective. If Jude Fortune Jones kissed Orlando Mendoza’s daughter on the dance floor of the Two Moon Saloon, news would be all over town by morning.

And even some sixty miles away in Lubbock, before Orlando finished his breakfast, someone would mention the incident to him. There was no reason to get the man stirred up when he was trying to recover. Besides, the way Jude saw it, what happened between him and Gabi was personal. That’s how he preferred to keep it. For now.

Gabi paused at the edge of the dance floor, leaning close to ensure he could hear her over the twang of the steel guitar. “My father’s house isn’t far so—”

“Hey, Jude.” A leggy redhead he’d dated last summer sidled up to him, her fingers traveling up his sleeve. “I got the band to promise they’d do the electric slide next. Told them it’s our song.”

“Sorry, Lissa.” He put his hand on the small of Gabi’s back. “We were just leaving.”

Gabi opened her mouth as if to protest, but he closed it with a brief, hard kiss.

His pretty Latina’s long lashes fluttered, and when he pulled back, she appeared slightly dazed.

“Oh.” Lissa frowned, her gaze shifting between Jude and Gabi. “I saw you dancing, but I didn’t realize you two were together, together.”

“We are. Great seeing you, Lis.” Without giving the redhead a chance to respond to his pronouncement, he took Gabi’s arm and propelled her out the front door.

Once they reached the sidewalk, Gabi dug in her heels. “Stay. Dance with your friend. My father’s house isn’t far. I can walk myself home.”

“Not alone.”

The flat quality to his voice must have raised red flags. Concern filled her eyes. “Isn’t it safe?”

“It’s not that.” No matter how much Jude wanted her to stay with him and not take off on her own, he refused to lie. “You’d be perfectly safe. The fact is, I’m not nearly ready for the night to end.”

“Oh,” she said, then again. “Oh.”

“Unless this is your way of saying it’s been fun but it’s time for me to get lost?”

Gabi slowly shook her head and the tight knot in his belly dissolved. She rested her hand on his biceps. “I enjoy being with you.”