Don’t let your glass be half empty…
Remembering that, he shook his head and smiled at her. In response she sent her best, sexy, happy, two-hundred-watt smile before she turned back to her game.
A local band that was donating their time had set up on the dock behind them and was warming up. More food had arrived and was being barbecued and spread out for dinner. They all ate together, laughing at the pics Sophie had gone around and taken during the day and then projected with her laptop onto a makeshift screen of canvas she’d commandeered from one of the tents.
She amazed him, completely amazed him.
“You should marry her,” Hud said, coming back from the food table with his second plate, sitting next to Jacob with their old ease. “Because if you don’t, I know at least two guys who would.”
WTF. “Who?”
Hud grinned at him.
“Who?” Jacob demanded.
“Mitch and Chris, for starters.”
Just because Mitch was an old family friend who’d become invaluable to the resort over the past few years wouldn’t stop Jacob from pounding him into the ground if he made a move on Sophie.
Chris would be tougher to beat, but he’d find a way.
The band had kicked into play and more than a few people were dancing. Chris tugged one of the resort workers out there and made a move, pulling her along to the music. Gray did the same with Penny.
Mitch approached Kenna and Jacob braced for Kenna to punch the guy, but to Jacob’s surprise, she stood up. “You want to dance with me?” she asked.
“Actually,” Mitch said, “I want to date you until you’re convinced you’re mine, something I’ve known forever. And then I want to put a ring on your finger so the whole world knows. But yeah, I’ll settle for a dance for now.”
Kenna stared at him for a long beat, and then she did the most amazing thing. She smiled a warm, sweet, adorable smile that Jacob hadn’t seen for a very, very long time. And then she put her hand in Mitch’s and let him lead her to the dance floor.
“What the hell?” Jacob asked.
Hud grinned. “Love’s in the air, man,” and with that, he went after Bailey, snatching her by the wrist, tugging her in to him.
Everywhere, guys were claiming their women left and right. Or, more accurately, their women were allowing themselves to be claimed. Jacob knew one woman he wouldn’t mind being claimed by and sought her out in the crowd, finding her slow dancing with—shit—Chris now.
They were looking pretty cozy too. As Jacob walked up to them, Sophie was laughing at something Chris had just said while Chris held her way too close. The ass saw Jacob coming, too, and kept Sophie tight to him, shooting Jacob an innocent grin over her shoulder. “Go get your own woman, Kincaid,” he said.
“That’s what I’m doing. Get your mitts off what’s mine.”
Laughing, Chris brushed a kiss to Sophie’s cheek and walked away.
Good man.
Sophie didn’t move into Jacob’s arms. She stood there, brow arched. “Get your mitts off what’s yours?” she repeated with more than a hint of disbelief.
“We’ve had this talk.” He tugged her in to him. “You are mine.”
Her arms were still crossed. A barrier between them. “And?” she inquired.
He smiled into her chilly features. “And I’m yours.”
She softened at that, letting her arms fall to her sides. “One more question,” she said.
“Go.”
“Were you really upset that I was dancing with Chris?”
“No,” he said, and paused. “You made him smile.”
She stared at him for a moment before she touched him, her hands gliding up to tighten around his neck as she pressed her face to his throat.
As she relaxed in his arms, he let the beat of the music carry them around for a few minutes. It was ridiculous, but he wanted the song to go on forever just so that he didn’t have to lose contact with the feel of her skin.
She wriggled in a little, like maybe she didn’t want it to end either, like she couldn’t get close enough. Tightening his grip on her, he was just about to whisper a naughty nothing in her ear when he felt the wetness of tears against his skin.
And his heart dropped straight out of his chest. “Hey,” he said quietly. “What’s this?”
She shook her head and kept her face buried against him, clearly struggling for composure. He waited her out, holding on to her with a grip he hoped conveyed some of his feelings since his mouth had never been any good at doing that for him.
Finally she gave a last sniff and lifted her head. “You make me smile too.”
“You sure? Because at the moment, it looks like I made you cry.”
Her eyes filled again, but she blinked back the tears. “It’s a good cry,” she whispered.
She killed him. “Soph,” he whispered, swiping a thumb over her cheek.
She shook her head again and looked at him, eyes clear now. “And just so we’re clear, I wouldn’t have been so gracious about you slow dirty dancing with someone else.”