Pas de Deux: Part Two (A Cross and Pointe Novel Book 2) (36 page)

“Read my mind.” She held up a finger. “Before we go, there's something I want to show you. It's still pretty rough, and I have no idea what I'll use it for, but you inspired a dance today.”

“I what?”

She smiled and grabbed his hand. “Come here.”

He followed her into the studio, watching as she pulled off her cardigan, leaving her in a black leotard and yoga leggings. She went to the sound system and hooked up her phone, then pulled on her toe shoes, lacing them around her ankle quickly.

“So how'd I inspire you?”

“I was listening to Halestorm—”

“As usual.”

“As usual. And one of their songs made me think of you.”

“Was it 'I Get Off'?”

Sammi shot him a look. “Not this time. It's called 'Beautiful With You'.” She hit a button on her phone and hurried to the middle of the room.

The strains of acoustic guitar and drums in a mid-tempo ballad echoed off the hard walls. He was familiar with the band because they were Sammi's favorite, but he hadn't heard this song before. It was about a woman self-conscious of her physical flaws, but embracing her beauty because of the love in her life. As he listened to more of the lyrics, and watched Sammi leap and turn across the room, a strange little lump formed in his throat.

The sound of her toe shoes thunking hollowly against the wooden floor punctuated each beat of the song and he focused on that noise for a moment, clearing his throat and blinking rapidly. He watched the way her long hair streamed and fanned out behind her with every spin, and the graceful, effortless way her hands and arms floated around her, accompanying the movements of her feet in perfect synchronization.

His fingers brushed the small box in his pocket.
Now might be the perfect time.

Cillian had gotten Joe and Carmela's blessing two weeks ago, and had struggled to find the right moment. He'd seen Joe a few times since then, too, and every time, Joe looked at him with tall eyebrows, as if to say,
Well? What the fuck are you waiting for?

Waiting for a moment as perfect as this—and I won't let it pass me by.

The music faded as Sammi came to a stop, her chest heaving. She turned to face Cillian, a small, self-conscious smile on her face.

“That was my nonverbal way of telling you...I love you.”

He crossed the floor to her side and took her hand. “I loved it. And I love you, too.” He cleared his throat and met her gaze. “Uh, Sammi—”

Her face fell. “You didn't like it.”

“No. I mean, yes, I liked it. You were beautiful, and that's a good song.”

“Then what? You look—weird.”

“Yeah. I mean, no, I'm not weird. I'm just—maybe a little bit...nervous.”

“Nervous about what?”

Cillian took her hands. “'Cause this isn't easy to say, and I ain't the best with words.”

Sammi's jaw clenched and her throat moved as she swallowed. “Cillian. You're scaring me.”

You're already fucking up. You haven't even started yet. Get your shit together, soldier!
He shook his head, trying to think clearly. “Don't be scared. I—I just have a question for you.”

“What question?”

“We haven't known each other for a very long time, but...I love you like I've known you my whole life. You're part of my family, you're the most important person in my life, and you've given me so much—you've given me you.”

Cillian slowly lowered himself to one knee, and Sammi's hand flew to her mouth as her eyes flew open wide.

“And I just wanna know if I can keep you—forever.”

He pulled the box out of his pocket and popped the lid, showing her the two-carat, cushion-cut diamond on a delicate band encircled with tiny diamonds. They'd never discussed rings, but as soon as he'd seen it, he knew it would look perfect on her delicate finger.

She stared down at the ring, her eyes glistening. “Oh, shit. That's beautiful.”

He held his breath, his heart beating swiftly and then slowly and then sometimes not at all as he waited for her answer. The seconds ticked by.

Maybe this was too soon—maybe she's not ready—maybe you're rushing—maybe—

Sammi lifted her eyes, shimmering with tears, from the ring to meet his gaze and touched his face. “Cillian, stand up.” He rose to his feet quickly, and she cupped his face in her hands. “I have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”
Yes, I'm sure. Yes, I love you. No, I don't want anyone else. Yes, I want to give you forever. Yes, yes, yes.

“Are you sure—are you
positive
—”

“Sammi—”

“—that you can handle my crazy-ass family for a lifetime?” She grinned and the tears that pooled in her eyes slipped down her cheeks. “Because, you marry me, you marry them. Package deal.”

He slid his arms around her waist. “I've thought about it—a lot, believe me—and I'm in. All in, one hundred percent. No going back.”

“Well. I guess that's settled.” Suddenly she leaped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Yes, I will marry you, Cillian Ronan.”

He laughed, pulling her head down to kiss her. “You had me worried there for a minute.”

“I love you.” She pressed her lips against his. “You brave, poor man.”

“I love you, beautiful.” Cillian hugged her tight. The song she'd danced to must have been on repeat, because he was suddenly aware that it was playing again.

Has it been playing the whole time? Couldn't have asked for more perfect background music...

After a long moment, she slipped to the ground, and smiled up at him. “Dance with me.”

Normally he would have protested, would have been skeptical. He was no dancer. But now, none of it mattered, and he pulled her close again and swayed with her to the music.

Beat, melody, lyrics—all of it consumed them, the outside world receding for the moment. It was just Sammi and Cillian, and their own, special pas de deux.

Once again, I must thank so many people for helping me create this book. I always say writing is the easy part...then comes everything else.

All glory and all thanksgiving to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for blessing me with my love of writing, the talent to do it, and the realization that it is my duty and calling in life to tell stories.

To my sweet hubby: Thanks for being my very first sale, and thank you for continuing to support me. I know you don't get this “romance stuff”, but you get me, and what makes me happy, and that's really all that matters. Love you!

To my lifelong BFF, you were truly the first person in my adult life to encourage my writing dreams. Thanks for being the inspiration for Jazz, and thanks for over twenty years of support, sisterhood, laughter, and Charlestoning at inappropriate moments.

To my parents and my brother, and my extended family: When I said I wanted to be a writer, you said...get to work. Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for your support! Love you all.

This book would not have been possible without the incredible help of my critique partner, Jules Dixon. You know exactly what I need when I need it—usually a swift kick in the ass to do better. Thank you for lending me your time, eyes, brain, and heart, and helping me transform this into something I can truly be proud of. P.S.: I still have the crying pictures you sent me while reading this. While I would never use them for nefarious purposes, they serve as a humbling reminder of the power of the written word, and the impact a good story can have on someone. So thank you for those reminders. I am blessed to have you as a friend!

Thank you to my beautiful sister-in-law, Mary Ma, for taking precious hours out of her very limited spare time to design this beautiful cover for me. Sis, I'm so blessed to know someone as creative and talented as you and that you were the one to design my first book cover means more to me than you could ever know. Here's to many more! :-)

Thanks to Angela Shockley, better known as That Formatting Lady, for enduring my near-constant slew of emails and ridiculous deadlines. I appreciate your patience so very much and I promise—I will not stress us out this much next time around! Thank you for making the book SO pretty!

To Angela Marie: Thank you so much for your hard work on getting the word about Pas de Deux out there. I truly appreciate you!

Heartfelt, feelsy, gut-wrenching thanks to Nicole Giguere and Carol Guthrie, the OG betas of this work in its caterpillar form. You two are my writing spirit animals, and I'm honored to know you and so very humbled to be able to present you with this butterfly. Now...it's your turn. GO!

And to the fantastic readers I've had the pleasure of meeting—your passion for good stories and good writing is truly encouraging. I'm excited, grateful, and deeply humbled to share this here thing with you. Please enjoy!

xoxo

Wynter

Romance with a razor-sharp edge! Wynter S.K. is a New Adult romance writer, focusing on military, suspense, and action. She loves Happily-Ever-Afters, heart-of-gold alpha males, “safe” angst (that is a thing!) and strong, butt-kicking, realistic heroines. She lives for the raging storm before the rainbow, and loves nothing more than to make your heart soar before she rips it out...only to put it back again when the dust settles.

Wynter lives with her husband, cat, and dog in the Heartland—how fitting! She loves great wine, great chocolate, spending time with friends, and indulging in trashy reality T.V. between reading her favorite novels. Wynter loves to connect with readers, so don't be afraid to drop her a line on Twitter (@Wynter_SK) or on Facebook (
http://www.facebook.com/wynterSK
).

She cusses like a sailor, writes like an angel...and is very pleased to meet you. Wynter is coming, and she's here to stay.

Wynter S.K. loves connecting with readers! Contact her anytime:

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Table of Contents

1| Nerves