He didn’t tug her again. Instead, he let her hand drop, but he held her eye contact. Those formerly icy eyes of his were backlit with some confident determination. For just a moment, she could see his resemblance to his father—in a good way. She could see that buried somewhere inside John’s gorgeous heart was a man who knew how to get what he wanted. And what he wanted, apparently, was Mary on the dance floor.

That intoxicating stare still glued to hers, John took one step back and then another. He was five feet out from her, on the edge of the dance floor, his eyes reeling her in. A familiar song played, the beat dropped, John’s feet stepped to one side, his shoulders hit on the downbeat, one finger came up, he pointed at Mary.

Her mouth dropped open.

He was dancing for her, in a room full of people, tempting her to come play with him. He pointed at the ceiling next, back to her, his hips getting in on the rhythm. He was a sexy-dorky dancer, confident and—gah—smiling.

It was the smile that did it. He had a smile that utilized every single one of those lines on his face, this time for good. It was like every inch of his face smiled, not just his mouth. Sure, his teeth flashed and his lips widened, but it was his smiling eyes, his squinched-up nose, his ears lifted a quarter inch that really did Mary in.

Unexpected, a laugh of pure joy bubbled up out of her. Mary threw her hands over her mouth, laughing with radiant happiness as she watched John two-step for her, his eyes still on hers.

It wasn’t a choice, really, it was just what happened next. Mary took four little steps and ended up in John’s arms, the momentum of her impact spinning them one hundred and eighty degrees. He took her hand and spun her out and then back in so that she landed against him again, their hip bones clacking and their unabashed grins only six inches apart.

She remembered how much she loved this song and threw her arms around his neck. His hands were firm at her hips and back, guiding her against him. She’d danced with both Tyler and Sebastian before, but never like this. It wasn’t indecent, definitely PG-13, but he held her closer than he ever had before, the sexiness offset by the grinning, ebullient joy emanating from him. She knew then, she just knew, that John wanted nothing more than to be close to her. At this moment at least, she was getting what she wished for, a man who wanted to be next to her.