Her arms snaked up around his neck, and she laid her head against his chest. “I haven’t danced in years. This is nice, but I’m not believing a word of what you’re singing.”

“Oh, honey, you really are as smooth as Tennessee whiskey,” he whispered softly in her ear.

“But sweet as strawberry wine”—she leaned back and smiled at him—“that’s definitely not me. I’ve been called a lot of things, but sweet is not one of them.”

“The sweet is down deep in your soul and takes a special cowboy to find it.” Cody was kind of proud of himself for remembering how to flirt.

“Well, if you’re thinking you might be that special cowboy, you had best bring two shovels, because one will get dull before you dig that deep,” she giggled.

“I’ll remember that,” he said.

When the song ended and “Millionaire” started playing, Cody kept two-stepping around the floor with her.

“You only asked for one dance,” she told him.

“This second one is a vertical MRI. It’s for medical purposes only, to see if you get dizzy when you move around the floor,” he teased.

“You, Dr. Cowboy, are full of…” she started.

He kissed her on the forehead before she could say another word.

“Is that medical too?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s to test your endorphins. If you have a brain bleed, a kiss from a sexy cowboy might cause dizziness.” He reached up and removed her hands from around his neck and swung her out, then brought her back to his chest with a thump. “Your heart is beating fast, and your eyes have even more gold flecks in them than usual, which tells me that you are enjoying this.”

“I’d have to be stone-cold dead to not think you are sexy. I’ve already told you that I had a crush on you for five years,” she said. “I wouldn’t have wasted my time and energy on a cowboy who wasn’t good-looking.”

“Thank you, love.” He gave her another kiss on the forehead.

“Just stating facts…love,” she shot back and then asked, “Do you really think that love is more precious than gold?”

“Yes, I do,” Cody whispered in her ear. “A man can have empty pockets and still feel like a millionaire if he’s got love to spare like Chris is singing about. I see it in Jesse and Addy and have always seen it in my folks. If and when I ever find that kind of love, I’ll be a millionaire, even if I don’t have two dimes to rub together in my pocket.”

When that song ended, Cody brought Stevie’s hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you, Stevie, for the dances. Maybe someday, we’ll go over to the Rusty Spur and dance some leather off our cowboy boots.”