And though part of me really had been ready to leave since the night had stirred up more emotions than I’d expected, when Nora gave my hand another tug, I let her lead me back to the dance floor.
As a string version of Taylor Swift’s “Enchanted” started playing, I took a deep breath and pulled Nora close, letting one hand rest on her back just below her shoulder blade while the other took her hand.
How long had it been since I’d slow danced with a woman?
Way too long.
“Is this okay?” she asked quietly, searching my face.
“Yeah,” I said, swallowing. “It’s… great.” Then after a beat, I bent closer and whispered near her temple, “Thank you for this, by the way.”
Her eyes softened. “You’re welcome.”
We held each other’s gaze for a long moment while the music carried us slowly across the floor.
And as my heart thudded loudly in my ears, a strange swirl of emotions filled me.
Gratitude.
A flicker of fear.
A small, aching sadness that whispered the simple truth that I would never dance with Alisha again.
That part of my life was gone.
But standing here with Nora, swaying to the music beneath the warm glow of the lights, I also felt something else.
Relief.
Maybe evenhope.
Because sometimes, taking a step forward was hard to do alone.
Sometimes you needed someone willing to pull you along.
And Nora seemed to understand that.
After a moment, she rested her head lightly against my chest. And I let out a quiet breath.
Because despite all the confusing emotions I’d felt tonight… this was nice.
31
NORA
“Have you seen Miles?”I asked Lucy at the end of the night when I realized I hadn’t spotted him in a while.
The reception was starting to wind down. The cake had been cut, the bouquet had been thrown—which Lucy managed to catch—and the dance floor had slowly thinned out after a few final songs.
I’d even had my promised dance with Theo.
Which had been… really nice.
“I thought I saw him talking to Alessi a little while ago,” Lucy said, furrowing her brow as she scanned the lawn where the reception had been set up. “He and Alessi looked like they were arguing about something.”
“I saw that,” I said. I’d caught a glimpse of them during my dance with Theo, both of them leaning toward each other in what had definitely looked like a heated exchange. Those two were always either squabbling or thick as thieves. There never seemed to be an in-between with them.
“I think I saw Miles go inside the building after that,”Owen added from Lucy’s side. “But I thought he was just going to the bathroom or something.” He glanced toward the stone building behind us. “Do you think he left?”