“Greece?” Chad shook his head. “You went to Greece, little bit?”
Little bit? Chad McCray hadn’t changed. She tried to ignore the nickname. “Yes, my friend Dominic and I spent two weeks there during spring break. It’s gorgeous, as you can imagine.”
“She’ll have all her photos at the shindig tomorrow night,” Harper said. “You’re coming aren’t you, Chad?”
“Sure, wouldn’t miss it,” Chad said, his gaze meeting Catie’s. Again.
Amber looked self-conscious, biting her lip. Should Catie invite her? Would Chad? She waited a moment, but Chad said nothing.
Catie turned to Amber. “I hope you can come. It’d be a chance to meet lots of folks. My silly mama thinks everyone in town wants to hear all about my travels.” She smiled as Amber started to relax. “But it’s really just an excuse for a big party. Please say you’ll come.”
“I’d love to come,” Amber said. “Thank you for the invitation. I’ll need to get directions to your place.”
“Chad can pick you up, can’t you?” Harper said.
“Uh, sure. Yeah, I can do that.” Chad played with the collar of his shirt. “You working tomorrow?”
“Till six,” Amber said.
/> “I’ll pick you up at Judy’s at six, then. Will that work?”
“Sure, that’d be fine.”
A waitress interrupted their conversation and took their drink orders. Chad and Harper started talking about ranching, seeming to forget all about her trip to Greece. Amber smiled up at Chad, her hand resting possessively on his arm.
When Catie’s margarita came, she took a long drink. The salt around the rim stung her lips, chapped from the dry air on the plane.
Nothing like it.
She chugged the rest and stood up, her head a bit hazy. When had she last eaten? On the plane sometime.
“I want to dance,” she announced, and grabbed her handsome cowboy’s arm. “Come on, Chad.”
“Little bit,” Chad said, as she dragged him away, “are you sure you want to do this?”
“Sure I’m sure,” Catie said. “It’s just a dance.”
“You drank that ’rita awful fast, sugar.”
Sugar? She liked the sound of that. “A little tequila, a little Garth Brooks, a little dance with a handsome cowboy. Sounds like heaven.”
“Whatever you say, little bit.”
“Little bit?” She looked into his eyes, so dark they were nearly black. They seemed to smoke. “I like sugar better.”
“Okay,” he drawled. “Come on.” He snaked his arms around her waist. “Let’s cut the rug, sugar.”
The song wasn’t made for slow dancing, but the crowd on the dance floor necessitated closeness between them. Chad’s hard body crushed against her, and her pulse quickened.
“I’m glad you decided not to ignore me all night.”
“Ignore you?”
“Yeah, you talking on and on with Amber, when it’s clear to a saint you and she have nothin’ at all in common.” He chuckled. “You sure have changed, little…I mean, sugar,” Chad said. “I hardly recognized you.”
“It’s been four years, Chad.”
“What happened to the little girl who loved horses more than people?”