Page 24 of Wild Heart

Ignoring the edge of bitterness in her tone about me never dancing with her before now, I asked, “My other reasons?”

“For wanting to dance with me. You said you had a couple of reasons. What are they?”

For the first time since I’d entered the ballroom and caught sight of Ava, I felt confident enough I could look away and she wouldn’t go anywhere. I looked around the room, focused my attention on her again, and revealed, “I’m reasonably confident you’re the best dancer at this wedding. As you already noted, I don’t dance very often?—”

“You don’t danceever,” she corrected me.

I chuckled. “Fine. But that’s all the more reason for me to want to dance with you. If I’m going to do it, I might as well do it with someone who knows what they’re doing.”

“This is slow dancing, Tate. It’s not difficult.”

My arm tightened around her waist, tugging her closer. I could have done this with her years ago. I’d avoided it, because I wouldn’t have been able to resist her. No doubt she would have done her best to seduce me. I was a fool to have thought that was a wise move. “We’ve got to start somewhere, don’t we?”

As the song faded and blended into the next, she sighed. “I guess.”

Ava spent the next few seconds dancing in my arms but doing it while avoiding looking at me. It was like she was terrified of what might happen if we made eye contact while being this close to one another.

“Do you want to know the biggest reason I wanted to dance with you?”

In an instant, her eyes were back on mine. “Why?”

The silence stretched between us as I studied her, appreciating the curiosity in her breathtaking stare. “I missed you.”

Everything changed in that instant. Her fingers twitched in my hand as her lips parted. But it was the look in her eyes that said it all. She was experiencing conflicting emotions. It was as though part of her was yearning for what I was saying to be the truth while the other part of her was heartbroken to hear it.

“Forgive me, Tate, because I’m a bit confused. I was away for a long time, and I missed Wyatt, Cooper, and Liam, but I don’t want to dance with men who are like brothers to me.”

My brows drew together. “I’m not suggesting that you do.”

“So, I guess I don’t understand why you would want to dance with a woman who’s like a sister to you.”

Confusion turned to horror. Did Ava think I looked at her like a sister? “What?”

She swallowed hard, her emotions getting the best of her. “I didn’t get it. All these years, I couldn’t understand why you wanted nothing to do with me, but you made it clear last night.”

“What did I do last night?”

“You told me I was part of this family.”

My body had stopped moving. I continued to hold Ava in my arms, but I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Ava, Ido notlook at you like a sister.”

She nodded. “You said it. You said I was part of this family.”

“I consider Rhea and Skye to be part of this family, too. Do you think that means Wyatt sees Rhea as his sister? Do you think Skye isn’t any different to Cooper than Ivy or Jules?”

“Obviously, they don’t view them that way. That’s why we’re here today, Tate. Wyatt is married now, and Cooper got engaged. They both made it clear they felt differently. So, I guess, if what you’re telling me is the case and you don’t see me that way, then it’s me.” Her voice sounded so small and broken. Devastationwas dripping from every word. “You’re just not interested in me like that, and I read into everything far more than I should have.”

What had I done to this woman?

“That’s not true, either.”

Ava’s gaze became unfocused, like she had just been slapped across the face and was seeing stars. “I don’t understand. You’ve made it painfully obvious you have no intention of pursuing me, and the moment I think I figure it out, you’re telling me that what I think is the case isn’t true. I’m sorry, but this makes no sense. You’ve repeatedly turned me down. What else am I supposed to believe?”

“That I’m not perfect. That I’ve made mistakes. That I have reasons for turning you down, but I can promise you they have nothing to do with me not being wildly attracted to you.”

There was a glimmer of hope. It was small, barely there, but I saw it. Ava remained silent, clearly attempting to process all that I’d just shared. I started dancing with her again.

A few beats later, she asked, “What are your reasons?”