She laughed and confessed, “Me, too. Turned out it was way harder than I expected. My choir teacher was tough. I had to work harder than I’d expected for that A, but I enjoyed it.”
He twirled her, then brought her back into his hold. “Once we’ve enjoyed another dance or two, we should head back into the casino room. I think you’re still ahead of me by a couple of tickets. Can’t have that.”
She laughed. “You are so competitive.”
His grin flashed. “Says the pot to the kettle.”
“Moi? How silly. Although I believe I do have a few more tickets than you.”
Chuckling, he spun her again as the song came to an end. She stumbled when she came face-to-face with Pete.
“Hello, Shelby.”
She gave a strained smile to the tall, auburn-haired man who had moved to stand in front of her on the dance floor. “Hi, Pete. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
She had met twenty-seven-year-old accountant Pete Van Pelt at a meeting of a local CPA organization almost two years ago. She rarely attended meetings with the group now, mostly because she had no particular career ambitions outside the resort, so she hadn’t seen Pete since their breakup several months earlier. She knew he didn’t particularly like crowds or parties, but because he did have professional aspirations, she supposed he’d thought this was a good chance to network and be seen as a community volunteer.
“Laura Granderson invited me. It’s a good cause, so I thought I’d make an appearance.”
He looked at Aaron then. “I have to confess I’m surprised to see you here, Andrew.”
Aaron looked at Shelby with a questioning expression. She smiled wryly and drew him forward. “Aaron, this is Pete Van Pelt. Pete, this is Andrew’s brother, Aaron Walker. He’s been staying at the resort this week for a vacation.”
The men shook hands. Though she suspected he’d recognized the name, Aaron greeted Pete with the same courtesy he’d shown everyone else. To give him credit, Pete didn’t exclaim about Aaron’s resemblance to Andrew, merely apologized politely for mistaking him for his brother.
“You look very nice tonight,” Pete said, eying Shelby’s dress and strappy sandals. He probably noticed that she’d even gone to the extra effort of polishing her toenails a bright hot pink; Pete didn’t miss that sort of detail. He had the courtesy not to point out
, as Lori had, that she was rarely seen in a dress, but she’d bet he was thinking something along that line.
Aaron moved closer to her side, resting a hand on her back. “Excuse us, Pete. We were just going to try out some more of the casino games. It was nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, you, too, Aaron. So, you’re just here through the weekend?”
Aaron smiled intimately down at Shelby. “That’s still up for consideration.”
Pete looked somberly from one of them to the other. “I see. Well, have a good time, you two.”
Though she didn’t look back, Shelby had the sensation that Pete watched them as they moved toward the doorway.
* * *
Shelby parked in front of Cabin Eight later that evening, cut the engine and turned off the headlights. It was well after ten, but she was in no hurry to leave. The night had been almost magical so far, and she wasn’t ready for it to end.
“I had the best time tonight,” she said, fingering the wooden bracelet on her arm that would serve as a memento of the evening. Some very nice items had been donated for door prizes—redeemable with tickets from the casino games—and she’d won this bangle donated by a local woodworking artist. Aaron’s prize had been a football autographed by last year’s Texas Longhorns team and coach. He’d seemed pleased, commenting to Shelby that he had a young cousin who would be thrilled to receive it. Both of them had made donations to the charity before leaving the event.
Aaron tossed the football from one hand to another. “It was fun. You did good picking the evening’s entertainment. Food, games, singing, dancing...a little taste of everything.”
She smiled. “That was clever of me, wasn’t it? And all for a good cause.”
“Would you like to come in for a nightcap? And by nightcap, I mean a light beer or a cup of tea, the only things I have to offer.”
“Tea sounds good.”
Cabin Seven was dark and would have looked deserted had it not been for the car still parked in the drive. Shelby spared only a glance next door as she followed Aaron into Cabin Eight.
He closed the door behind them. He’d left only a lamp burning, so the main room was intimately dim. Dropping the football onto a chair, he turned to face her without turning on the overhead light. With his back to the lamp, his face was in shadow, the expression in his dark eyes hidden, though she thought she saw them glitter. She swallowed hard, pushing her suddenly damp palms down her thighs.
His voice was husky when he asked, “Beer or tea?”