Wade turned his head toward his mother. “Thank you for coming. Eat, drink, and have a good time.”

He hopped off the stage and didn’t let anyone stop him until he was back at Trina’s side. His lips moved close to her ear again. “Now everyone will know not to hit on you.”

“That wasn’t a problem.”

Behind him, his mother introduced Jordyn and her band. There were several sets of eyes that moved between Jordyn and Wade expectantly. He even saw his mother holding her breath when Jordyn took the mic.

She smiled sweetly in his direction, her gaze never drifting to Trina.

“Let’s all welcome Wade home once again, where he belongs, with the people that know and love him.” Jordyn blew him a kiss that would have been innocent enough a year earlier.

Used to the attention of a crowd, Wade waved and smiled and hoped that was the end of being onstage for a while.

“C’mon, let’s find you something you actually want to drink and me something cold.”

Wade kept to his word and stayed by her side as much as he could throughout the party. He laughed at the amount of food she managed to put away, even though he ate twice as much. When she was ready to find a rocking chair, or a bed to let the meal put her into a food coma, Wade pulled her out on the dance floor.

“Just follow my lead,” he said in her ear. “Two fast steps, two short steps.”

Trina felt judgmental eyes watching them. “I’m going to embarrass you.”

“Not possible, little lady.”

She doubted that.

One arm wrapped around her waist as the other one took possession of her shoulder.

Trina started to sweat.

He shook her arm. “Relax. This is easy.”

He started to move her on the dance floor.

Two fast, two slow, two fast, two slow.

Around them couples were doing the same dance, only they were pushing forward and backward, and men were dipping the women and spinning them around.

She miscounted, and Wade corrected his step and spun her around.

“Oh, lord.”

“See, not hard at all.”

Trina sucked in the beat of the music and tried not to think.

“There ya go. You’re a natural.”

“Yeah, right!”

He pulled both of her hands up to his shoulders and used his hands to guide her hips.

The smile on his face lit up the yard. “We just need to get you some boots.” He spun her around.

She giggled like a schoolgirl. “So I can dress the part?”

“Yup.” He winked and took one hand away, while keeping the beat, and placed his hat on her head. “Much better.”

Trina tilted it back. “I might not give this back.”

He looked at the hat, looked in her eyes. “I might not take it back.”

The last time she’d worn a man’s anything had been at her high school prom. Every date after that, she’d brought her own sweater to keep warm, and using a man’s jacket hadn’t been necessary. Wade’s hat on her head took her back to a simpler time, when hand holding, dancing, and kissing were the cause of butterflies in her stomach.

They laughed as he spun her around, and never once did he mention the times she stepped on his feet. He just kept dancing like he was born to it.

When the music switched pace, he maneuvered them toward the back of the dance floor and paused. His finger grazed the side of her jaw, and she shivered, despite the fact it wasn’t cold.

“You are so damn beautiful when you smile.”

She bit her lip.

“C’mere.” He swept in and placed his lips on hers.

Trina tilted her head back, holding on to the hat to keep it from sliding to the ground.

He was smooth, pressed her frame flush against his, from knees to chest. He tasted like hops and barbeque. Just when she thought he would deepen their kiss, he pulled back enough to talk against her lips. “You’re killin’ me.”

“You started it,” she said with her lips a breath away from his.

He kissed her again, short, meaningful.

Wade hummed something under his breath. She wasn’t sure if it was a song or a mating call. Either way, it made her smile. Then he broke away and grasped her hand.

Next thing she knew they were back on the dance floor.

The afternoon slowly drifted into dusk. Lights strung out all over the yard kept the party lit up. The band took several breaks, but that didn’t stop the music or the dancing.

Pies of every shape and flavor were added to the banquet of food, giving Trina another reason to hold her stomach.

At one point, Ike pulled Wade away, and she took the opportunity to find a restroom and freshen up.

Vicki found her inside the house on the way up the stairs. “It looks like you’re having a good time,” she said.

“I am. Your friends and family are very welcoming.”

Vicki glanced at Wade’s hat. “My son seems to like you quite a bit.”

Again, Trina wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, coming from her. “You’ve raised a charming son.”

“Oh, yes, he does know how to charm the ladies. Usually women are crawling all over him at these parties. This time there seems to only be one.”

They’d kissed twice the whole night, and certainly no one was climbing on anyone. “I can’t imagine he’d invite me here and ignore me to flirt with other women,” Trina told her.

“He wouldn’t mean to, but sometimes his polite nature won’t let him stop a woman from trying.”

Trina wasn’t sure what hidden message Vicki was trying to tell her. If she wasn’t high on the endorphins from dancing and Wade’s attention, Trina might have just flat-out asked her. She pointed toward the stairs. “I was going to grab a jacket.”

“Of course. Go on. We can chat another time.”

Trina didn’t like the sound of that.

On the landing up the stairs to her room, Jordyn stood poised against the wall, almost as if she were waiting for someone.

Her gaze snapped to Trina’s, and she looked behind her before she started talking. “Hello. We haven’t met.”

“That doesn’t mean we don’t know who each other are,” Trina said without pretense. “I hope this isn’t awkward for you.”

Jordyn flashed lots of teeth. “For me? Oh, no. I’m fine. I’ve known Wade long enough to know what he’s all about.”

Again with the hidden messages.

The woman was looking for a conversation that Trina didn’t want to have. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Jordyn lifted up her hands. “Don’t let me stop you.”

You already did.

Once in her room, Trina took a long, deep breath. Laughter from outside reached the balcony. She walked to the door and watched the party from above. Wade was easy to spot, or maybe her radar had already dialed him in. He was laughing beside a few friends while over a hundred other people stood in small groups, socializing. It surprised her that there weren’t more people vying for his attention. A celebrity of his standing almost always had a crowd trying to interrupt. This was obviously not that group of people.

She turned away from the open balcony door to use the bathroom before gathering her sweater from the back of a chair. She sat on the edge of her bed and removed her lip gloss from her purse. Two swipes of the tiny brush, and she tucked it away and placed her bag back on her nightstand. As she did, she knocked her plugged-in cell phone to the floor.

When she picked it up, the screen turned on and caught her attention. Three messages lit up.

All of them were from Lori.

Call me!

It’s urgent!

Left a message on your voicemail. I’m flying out now, call Sam.

A chill ran down Trina’s spine. Lori never cried wolf. The woman was always calm and collected—cold, even. Trina fumbled with her phone until she found Lori’s message. She’d called six hours ago.

“Trina, it’s Lori. Don’t panic.” Only it sounded like Lori was unnerved. “It’s Avery. She’s okay . . .” Lori cleared her throat. “Call me as soon as you get this message.”

Trina started to shake.

She dialed Lori, ended up on her voice mail. Without leaving a message, she called Sam. When she picked up, Trina jumped on her. “What happened?”

“We’ve been trying to get ahold of you for hours.”

“What happened, Sam?”

Sam paused. “Avery was attacked . . .”

Wade saw Trina cut through the crowd, her eyes scanning everyone. Her smile was gone, as was his hat that he’d placed on her head hours before. She had her purse tossed over her shoulder and she held a sweater like she was leaving.

Something was wrong.

“Excuse me.” He stopped the conversation midsentence and hustled to Trina’s side.

She noticed him several yards out and met him halfway.

“What’s wrong?”

Her lip quivered. “I gotta go. I need a ride to the airport.” She was close to tears.

He placed both hands on her shoulders. “Slow down. What happened?”

“I need to leave now, Wade. It’s Avery. She’s in the hospital. I’m sorry. Can I borrow your truck? Or Jeb can drive me to the airport. Anything . . .”

“Take a deep breath, baby.” He grasped her hand and started toward the house.