Free Loving Rowan by Ariadne Wayne Page B

hadn’t seen before. I hoped it was me who had put it there.
    “I’m so glad you had a wonderful day, Charlie. I am so happy for you and Andrew.” Rowan sounded so enthused, I could almost believe the words.
    I led her away, Charlie still watching us. Her mouth hung open at what she’d witnessed, and I caught a glimpse of Andrew approaching her out of the corner of my eye, too. I couldn’t wait for her to tell him what she’d seen.
    We sat for a while, just drinking wine, and I was sure Rowan was acting flirty around me now. It was so hard to tell with her; she was looking at me under her eyelashes, the little smiles, and her cheeks pinking as we spoke. She looked up when the DJ announced a special song from the groom to the bride. As they started playing some old Kiss song, she looked back at the table, suddenly not so happy.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    “I’m fine.”
    “Want to dance again?”
    She looked up, and her eyes were sad, as if she were mourning the loss of something. Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked at me for a moment before smiling. “You know, I think I might like that.”
    I grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her to her feet and onto the dance floor. The bride and groom both stared at us, but I ignored them, twirling Rowan around as she laughed. I pulled her closer, moving us around the room to the sound of the music. It didn’t matter that anyone else was there—all I saw was her. She was happy and smiling, and so very beautiful.
    When the music stopped, she closed her eyes for just a moment before breaking out into a huge smile. Opening them, she looked at me. “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. Any time you want to dance, you know where to find me.”
    She was so close I could hear her breathing accelerate as we stood looking at each other, and I slid my hand down her back. “Kyle,” she whispered.
    I couldn’t help it. On the dance floor I kissed her again. Her lips were warm and welcoming, and I felt her tongue press against mine in gentle, tentative moves. She had kissed me back before, and she was doing it again. Now to persuade her that I wanted to take the next step.
    “That was Charlie and my favourite song when we were kids,” she whispered when we broke apart, and suddenly it all made sense. The sad look when it played. It wasn’t their song; it was never their song. Andrew had taken something that meant a lot to Rowan and Charlie, and taken it for them. Without realising, I had made it ours.
    As we turned to step off the dance floor, Andrew and Charlie stood watching. He had that angry look on his face again, and I made sure to give him a friendly smile.
    I win.

Chapter Seventeen
Rowan
    T he evening had been even more amazing than I’d thought it would. When that song had started up, I couldn’t believe that Andrew could do that to me. He didn’t even like it, yet here he was, playing it as something special for him and Charlie. Kyle had turned the room upside down as we danced, and as he spun me around the dance floor, I laughed at the thought that we had claimed it from them.
    And then he’d kissed me. Twice. In front of anyone who might be looking, and especially Andrew and Charlie. His kiss had set my body ablaze, my cheeks burning at the spectacle we must have been, my heart racing at the touch of his lips on mine.
    Afterwards, he led me to the car, laughing all the way.
    “Did you have a good night?” he asked.
    “Better than I’d expected.”
    “Why was that?” We’d got to the car and we stood in the moonlight just looking at each other. Around us people were leaving, and I laughed.
    “Thank you for the dancing,” I said.
    “Is that all?”
    I rolled my eyes as he opened the car door. “I had a very pleasant evening. Thank you, Kyle.”
    He closed the door behind me, and walked around to the driver’s side.
    “You’re very welcome,” he said.
    I didn’t know what to say all the way home. I took a peek at Kyle as we drove onwards. He was