Free Promises Under the Peach Tree (Harlequin Superromance) by Joanne Rock Page B

if the guy thought he was going to steal a good-night kiss after one dance, he had another think coming.
    Mack stared him down.
    “Right. Great seeing you, Nina.” Kaleb stepped back. Nodded. “Mack.”
    As the guy strode off to retrieve his dog, Mack held a hand out to Nina.
    “Sorry to interrupt if you were having fun. Can I still have this dance?”
    “Mack.” She closed her eyes for a second and Mack could almost hear her telling herself “Turn around.” But then she opened her eyes and nodded. “Just one.”
    He never dreamed he’d have the chance to hold her again, so for a split second he just stared, taking in the moment and the woman. He must have hesitated a moment too long, though, because she narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice.
    “You asked me, you know. You can’t change your mind now.”
    “Hell, no. I haven’t changed my mind.” He put his hands on the curve of her waist where a pink sheer blouse met the band of her jeans. He drew her closer and she lifted her arms to slip around his neck, the action stirring a hint of her fragrance.
    It wasn’t the same citrus-sweet scent of the past. This perfume was more complex.
    “What are we doing?” she asked.
    “Saving you from Kaleb?”
    “More like saving Kaleb from me.” She rolled her eyes. “What the hell is he doing out dancing on a Saturday night when he has young kids at home?”
    “My sister told me he got divorced last year.”
    “Right. That’s what he told me, too. So on his weekend with his kids he hires a sitter?” She shook her head. “It’s almost as bad as dumping your kid with a grandparent and never returning.”
    There had been a time when Mack would have kissed the top of her head or given her an extra squeeze to comfort her when she made a comment like that. Now, fighting the urge to do both, he kept his eyes on hers and tried not to dwell on how perfectly she still fit in his arms.
    “Have you seen your folks much over the years?” Her father was an entrepreneur who’d made a tidy sum in a dot-com venture, and her mom had lived off a small trust fund until she’d met Rick Spencer and then wealthier husband number two whose name Mack had forgotten.
    “My mother called me after Olivia ran off with the hotel magnate and asked why I hadn’t been the one to elope with a billionaire.” She stepped closer to him to avoid a couple of giggling kids chasing each other through the dancers and then racing back toward the playground equipment near the gazebo.
    “Leave it to your mom to be a source of support in a crisis,” he muttered, pissed off for Nina’s sake.
    “That’s not totally fair of me, I guess.” She plucked at the edge of his shirt collar absently while she spoke. “Mom was a good customer, with a standing order for cupcakes on all my half siblings’ birthdays.”
    A good customer didn’t make a good mother, but of course, Nina was well aware of that. Besides, Mack didn’t really want to talk about her family or her business.
    “Sorry I didn’t show up for the meeting last week about the Harvest Fest.” She quit playing with his collar, probably only just becoming aware that she’d been doing it.
    The back of his neck tingled.
    “I’d only asked you about it that morning. You’d mentioned you might not be able to be there. No big deal.” Although it pleased him that she was committing to the festival. Romantic history aside, Nina was a hard worker.
    “I felt terrible that Bethany made the trip out to the farm to bring me the notes.”
    “Don’t.” He’d tried not to take sides in his brother’s marital problems, but it wasn’t easy when he heard only one half of the arguments. “She finds reasons to stay busy so she can avoid Scott. And I don’t think either of them realize how deeply it’s affecting Ally.”
    “I saw Ally earlier tonight and she barely waved at me when I said hello. She looked really unhappy.” Nina frowned. “For that matter, they all seem really unhappy. I