Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“I don’t know who any of those people are,” Keane admitted, taking Miranda’s hand like the gentleman he was. “But you can tell me why Gabe seems to think he’s Gigi’s bodyguard. I would love that story.”
Miranda’s eyes glittered with enthusiasm as they hit the dance floor.
She loved that they fit in with her friends.
It felt right.
She noticed that sure enough, Clancy and Penny were on opposite sides of the dance floor, glaring at each other. They got married after high school but still liked to pretend they were in a teen drama.
Everyone on that dance floor had their own problems. Every single one of them. They all had choices to make.
What were the pros when it came to Garrett and Keane?
Too many to list.
And the cons? She still didn’t know whatever secret Keane was keeping, but she was starting to think she had an inkling. He joked about prison a lot.
If he spent time in jail, he’d learned his lesson. He was forthright and kind. She found him talking to a hand who’d completely screwed up. Keane had been patient with him, teaching him.
She was content if he never wanted to tell her.
So the cons were mostly about her. About the potential for failure and everyone watching her lose again.
Her mother would tell her the only way to lose was to never try again. She could hear her mother’s voice clear as a bell.
“Is this seat taken?”
She looked up and sighed. Scott was here.
She really should have danced.
* * * *
Garrett moved in before Gabe could pounce. Sure enough, the cowboy Gigi was dancing with did have his hand pretty close to her backside, but they did not need another run-in with the sheriff. That’s what they would get if Gabe had his way.
“Can I cut in?” he asked, holding a hand out to her.
“Hey, I’m dancing here,” the cowboy protested.
“Yes, you’ve had her for a while now. It’s time to share her with the rest of us.” He hoped he didn’t have to get mean, but he couldn’t leave her with this guy.
The cowboy frowned his way, but Gigi took the out he was offering her. She put her hand in his and let him lead.
“Thanks so much,” she said, looking up at him with a smile. “He was starting to get a little aggressive. Which is sad because that guy can dance.”
Garrett was well aware he wasn’t the best dancer. He spent his college years studying and working three jobs to get by. Any free time he had he spent driving down to Huntsville to see Keane. He hadn’t had the same college experience many people his age had so he didn’t know all the moves, but he did know how to two-step. If he counted in his head.
“Well, I came to save you so Gabe didn’t,” he admitted. He saw over her shoulder that Gabe had found them, but he held back now that she was with Garrett.
Hopefully he didn’t stalk after the cowboy.
Gigi frowned. “Of course he was mad. If I have the slightest bit of fun, he comes in to stop it. He’s like the big brother I never wanted. My actual brothers are cool. I think it’s because they’re afraid of our mom.”
Gigi’s family sounded fun. He’d come to realize that the grounded, smart young woman who seemed so down to earth was from a wealthy, influential family. Most women in her place would have either worked for the family firm or been content with playing the socialite, but Gigi had gone to nursing school and worked long hours because it was her passion, and she was extraordinary at it.
Of course there were women from wealthy families who found their passion in the companies their parents built. Olivia, for all her stress about it at the moment, loved her job. She wouldn’t want to do anything else.
It was good to be around people who knew who they were and what they wanted.
Except Gabe. Well, Gabe knew he wanted Gigi. But he didn’t think he deserved her. Or he was waiting for something.
Did Gigi know how he felt about her? Because Garrett was certain Gabe did not see her as a sister. “You grew up with him?”
“Our families were close, and unlike Livie and her brothers, they live super close to us so we spent a lot of time together. My cousin Greer even dated his brother John for a couple of years, but they’re friends now.”
“Ooo, are we talking about Gabe?” Miranda two-stepped up to them with her own partner. Keane was a better dancer than Garrett was.
“Yeah, he’s playing the overly protective big brother again,” Gigi said as they moved closer.
“He’s not your brother,” Miranda stated over the music.
“But he thinks he is,” Gigi replied.
So she was clueless. It probably wasn’t his place to change her mind. Gabe obviously wasn’t ready to go after her. He would have a talk with the guy about not butting into her relationships, but she’d wanted this save.