Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

laughed, and at that moment Albert Cray came out onto the stage and sat down on the stool that had been placed there, tuning his guitar and checking his microphone. As Michael looked toward the stage he saw that the floor in front of it had filled up in the last several minutes, and the people standing there had already started to clap and cheer.
    He looked back at Jenna and saw that she, too, was cheering, her eyes on the old man bent over a beat up guitar, tuning it as if he had all the time in the world. Every minute or so he’d glance up and flash a grin at the crowd as the shouts and applause grew louder.
    As Michael settled back in his chair, a feeling of well-being stole over him. It was a beautiful summer night and he was out with a beautiful woman, and the tequila he’d drunk was buzzing through his veins.
    Then Albert Cray straightened up, set his hands to his guitar, and began to play.
    From the very first note, Michael was caught. He found himself leaning forward, watching those old hands moving over the guitar strings, coaxing emotion from the wood with effortless mastery. He sang about love and loss and pain and joy, the urge to ramble and the longing to go home again, and the words echoed with the humor and wisdom of eighty years of life.
    He looked at Jenna, and saw she was leaning forward like he was, her expression rapt. He looked at the crowd of people in front of the stage, some of them dancing, some simply watching and listening.
    He was used to feeling a little separate from other people, a little apart, but he felt unexpectedly connected to everyone in the room right now, to all these strangers gathered together to hear this music.
    People continued to crowd the floor, and after a few minutes their view of the stage was blocked. He rose to his feet and held out a hand to Jenna. Their table was near the stage and it wasn’t hard to edge their way up front. It was crowded, and even though the people all seemed friendly there was some jostling, and it seemed natural to put Jenna in front of him, nearest the stage, and to lay a protective hand on her shoulder.
    The next song was a slow one, the words low and sexy, the rhythm hypnotic. Michael could feel the slight sway of Jenna’s body under his hand. Without thinking he slid his other arm around her waist and pulled her back against him, and he felt her stiffen in surprise for just a moment before she relaxed.
    He held her lightly, but they fit perfectly together. He closed his eyes and breathed in her fragrance, wishing he could bury his face in her hair.
    The music seemed to flow through both of their bodies.
    Jenna had never been so aware of another human being. When Michael’s arm slid around her waist she wanted to turn around and kiss him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her life.
    But even though he was a different person, he represented the same kind of danger to her that Derek once had. He could pull her off track, make her change course. And she’d promised herself after Derek that she would never make a major decision because of a man.
    She had plans for her life that didn’t include falling for a handsome doctor who lived in the town where she’d grown up. A doctor with a fourteen year old daughter who wanted nothing more than to play matchmaker for them.
    So Jenna didn’t turn around. She stayed where she was, letting Albert Cray’s ageless voice roll over her like water—like the waves of desire that made her very, very glad that Michael couldn’t see her flushed face or hear the pounding of her heart.
    And because she knew there’d be no reason for the two of them to be this close again, she let herself revel in the contact, in Michael’s strong arm around her, his hard chest behind her. She let herself revel in the sensation of being protected, even cherished.
    And desired.
    He was careful to avoid contact below the belt, but not careful enough. A few times she felt the brush of his arousal against her, and the sensation made her legs tremble and her stomach clench.
    They stayed like that for the rest of the show. The crowd called Albert Cray back for two encores before he took his final bow, and only then did Michael take a step away from her. As the two of them stood side by side, cheering, she ached to feel his touch again.
    Eventually the crowd quieted, settling into bar stools and drinks and conversation. Jenna looked up at Michael, meeting his eyes for the first time since the show started. His