Book Blitz and Giveaway! IMPERFECT by Holly Carr

Belatedly comprehending that her shock must have registered on her face, Sam placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to relax. A smile came tentatively to her face, but Alex’s returned expression was more distracted than anything. They began swaying in time to the music as he finally spoke.

‘Sorry if you didn’t want to dance,’ he apologised. ‘I didn’t want to talk to anyone else, and this seemed like a good way to keep people from interrupting.’

Sam shook her head. ‘Don’t apologise,’ she reassured him. ‘I like to dance. You just surprised me.’

Alex’s answering smile was more convincing than his last attempt. She became aware of his closeness as they moved through the throng, her thoughts straying back to their kiss. Her lips, jawline and neck were cool and tingling, contrasting against the rest of her heated skin. She felt vulnerable, like the private sensation on her skin was visible to him in some way.

Was he thinking about their kiss too, or was he preoccupied with their failed mission? Surprisingly, he soon revealed he was thinking about neither.

‘Where did you learn to tie such a perfect a Windsor knot?’ he asked.

Sam’s answering laugh was perhaps a tad giddy. She was relieved he hadn’t picked up on her neediness. ‘YouTube,’ she said. ‘My husband was terrible at it, so I had to learn how to do it for him. He claimed having little hands helped me, but really I think he just didn’t have the patience.’

She’d mentioned Logan without thinking, and almost stepped on Alex’s foot when her words caught up with her. She rarely spoke about her lost love, let alone so casually. The ease of her intimate admission overwhelmed her so much she almost missed Alex’s surprise entirely. He’d gripped her hand a little tighter at the word ‘husband’, and she prayed he wouldn’t focus on her slip. To her relief, he didn’t mention it.

‘You do have small hands,’ he mused after a small pause. ‘And long fingers, come to think of it. Do you play an instrument?’

Sam chose to fall back on humour to mask how off balance she still felt. ‘That depends on your follow-up questions,’ she said. ‘Are you going to ask me to audition for your band, or are you just in the mood for a soulful rendition of “Three Blind Mice” on the recorder?’

Alex laughed out loud at this, attracting the attention of a few other couples around them. One woman seemed especially interested in their joke, forcing her dance partner to turn around so her back was no longer to Alex.

She was unpleasantly attractive, in the sort of way that was a little too well groomed. Her thin body was perfectly draped in an expensive silk dress, and her impeccably dyed and coifed hair was crowned by a fascinator Sam was sure at least one animal had died to contribute to.

The woman smiled predatorily at Alex, her talon-like nails gripping the shoulder of her dance partner a little tighter. Fine lines crossing her hands made a mockery of her too smooth face. She seemed decidedly more used to looking down her nose at people than smiling at them, however obnoxiously.

‘Alex,’ she said, nodding condescendingly.

Sam realised they knew each other, and she swiftly looked back at Alex.

He’d stopped dancing, his hand going limp and clammy in hers. His face was similarly slack with shock, and she suspected he wasn’t breathing. Whoever this woman was, Alex wasn’t pleased to see her.

The unpleasant woman’s smile widened at his obvious discomfort, and she pointedly turned her gaze to Sam. She sneered a little while looking the younger woman up and down, evidently not impressed with what she saw. Feeling defensive, Sam reminded herself she preferred to dress according to her own tastes, and not to suit the demands of current fashion. This skirt was her favourite piece.

‘Bit young for you, isn’t she?’ asked the woman, lazily. ‘Better get her some Botox if you want her to stay that way.’

Still visibly shaken, Alex didn’t respond.

The woman’s dance partner had a chuckle though and turned to smirk at them. His gaze lowered to Sam’s cleavage and lingered a moment, before looking back up at Alex. ‘Not going to introduce us?’ he asked, his face widening into a grin to rival the woman’s.

They both laughed at this, and Alex flinched.

Frightened of his reaction and sick of being sneered at, Sam let her big mouth do what it did best. ‘Excuse me,’ she said sweetly to the woman, gesturing to her fur and feather headdress. ‘Did you know your cat has caught a bird?’