“That’s the idea.” He held her gaze as she blushed. Then she tucked her face into the crook of his neck, which was just as good because now he could feel her every little breath, which seemed to be coming faster and faster.

Cade could have drowned in the pleasure of it.

We’re awfully close.

It’d been a problem for both of them since the first time they’d met. But he found that he no longer had the will to fight that closeness, that he actually wanted to savor it, go with it. For him, it was like coming out of a dark tunnel, one he’d been in for eight long years. It was like feeling the warmth of the sun on his face after a cold and bitter winter.

His body gravitated toward hers until there wasn’t an inch of space between them as they moved to the music. Her fingers were curled in the ends of his hair, stroking lightly in a caress he wasn’t sure she was even aware of; but he was, so much so that he had to close his eyes. But all that did was intensify everything. The feel of her soft body against his firm one, the easy flow of her movements, the heat those movements generated.

When he rocked, she rocked, and she let out a little sigh, losing the last of her resistance. He nearly groaned out loud. Her touch felt good, too good, and the feel of her arms around him only added to the sweet pain. He buried his face in her hair and held on tight, wondering if she could feel his heart racing, wondering if she knew he was as hard as a rock.

Just then she looked up at him, her gaze filled with wonder, and an awareness that made him catch his breath.

She knew.

Slowly she slid her hips over his. His arousal throbbed.

“Delia.”

In answer, she did it again.

Oh, yeah, she’d definitely noticed.

“I think I’ve got the hang of this slow-dancing thing,” she whispered, drawing back as the music ended. “What do you think?”

He thought she was part witch, part angel. He thought he might haul her off and have his merry way with her in the parking lot. He thought… Oh, hell. He thought he was in love with her. In love with a woman afraid of the word. “I think… I know I want you. Delia, I want you more than I want my next breath.”

“I want you, too, but-”

“The but,” he muttered. “There’s always a but.”

“Sometimes there has to be.”

“I don’t know why.”

“Because this is complicated.”

“There’s another word I don’t like.”

Her expression saddened. “I’m not capable of uncomplicated unattached sex,” she said, and while he wanted to laugh, he couldn’t.

He knew Delia would never give herself without love. But could she love? “What if it’s not just sex?” he asked.

“It’s not anything more,” she said quickly. “It can’t be.”

“Why?”

“Why?” She let out a small laugh that didn’t fool either of them. “What a silly question.”

“Not silly. Answer it.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, obviously scrambling for thoughts. “It’s not more because…because I have too much going on, that’s why. I have my sisters, the ranch, Jacob-”

“Excuses.” Gently he cupped her face. “All excuses.”

“The truth,” she said firmly, but her rapidly rising and falling chest told him the real truth.

She was afraid. He knew that, just as he knew he wasn’t ready to admit his own feelings to her.

Didn’t know if he ever would be.

Jacob called her just then, and Zoe was about to toss her bouquet, and for the rest of the evening, Delia made sure she was too busy to give Cade more than a glance, though glance she did, and often, in a way that made it clear to him she was unsettled and off balance.

Well, good, he thought grimly.

That made two of them.

Delia knew that Cade hoped she would go to his room that night. She also knew that making love with him would be the most sensual erotic experience of her inexperienced life. He was amazingly in tune to her, and so damn sexy her knees went weak if he merely smiled.

He’d opened his wounds for her, had made himself vulnerable. She knew he expected the same of her.

She couldn’t do it. She’d never done it, bared her heart and soul completely, other than that time out by the river where she’d sobbed in his arms. Just thinking about it brought a flush to her face. Of course when she remembered what followed, of how he’d touched and kissed her as though she was the most precious woman on earth, that flush of shame turned into something else entirely. Her entire body tingled at the memory.

Now, without further thought, she might have gone to Cade, might have followed her body’s cravings, if it hadn’t been for the phone call.

It was Scott.

“I’d like to see you before the judge’s ruling,” he said. He sounded surprisingly open and friendly.

She was alone in the office. Zoe and Ty had stayed in Rawlings for their wedding night. Maddie, Edna and Jacob had already gone to bed, and Cade… She had no idea where Cade had gone, only knew that she wasn’t going to easily fall asleep when she remembered that last hungry all-consuming look he’d given her.

Now Scott was on the phone, as pleasant as if they’d never had any harsh words between them. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said.

“Please?” His voice softened even more. “I haven’t been as honest as I could, and I know that. I think we can work this out…”

While she knew Scott hadn’t faced any job repercussions-yet-she had hopes that he would. Did Scott know they’d sent the judge a letter outlining their concerns about him as Jacob’s social worker?

No, he didn’t know, she decided, or he never would have bothered to call her now. “Are you withdrawing your request for custody?”

“I know how much Jacob means to you,” he said. “I’ve seen you with him.”

“He’s my family. So have you, Scott? Have you withdrawn your request?”

“You know, this is too important to discuss over the telephone.”

He was right about that much.

“We’re meeting the judge in two days,” he said urgently. “All I’m asking is that you come in one day early and meet with me. It’s your brother’s future, and yours. But if I’m asking too much…?”

“No,” she said. “Of course not.”

They agreed on a restaurant to meet the night before the judge’s ruling, which meant tomorrow night.

So close, and yet an eternity away.

For a long time after she hung up, Delia sat there alone in the dark office. She didn’t have to be alone. She could seek out Cade, open her heart and spill her worries. He’d welcome her.

She could tell him everything, then ask him to come with her to L.A., and he would, she knew, without hesitation.

But her old fierce independence reared its head. She had to remind herself she didn’t need him, though that was getting more and more difficult. In fact, it was almost a pretense now, because the truth was she did need him. Too much for her own comfort.

She’d deal with that after Jacob, she promised herself. One way or another.