Because her attention had been focused elsewhere.
She took a quick glance at her left hand, that naked spot on her finger where just yesterday an engagement ring encircled it.
But she was free now. Free to do . . . whomever she wanted, actually.
“I am most definitely not lost.”
Those full lips of his rose into a smile. “Good.”
She tilted her head to the side, motioning to the guys behind her. “You did that?”
“What?”
“Talked the guys into greeting the guests.”
“Oh. Yeah. I thought it would be a nice touch.”
“You also told them to tell everyone not to mention Owen.”
He shrugged. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Erin.”
“Uh-huh. I think you do.” She finished her glass of champagne.
“You know what I think?” He took the glass from her hand, grasped her hand in his and started walking.
“What?”
Before she knew it, they were in the barn, and he placed her empty glass onto the bar, then led her onto the dance floor.
“I think you need to dance.”
He pulled her against him, his body firm, his hand warm against her back as he led her across the floor. She realized she’d never danced with him before. She’d never felt him like this, either, felt the touch of his hand in hers, the way his other hand swept up and down her back, the assured way his feet moved her across the floor.
The music was a love song. She liked it—a guy telling a woman how beautiful she was, and how perfect he was for her. She sank into the lyrics, the way Jason glided her across the floor. Fortunately, there were other people dancing so she didn’t feel like she was on display. She could enjoy the feel of Jason’s arms around her.
This felt new, and a little bit exciting. And something she deserved after what she’d been through the past few days. She lifted her gaze and focused on Jason’s face.
She’d never noticed the way his gaze met hers, with such unabashed . . . heat.
Wow. Being in Jason’s arms had lit a fire under her that she so desperately needed right now.
The song wrapped around her, enveloped her, making her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time. She realized she’d been invested in her wedding and planning and flowers and dresses, and she’d been running a hundred miles a minute and hadn’t taken any time to even feel excited, to feel any romance. Was that what had gone wrong? Had she pushed the romance aside to become some kind of bridezilla with her own wedding?
The only thing she could remember feeling lately was the utter devastation over being dumped, and sinking into that embarrassment and devastation.
Now, though? Now she felt something here in Jason’s arms and it was damned exciting.
When the song ended, they stayed where they were.
“It’s your night, Erin,” he said, his hand smoothing along the bare skin of her back, making her tingle in places that hadn’t tingled in longer than she could remember. “You can have whatever you want.”
She thought she’d had everything she wanted. She’d been wrong about that. But in this moment, new doors were opening for her, and she planned to walk through them.
“What if I want you?”
His brow arched. “On the dance floor? In front of all these people?”
She laughed. “I think I’ve caused enough gossip for the rest of the year.”
She walked off the dance floor and Jason followed. On the way out of the barn, she grabbed another glass of champagne.
“How about something to eat?” he asked. “There’s some amazing food.”
“Did you eat?” she asked.
“A little.”
She turned, walking backward as they made their way toward the vineyards. “You should go eat some more.”
“Yeah? And where are you going?”
She had no idea, other than she needed to keep moving. Standing still meant she might actually stop and think about what would happen tomorrow after this was all over with.
What would happen tomorrow?
Don’t think about it. Don’t stop.
Plus, the evening was beautiful. No wind, the sky was clear, the stars were out, and she felt numb, and also kind of awesome. She couldn’t feel her nose anymore, thanks to the champagne. Wasn’t that amazing?
She kicked off her heels and wandered into a row of grapes. “I never wanted to grow grapes. It seemed like a lot of work. But I like keeping track of the money aspect, and what grapes we’re growing, how much we bottle and the client aspect of the wine business. Same with the wedding side.”
She took a sip of champagne. “I didn’t want to manage the planning of the weddings. Honor’s good at the people part of that, and dealing with florists and caterers and jittery brides-to-be. But I like doing budgets and schedules and ensuring we make money. So my sisters do all the work, and I take care of the business side.”
“Seems to me you do plenty of work. Juggling between the winery and the wedding business keeps you plenty busy.”
“I guess.” She stopped and tilted her head back. “The stars are beautiful tonight. Would have made for a nice wedding day.”
“He’s an ass, Erin. He doesn’t deserve you.”
She inhaled, then let it out. “No, he sure as hell doesn’t.”
She finished off her glass and let her hand drop to her side, then turned to Jason. “We should have sex.”
His lips curved. “Here? In the vineyard? I dunno, Erin. That’s a damn nice dress you’re wearing. I’d hate to see it get dirty.”
She knew what he was doing. “I don’t mind dirty.”
She heard his sharp inhale, liked the sound of it, liked even more that it had to do with her. When was the last time she’d felt desired? Owen had been distracted. They hadn’t had sex in . . .
She wrinkled her nose. Hell, she couldn’t remember. That was pretty bad, wasn’t it? People who loved each other should have sex. Even people who didn’t love each other had sex. Sex was fun. She should have sex now that she was single again. Lots of fun sex.
She leaned against Jason. “I’m desirable, right?”
“Damned desirable, Erin.”
“Let’s leave and go somewhere else. Get naked.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Really. You don’t think sex with me is a good idea.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“Then what did you say?”
“I said tonight is not a good idea. Your heart is hurt, and you’ve been downing a ton of champagne, and I’m not the kind of guy who takes advantage of that.”
Well, damn.
“Fine.”
She closed her eyes and thought about how much fun that could have been.
Fun. She needed some damn fun. And a really good revenge fling. And who better to do that with than Jason?
She lifted her gaze to him. “Then let’s just get out of here.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere but here. I just need . . . some breathing space.”
He nodded. “Sure. But we need to let people know you’re leaving so they don’t think you’ve just disappeared.”