But it stopped and applause rippled around them.

Nathan finished the turn and brought them to a halt, his eyes lit with something like the same elation she felt. “You make a good partner in all kinds of situations,” he said.

Her delight dimmed at his ambiguous words. All the realities of the situation crashed back into her.

“I see those dance classes your mother forced you to take weren’t wasted.” General Trainor walked up to them, his arm around Angel’s waist. He smiled at Chloe. “The mothers of all the teenage girls got up the money to start a dancing class, but they needed partners. So the teenage boys got to attend free, which made their mothers apply serious pressure.”

Nathan didn’t smile. “Once we found out we were not only allowed, but expected, to put our arms around the girls, it wasn’t so hard to persuade us.”

Chloe smiled for him. “I can imagine the hormones raging in that room.”

“My cousins Brenda and Sally went to that class,” Angel said. “They spent half their time moving the boys’ hands back up to their waists.”

Chloe slanted a glance up at Nathan. He still refused to smile. When she looked back at Angel, the other woman gave her an almost imperceptible shrug, as if to say they had both tried their best.

Fortunately, another couple came to speak with the newlyweds, so Chloe tugged Nathan off the dance floor.

“You know, I actually enjoyed dancing with you,” she said. “Until you ruined it by making it about your father.”

Although he didn’t flinch, she could tell that she’d startled him. “It wasn’t about my father when we were dancing.” He stroked his thumb over the skin on the inside of her wrist. “I wanted to waltz you right out of the room and into a closet where I could lock the door and have you up against the wall.” His voice was low and intense.

“That was only because you thought you were winning the dance contest.” But his touch and his words sent a streak of electric arousal up her arm and back down low in her belly.

“No, it was because your body and mine were perfectly attuned. I could practically feel your thoughts through my hands. I wanted to be inside you with that happening.”

Chloe swallowed hard as his words vibrated through her, spinning into a tightly coiled ball of sheer desire between her legs. “Where’s that closet you mentioned?” she managed to choke out.

His thumb went still as his grip on her hand tightened. “I can find one in sixty seconds flat.”

For a moment she was tempted. Their time was running out and she wanted to store up memories. She glanced around and caught sight of Ed and Ben, talking earnestly to a group of uniformed men and women. She shook her head. “Maybe later. Right now, we have to be good guests.”

“I see I’ll have to ply you with champagne.”

Raising her eyes to his face, she nearly went up in flames in the heat of his gaze. “Totally unnecessary. Just dance with me again.”

He smiled with a wicked edge. “Don’t they say dancing is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire?”

“Except we’re planning to stay vertical with our desire.”

“We’re very adaptable that way.”

Chloe’s phone shrilled in the special tone reserved for calls from Grandmillie. One small, selfish part of her wanted to cry out in disappointment at the interruption of this hot and sexy banter with Nathan. But her heart twisted with fear as she fumbled at the catch of her handbag. Grandmillie knew where she was. Only an extreme emergency would cause her to call Chloe.

“It’s your grandmother,” Nathan guessed as he scanned her face. The hungry glint in his eyes faded as concern took its place.

She nodded as she swiped her finger across the phone’s screen and lifted it to her ear. “Grandmillie? Are you okay?”

“It’s Lynda. I’m at the hospital with Millie. She didn’t want me to call you, but I thought you’d want to know.”

Chloe reached out blindly to take Nathan’s hand as the word hospital walloped her with dizzying force. He closed his fingers around hers in a comforting grip.

“Thank you for overruling her.” The buzz of conversation was making it hard to hear her neighbor’s voice. “Wait, let me find a quieter place to talk.”

Without a word, Nathan put his arm around her waist and led her toward a side door. It opened into an empty hallway. He released her and pulled the door closed, shutting out the noise.

“I’m here,” Chloe said. “What happened?”

“She blacked out and fell again. She called me when she came to because she didn’t want to bother you at the wedding. Since it’s Saturday, I took her to the hospital. She’s awake and speaking clearly, so there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage. The doctor says she’ll be okay.”

“This is the second time in two weeks,” Chloe said, rubbing at her chest as though she could unravel the knot her heart was clenched in.

“That’s why I thought I should call. I made her give me her cell phone so it would do that special ring. I practically had to wrestle it out of her grip.”

“Lynda, you are so wonderful.” Chloe could barely speak through the tears of appreciation.

“Hey, Millie’s been great to my kids. If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have found out about Joey’s problems with the third-grade bullies.”

“I don’t know if she told you, but I’m in North Carolina right now. I’ll get back as soon as I can.” Guilt crashed over Chloe. Nathan would insist on taking her back to New Jersey. He might not see his father again for another two years.