Read Online One True Love (Cupid, Texas 0.5) by Lori Wilde - Free Book Online

things.”
    “Society women don’t have a market on frivolousness,” he said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Maids can be just as frivolous. For instance the young maid who works for the Farnsworths. She’s making a big mistake dating Buddy Grass.”
    “Who says Rosalie is dating him?” I asked. “Just because they’re dancing together.”
    “True enough,” he conceded. “But I see the way she looks at him.”
    The same way I looked at John? I quickly glanced over at Rosalie and Buddy so he wouldn’t see the stark desire on my face for something I could not have. “Is Buddy Grass a bootlegger?”
    “You’re not interested in him yourself, are you?” John sounded alarmed.
    “No.” Couldn’t John see that I only had eyes for him?
    “Stay away from the likes of Buddy Grass,” he growled. “He’s no good.”
    Was he jealous? My heart flip-flopped and I couldn’t stop a smile from plucking at the corners of my lips.
    Many of the spectators had gone home to their dinners, including the Fants and Bossiers. The bleachers were less than half full now and the dancers had dwindled to thirty-two couples. Rosalie and Buddy Grass were among them. We were still a long way from claiming the prize.
    Twilight pushed the sun from the windows of the gymnasium. We were all moving slower now, shuffling instead of lively high stepping. The band members had changed out, bringing in fresh musicians at the last break. The Ladies’ League volunteers had switched out too.
    “May I ask you a question, Millie?” John asked.
    “I’m not going anywhere.”
    “What were your hopes and dreams for the future before your father died?”
    I shrugged. “Same as anybody else, I guess. Get married one day, have children.”
    “Nothing more?”
    “What else is there?”
    “No big dreams? No secret fantasy that you’ve never told anyone?”
    Oh yes. “There’s dreams, Mr. Fant,” I said, “and then there’s reality.”
    He looked amused. “We’re back to Mr. Fant? I thought we got over that a long time ago.”
    “There’s only so many options for the daughter of a silver miner with seven kids. No sense setting yourself up for heartbreak.” Go ahead. Tell it like you believe it. Too late. It was too late not to set myself up for heartbreak. I was already there.
    “You’re smart as a whip, Millie Greenwood, you could be anything you want. A teacher. A nurse. A shop owner.”
    Smart. He’d called me smart. “Those things cost money.”
    “If you wanted to go to school, I’d be happy to send you.”
    “Mr. Fant, you don’t owe me just because my daddy died in your mine.”
    “That’s not the way I’m looking at it.”
    “Isn’t it?”
    “No.”
    “I wouldn’t be here if the mine hadn’t caved in.”
    He didn’t say anything. What could he say? It was true enough. I wished I hadn’t been so blunt, but I had to do something to make him hush. I couldn’t keep dreaming impossible dreams.
    The promoter took the stage, brought that yellow megaphone to his mouth. It was ten minutes until the next break. “Attention, dancers. It’s time for the Runaround. When the band starts playing ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ grab your partner’s hand and start running clockwise around the gym. When the music stops, the last five couples will be eliminated, so you have to hurry, hurry, hurry.”
    The band struck “Rhapsody in Blue.”
    John looked at me and I looked at him and in unison we yelled, “Run.”
    We took off, sprinting ahead of everyone else.
    It was hard enough dancing in high-heeled shoes that were half a size too big for you, but running in them was a whole other story. But we’d beaten everyone else to the punch and we were leading the pack of runners sprinting around the gym. It was a wild and crazy free-for-all.
    One girl tripped and went falling, breaking contact with her partner. A spotter from the sidelines blew a whistle and they were out. John tightened his grip on me. “If you go down, I go down.”
    “I