thumb on the bar for a moment as if he were making a decision, and turned to me, “and Maggie can’t have kids. Don’t tell anyone about that, though.”
“Oh, man, I’m sorry to hear that. Did she want kids? You guys could always adopt.”
“She’s not interested in kids. She’d prefer to travel and work. She’s not a very maternal person, except when she’s taking care of her mom.”
“How is her mom doing?”
“Eh, she has her days. She recognized us when we first came back, but once in a while, she won’t know us. I gotta tell you, Maggie does better with it than I do.”
“She’s had more time to get used to it.”
“Do you ever get used to the fact that your parent doesn’t recognize you?”
“Okay, so maybe not. That sucks.”
“Yeah, it does, but Maggie rolls with it. Sometimes she gets a little sad, but she deals with it pretty well.”
“She’s a pretty awesome woman. I look forward to getting to know her better.”
“Yeah, well, if things work out for you with this dancing girl, maybe we can have you all over for dinner.”
“Let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
After that, Greg and I turned the conversation over to work and moved to a table to eat. I didn’t think about the illustrious dancer again until I was crawling in bed.
As I closed my eyes, her bright-green eyes carried me toward my dreams, and the memory of the feel of her body made me wish she were here with me. Maybe I was turning into a sap in my old age.
The next morning, I dressed and headed down to the dance studio at my appointed time. It was time to find out if I had made the next round.
As soon as I entered, I was whisked away to one of the rooms to do makeup, and then they started recording right from the front door as if I had just come in.
Tarin hugged me on camera. “Did you enjoy yourself yesterday?”
“I did.”
“What was your favorite part?”
“Looking into her eyes and seeing her smile up at me.”
“Did you feel like you connected with her?”
“Surprisingly, I did. I didn’t expect that, but the minute I looked down at her, I felt a spark.”
“Well, are you ready to find out if she felt the same way?”
“I am.”
“Alright, head up the stairs, and at the top, there will be three boxes. Your box is number one. I can’t wait to see if you have an invitation to come back.”
“Okay, let’s check it out,” I said, and as I started to climb the stairs, a camera crew in front of me, I tried not to let my nerves show. At the top was a long table with three white boxes, each one labeled with a number. I went straight to one and paused as I stared down at it. Oh, please let it be an invite to come back.
I lifted the box and found an envelope under it. I set the box down and picked up the envelope, turning it over to open the flap and remove the card inside. I grinned and read the card out loud. “May I have the next dance?”
I grinned so widely that my cheeks hurt as I turned toward the camera. “Looks like she felt it too!” I held the card up for the camera to see.
As I took the steps down, I practically skipped, and Tarin met me at the bottom of the stairs. “Good news?”
I held the card up. “Looks like I have a hot date next Friday!”
“That’s great! We will see you on Monday to start working on your other routine.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” The cameras cut off, and I found Holly standing off to the side, grinning. I sauntered off toward her. “What are you grinning at?”
“You. I haven’t seen you smile this much in a very long time.” She giggled.
“Whatever, did you all have fun last night?”
She cocked her head to the side. “What are you talking about?”
“I know you went out to dinner with Maggie, Alice, and my date. Did you all have fun?”
“How do you know that?”
“I was out with Greg; he showed me a picture of you all out having fun.” She narrowed her eyes, and I held my hand up. “Before you lose your shit, I don’t know anything else about her—not even her name. It was just a picture around a table. I didn’t even know what she was drinking, and I didn’t try to stalk her to learn more.”