Jake and I discussed business for about an hour, and we decided that I would head it up since it was another humanitarian mission to deliver more medical supplies. Greg and Maggie would be going with me—the first one that she would officially be going on—and Brett, Wyatt, and Drake would also be coming along.
I glanced at my watch. “I gotta get going. Today is the dress rehearsal.”
He shook his head as he laughed. “What time is this competition tomorrow?”
“Not sure, but I’ll let you know.”
“Go break a leg or something.” He waved me out of his office as his desk phone rang.
I turned my computer off and grabbed my keys from my desk before I stopped by Maggie’s office. “I hear you are going with us on our next trip.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Are you serious? Did he just tell you that?”
“He did.”
Maggie jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around me. “Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me, thank Jake.”
“Are you dancing with my woman again?” Greg asked from the door as I stepped back from Maggie.
“I get to go!” she said excitedly.
“Go where?” He looked confused.
“On the mission next month.”
“Ah, good stuff.” He grinned at her as she rushed past him and down the hallway.
“How come you got a hug, and I got brushed past?” Greg asked as she disappeared down the hallway.
I snickered. “Because I gave her the good news. What are you doing here? Why aren’t you teaching the class today?”
“I had to come by and pick something up. Our handouts were missing. Alice made new ones for me.”
“Ah, how is the class going?”
“Probably better than your dancing.” He slapped me on the back as we headed toward the front door.
“Hey, now! I’ll have you know that I’m a good dancer.”
He chuckled. “How is it going?”
“Well, I’m about to head out and do the dress rehearsal. So far, I have been doing pieces of it; now I’m going to do the entire thing a few times.”
“You think you have it down?”
“Yeah, but I also think one wrong move and I could screw the entire thing up.”
“You’ll do fine.”
“I hope so. You coming to watch tomorrow?”
“I don’t think Maggie would let me miss it.” He grinned.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“You got it.” I waved to Alice, and I was on my way. When I arrived at the hotel where we would be doing the filming the next night, I found myself almost as nervous as I had been last Friday. This was only a dress rehearsal, and I was a nervous wreck. What was I going to be like tomorrow?
I changed into slacks, dress shoes, and a button-down shirt, then joined the crew in the ballroom. I stood there, staring at the dance floor, and my stomach did a flip. What made me think that I could do this, or that doing this would somehow show a woman that I was right for her?
For the first time in almost two weeks, I began to question why I was doing this. Clara joined me, pulling my arm. “You are looking freaked out. Let’s just get out there and let the music flow. You know this, Harv, and you are going to do amazing.”
“If you say so.”
We took our places, and I could feel my knees shaking. I’d never been so nervous in my life. The music started, and we began. We had to stop and redo things the first couple of times, but by the fourth one, I was on a roll. It was smooth, and I was having fun. I could do this, and I just hoped that tomorrow when I did it with my new dance partner, I did it just as well.
“I think you got it,” Clara held her hands up, and I gave her a high five.
“I could not have done this if I didn’t have such a great partner. Speaking of partners, how is she doing with this routine?”
Clara glanced around. “We aren’t supposed to talk about it, but I heard she really nailed it. Which is surprising because she’s not a dancer, but I guess she had some in her blood after all.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“I think you two are going to really do well together,” she whispered toward me. “My money is on you, by the way. I can see you two together and cannot wait to see you two dance this routine tomorrow. It’s going to be spectacular.”