I stared at her, one foot partially in my sneaker. “Are you serious? He watched me leave?”
“Yep, you were gone for a few seconds before he turned and left the floor.”
I was going to tell her she must have remembered it wrong when someone knocked on the door, and Holly popped her head in the room. “I wanted to check on you before you left.”
“Come on in. Holly Melton, this is my friend Charlie Yardley.”
They said hello, then Holly asked her, “What did you think of her dancing?”
“She was amazing. I think she could be a professional if she ever quit cooking.”
“Ha!” I threw my head back and put on my other shoe. “That’s never happening.”
Holly studied me for a moment. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay, just so very confused.”
“Not sure which one to pick?”
“I have no clue which one to choose, and Charlie is not being any help.”
Holly and Charlie both chuckled. “I am being helpful; she just doesn’t want to listen to my advice.”
“What is your advice?”
“Actually, I hadn’t given it to her yet. I was explaining to her that dancer number two was the safe choice, and the first guy was danger and sex—almost predatory.”
Holly barked out a quick laugh. “Well, that’s one way to describe him.”
“Don’t you agree?”
“I can’t really say; I’m the producer of the show, so I can’t give any opinion.”
“But you have to admit that guy number one was much sexier than the second guy, right? The dark looks, the way he moved. Damn, if Ali doesn’t want him, can you hook a girl up?”
“Easy now, Charlie. I haven’t made my decision yet. Don’t go stealing my choices before I do.”
“I’m just saying if you don’t want him.” She cocked her head to the side. “I would photograph him in the jungle.”
“What?” Holly asked, looking baffled.
“She’s a photographer; she does an incredible job of finding just the right background for a subject.” I turned to Charlie. “Where would you put the other guy?”
Charlie considered that for a moment and then laughed. “In a minivan with three kids and a dog in the back seat.”
“Oh, come on, Charlie!” I threw my hands up in the air.
“What? You asked. He’s that safe-looking.”
I rolled my eyes. “Why did I ask you to come? You are no help.”
“Whatever!” Charlie muttered.
Holly put her hand on my arm. “Well, tomorrow afternoon, we will have the footage ready for you, and you’ll be able to watch both the first and second dance that you had with them. Maybe that will help you decide.”
“I really get to see them?”
“Yep.”
“Can I bring Charlie? She didn’t get to see the first round.”
“Sure.”
“That’s great. Maybe that will help me.” I glanced at my watch. “Look, I’d love to stay and chat with both of you, but I need to get to the restaurant.”
“You’re working tonight? It’s almost eight o’clock.” Charlie asked.
“Yeah, but the kitchen is open for another couple of hours, and I need to make sure we are good for tomorrow.”
“Alright, I’ll give you a call tomorrow and let you know when we are ready.”
“Perfect, thank you, Holly. Charlie, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
I was out the door as soon as I said goodbye, and rushing to the side exit so that I could catch a cab. I rounded the corner onto the main street and smashed right into someone, almost hitting them hard enough that I fell back. Just like the last time, a hand grabbed me and kept me from falling. My face snapped up, and I stared into the eyes of dancer number one. Immediately, the world around me disappeared.
“Get your hands off of her right this minute,” I heard a woman say, and then a hand covered my eyes, and two other hands pulled me away.
“I was just trying to keep—” His words became mumbled as if someone had put a hand over his mouth.
“Come with me,” the voice said again, and I realized it sounded like Maggie.
“Are you okay, Ali?” Alice asked quietly from beside me, and I heard one of the men behind us speak.
“Well, if she was going to pick you, she’s not going to now.” There was a lot of laughter.
“I’m okay, thank you.”
“We were told that if we ran into you with him, to make sure he didn’t speak to you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You looked beautiful tonight,” Maggie said and glanced back toward the corner that now stood vacant. “Sorry that we didn’t tell you we were friends with him.”