beard and a baseball hat on backward, his arms covered in colorful ink.
“I’m filming this fun new show. It’s a reality show.” She paused and then spoke the next sentence in a rush. “The guy who was supposed to be in this episode was injured, and I needed a stand-in for him.”
I laughed, never imagining myself on television. “You want me to be in one of your shows? Doing what? Am I just standing around, or do I have lines?”
The man beside her chuckled, and Holly slapped him in the chest with the back of her hand. “No speaking, well, there is some speaking, but what I really need you to do is dance.”
I stared at her, then at the guy, and then turned my focus back to my sister as I cocked my head slightly. “Excuse me? What did you just say?”
She shook her dark hair back and lifted her chin. A clear sign that she was attempting to overcome her nerves. “I said I need you to dance.”
I started laughing and glanced around a bit uncomfortably, wondering if my sister was trying to punk me. Were the cameras on already? “I swear you just said that you need me to dance.”
“Yes, I did.”
My jaw dropped as I stared at her in disbelief. “Are you crazy, Holly? I don’t dance!”
She grabbed my arm as if she knew that the sudden urge to flee from the building was rushing through me. “Wait, Harvey, listen to what I have to say. Please! I really, really need your help. Please!” she begged, her voice getting all soft and sad, and it pissed me off because she knew what that did to me.
“I’m going to give you guys a few minutes,” the other man said and then left, closing the door behind him.
“Why would you for one second think that this would be alright?”
“Oh, come on! It’s not a big deal, Harv. They teach you a dance, and then you dance. You have fun, and then you go on with your life.”
“Why are you asking me to do this? What the hell is this?”
She sighed wearily and took a seat. “It’s called May I Have This Dance. We take one person looking for love and match them with three compatible people. All of them learn the same dance, and then the one person, the female, in this case, dances with all three men—one of which will be you. You don’t see each other until the music starts, and you don’t even talk to one another. You just dance the routine, and when the music ends, you both walk away without a word.”
I laughed. “And what the hell is the purpose of that?”
“Well, these people are looking for love, for a connection with the other person; they are searching for chemistry.”
I laughed harder and crossed my arms over my chest. “You think that people can find love dancing with strangers and never saying a word? I know you are flighty and romantic, Holly, but this is stupid even for you.”
She lurched forward into my face. “This is not stupid, Harvey! This is a chance for someone to find love. It means something to someone—to me—to them. I don’t expect her to choose you—you are far from her type—but I needed someone safe to fill the spot. The guy who was supposed to be here broke his damn leg, and our process to get on this show is intense and has a lot of background checks. I know you’re good and that you aren’t some crazy lunatic, so that’s why I asked you.”
I grunted.
She took me by the shoulders and gave me her damn puppy dog eyes. “Please, Harvey. I needed someone quick, and you are the only person I can count on.”
“Do I really have to dance?”
“Yes, but I have a great choreographer that is going to help, and two professional dancers that are going to assist you in learning the routine.”
“Why can’t one of them do it?”
“Because I need someone real, who doesn’t have professional experience, and who is handsome and could be her type.”
“What is her name?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“What?”
“I can’t tell you her name, and she won’t know yours or the other two men either. You won’t even talk to her; you’ll just dance and then walk away.”
“How long does this take, Holly? I only have the week off from work.”
“It’s just a week. You’ll work on the dance for four days, and on Friday, you’ll have your date with