myself—which wasn’t too far off.
I glanced at the screw again. “Alright, so maybe you are watching, and you can hear me, if not whoever is watching might think I’m crazy, but this is the only way I know how to talk to you right now.”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know why you did what you did last night. Maybe I pushed you too hard, or maybe you had a weak moment and gave in. Who knows. I guess it doesn’t particularly matter; you did it for your own reasons. I might never know what they were or why you demanded that I leave, but I have to respect your wishes.”
I paused for a second. “I wondered for a long time this morning if maybe I had been the only one to feel it, and that’s why you kicked me out.” I sighed after a moment. “I thought you had, but I guess I was fooling myself. See, that’s part of my problem. I think that when I feel something, someone else might too. That’s why I decided to do this stupid dancing show anyway. I thought maybe without words, with just movement, I might find someone who was perfect for me.”
I thought over what I wanted to say next. “I sure thought I did. I mean, I know I told you that I was sorry and that I had chosen wrong, but what Blake and I had on the dance floor was exactly what you had said, it was safe. It was also very wrong. He isn’t the one that I want. He never really was. I want sexy and exhilarating, and a man who can make my toes curl with a kiss and someone who can make me scream their name.”
I pulled my bottom lip under my teeth as I felt my cheeks warm; that is exactly what he had done to me. I kept my eyes down on my task as I continued. “I wanted a man who wouldn’t try to make me change but would help me find ways to adapt my life into theirs. Someone who appreciated how hard I worked for my career and who saw eye to eye with me.”
I set the knife down and stared at the camera lens. “I found that. I found it in you, Harvey. I should never have picked Blake, but what you don’t know is that I broke it off with him several days ago, and today when the show airs, the entire world will know that I chose wrong. I should have gone with my heart and not my head. I should have chosen you, Harvey. I should have told you that I wanted the next dance with you, and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one that lasts forever.”
I hesitated for a few seconds. “I hope you see this. I hope that whoever sees this will put your ass in a chair and make you watch it. I want what we started on that dance floor. I want what we shared last night so briefly. I want you.”
The back door opened, and I quickly glanced at the camera and whispered, “There is only one more thing for me to say. I want you to come to me, and I want you to ask me for the next dance, Harvey. Can you do that? Will you do that?”
I shifted away as Malick called out my name and said good morning.
“Hey, Malick, how are you this morning?”
He pointed at the ceiling. “Those went up pretty fast.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, they went up last night.”
“How late were you here?” he asked as he came around the counter. “What are we making this morning?”
“Three, and I thought I would do a quiche. Do we have any leftover ham? We could add some of that.”
“Yes, we do, on it, Chef!” he said. With that, I forgot about Harvey, the cameras tucked into every nook and cranny, dancing and the show, and focused on what mattered right now: cooking breakfast and taking care of my kitchen.
Dinner was in full swing when David popped his head into the kitchen. “Ali, you’re on television!”
I glanced at the clock, well, I guess it was on. Too bad I wasn’t going to be able to see it. I’d have to wait until I got home and watch the recording that I had set up earlier this week.
“Um, David, how do you know that I’m on television? Did you get one