Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 149209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“I’m not replacing you.” She dropped her arm to her side and reached for his hand. She gave it a friendly squeeze. “I never auditioned anyone else. You were right about the partner swapping; it was stupid.”
He shot her a suspicious stare. “Why the change?”
“I used to bury my guilt about dropping someone for the sake of winning. It never worked. You made me see how pointless it was.” With a little help from Ali and Del.
“You do not seek to replace me? Truly?”
She smiled. “You’re stuck with me.”
Kristoff leveled his mega-watt smile at her. “For days now, I cannot stop from worrying you plan to replace me.” He squeezed her hand. “Thank you. I am happy now.”
“We win or lose together, okay? Besides, maybe we haven’t been winning because we’ve forgotten that dancing isn’t all serious. Maybe…we just need to have fun with it tonight, see what happens.”
Kristoff hesitated, then teased, “Who are you and what have you done with my partner?”
Despite her nerves and her worries about losing Ali, Shanna had to laugh. If nothing else, she’d cemented one important relationship tonight. And damn if it didn’t feel good.
“If we were alone, I’d slug you for that.”
“There is the Shanna I know and adore,” Kristoff muttered.
Just then, the music ended, and the announcer reminded the crowd of their competitors’ names and number. Shanna drew in a relaxing breath. In. Out. They were next.
“Before we go on, I must tell you something.”
“Kristoff, we’re about to be announced.”
“This is true, but—”
“Couple number one hundred three, Shanna York and Kristoff Palavin from Los Angeles, California.”
The crowd’s cheer wasn’t as enthusiastic as Kristoff would like, Shanna knew. She should care, she supposed, but right now, she couldn’t get past the fact that Alejandro had chosen not to use the tickets she’d left him.
Which meant he’d given up on her, she feared for good.
Forcing a smile as the onlookers clapped, she walked onto the dance floor, Kristoff beside her, cradling her palm in his. They struck their pose and waited.
Doing her best to focus on the next three minutes, Shanna plastered on a smile and projected it to the crowd. The music burst over the quiet, Shanna arched, kicked, and turned.
There sat Alejandro.
His face gave away nothing, but the grin that shaped her mouth was her first real one of the day.
He’s here. Here!
And he looked incredible in a black suit, white shirt, and a satiny charcoal tie.
She knew he looked even better out of the suit.
Before she whirled around to face Kristoff again, she flashed Ali a look she hoped communicated just how thrilled she was that he’d come.
Over the next two minutes, forty seconds, she and Kristoff poured their souls into the dance. And he was spectacular, as if some light had been turned on inside him. Relaxed yet crisp. Strong. God, he played to the crowd. He really was incredible. Shanna responded, acting the part of the seductive female to his commanding male in the cha-cha-cha.
No doubt in her mind, they sparkled, shined, brought the WOW to the dance floor. Shanna couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed dancing so much.
When the music ended, she knew they had done their best. Yes, she’d love to win tonight, but if it wasn’t in the cards, they would spend a year living down the scandal and practicing their butts off. They would conquer this trophy next season.
The crowd stood, cheered, their enthusiasm catching. Never before had she felt so liked by the crowd, so connected to them as she and Kristoff bowed.
She turned her head slightly to see Alejandro. He, too, stood and clapped, then bent to whisper into the ear of a small but striking middle-aged woman who shared his eyes. His mother.
Then he turned his attention back to her, fixing burning hazel eyes on her, and Shanna felt the zing and sizzle all the way to her toes.
Damn, she loved that man.
“You and Alejandro?” Kristoff asked as they left the dance floor. “You have a…thing?”
“What?”
“You looked at him as if you cannot wait to devour him, as if you are all his. Or as if he is all yours. Is that true?”
Shanna swallowed a lump of nerves. God, she hoped Alejandro being here meant that he’d forgiven her for running away and being afraid to believe in them… If not, she wasn’t giving up. No more switching partners for her when things got difficult—not professionally or personally.
“That’s my plan.”
“In fourth place…” the announcer droned, and Shanna listened long enough to realize her name hadn’t been announced, then clapped politely.
This was usually the part of the event that made her most nervous. How many times had she stood at the corner of the stage, trying not to pass out, praying she would not be disappointed by failing to grab the trophy again, only to hear her name announced long before the first place winner’s? How many times had she trotted out her plastic smile, like third place thrilled her, while feeling crushed inside? Too many.