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She waltzes over to Freddie, and extends her hand with a flourish. “You, my love, will be dancing with me.”
Freddie places his hand over his heart, and bows his head. “My dear Charly, it has been a pleasure dancing with you.”
I smile, sad to see him go, yet excited to be partnered with someone who can keep up with me.
Gianna leads Freddie to the front of the room, and claps. “Charly, you have a new partner joining us tonight. I have a feeling you’ll be very pleased with his abilities.”
I gesture to the others. “But everyone’s paired up.”
She winks as the door at the front of the studio swings open.
And my mouth flaps open.
Bryce steps through the doorway, but I almost don’t recognize him. His hair no longer hangs down in a tangled mess. It’s several inches shorter, the dark wavy strands falling to his ears. His beard isn’t completely gone, but it’s a closer shave like a neat yet overgrown five o’clock shadow. His black button-up shirt hugs his muscles, with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, and his charcoal grey slacks strain against his thighs. He towers over everyone else in the room, their eyes glued to him as he moves in a direct path toward me. Some of them stare down at his cane with a questioning gaze.
Bryce flashes me a wide grin, and my knees go weak. Heat surges through my veins, and my heart thrashes against my chest with each step he takes.
My hands tremble as he stops inches from me. “What are you doing here?”
He leans in and places a lingering kiss on my cheek. “I’m your new dance partner. Didn’t you hear?”
“I thought you didn’t like to dance.”
“For you, I can like anything.” He cuts a quick glance at Gianna. “I’ve been learning.”
Gianna smiles. “He wanted to surprise you, Charly. I’ve been giving him lessons to get him caught up with the rest of the class.”
Murmurs, gasps and awws sound throughout the room. I blink up at Bryce, still stunned and unsure of how, and why, and what’s going on.
He wraps his arm around my waist, drawing me close to him so that only I can hear his whispered words. “You said you wanted a better partner to dance with. Do I fit the bill?”
God, does he fit the bill. “You continue to surprise me every day.”
Gianna starts the music, and we take our positions facing one another. My head is still in a fog over the fact that Bryce is standing in front of me, dancing—that he’s been taking secret lessons because I expressed to him one time that my partner wasn’t as good as I’d hoped he’d be. It’s things like this that set Bryce apart from anyone else I’ve known. Things like this that show me how much he cares. How much I mean to him. How attentive he is.
It’s things like this that make me feel like I’m teetering on the edge of falling.
Bryce sends me out for a spin, and pulls me back in, my body flush against his as I move my hips to the beat. “I was worried I’d have a hard time moving with my cane, but Gianna taught me the most important rule about dancing: My job is to make the woman look good, because no one’s really looking at me.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I peek around him, catching several women’s eyes on Bryce’s ass. “People are definitely looking at you.”
His eyes never leave mine. “As long as you’re looking at me, that’s all I care about.”
I thread my fingers through his hair. “I like this new look.”
“You mean you’re not disappointed that the Beast turned back into a human?”
I giggle. “I’m far from disappointed. You look incredible.”
“So do you.” His large palms smooth down my sides. “I like this dress.”
“Your grandmother bought it for me the first time she took me shopping.”
“It’s very sexy.” He drags his knuckles across my bare skin peeking out of the keyhole cutout just below my breasts, sending a shiver through me. “You are very sexy.”
“Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Holden? Is that why you’re really here tonight?”
He twirls me again, a devilish gleam reflecting in his black irises. “I didn’t think you needed seducing.”
