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Everybody is clapping. He is not.
I blow the crowd a kiss before sauntering off. The first thing I do is make a mad dash for the dressing room so I can change back into my street clothes.
The entire time, my hands shake from anxiety.
I’ve got no idea what to say to Dillan or how he’s going to react once I get out there.
The devil leans in, a mischievous grin on his face. He’s so done with you, he whispers, voice dripping with a wicked delight.
The angel remains silent.
What, now you’re on a coffee break? Classic.
Taking a moment to steel my nerves, I breathe deeply and remind myself that I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. If Dillan has a major issue with how I supported myself in the past, well, we’ll likely have a much longer discussion about what that means for our relationship.
I’m not going to allow anyone to make me feel shame or regret, because the truth is, I don’t feel either.
When I step out onto the main floor, Dillan stands off to the side, his hands shoved into his pockets. Head held high, I take another calming breath before walking over to greet him.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying my best to play it cool.
He pulls his hand out of his pocket and holds up my phone. “You left it at home, so I thought I’d bring it to you.”
“Thanks.” I take the phone and shove it into my back pocket. “I didn’t realize you knew where I worked.”
“I didn’t. Mrs. Loughty told me. I went to your old place to try and catch you before you left, but I guess I just missed you. She saw me and told me you worked here.”
Good old Mrs. Loughty, I think to myself. I keep staring into his eyes. Heavens, what is he thinking? Does he hate me? He’s hard to read.
I realize he doesn’t have Isaac with him. “Where’s the baby?”
“Mrs. Loughty offered to watch him for me while I came here. We figured it wasn’t exactly appropriate for me to bring him.”
“Fair enough.”
There’s tension between us, and I don’t know how to handle it.
How mad is he?
Dillan still hasn’t shown one way or another how he feels about all this, and his silence is almost worse than yelling. I would have preferred he yelled because then, at least, I would know how to respond.
I glance around at the men hooting and hollering at the girl on stage. “Come on, let’s go somewhere quiet to talk.”
I motion for Dillan to follow me and lead him through the employee door into the back. Since most people are out on the floor or stage, it’s relatively quiet, so we have some privacy.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks when I turn to face him.
“I haven’t danced since I found out I was pregnant. I’ve been waitressing on the main floor. Today was a one-time thing. Marlene needed me to fill in for a bit before the next dancer was able to take over. I was not going to get undressed, as you probably noticed. I was going to call you to let you know but…”
I point to my cell. It goes without saying that I couldn’t call him without my phone.
“You could have used someone else’s phone?”
“Oh…” Damn, he’s right. “Yes, of course…I’m so sorry.”
