Page 47 of Fools in Love

Chuckling and taking a bow, he turned and disappeared to change into his uniform. He walked out just in time to attend the morning meeting.

“Now that everyone has recovered from the bug,” Aiden said, motioning towards him, “we can get back to regular shifts.” Everyone clapped and he felt his world settle in place a little more.

Nick and Tom worked highway duty that morning. For lunch, he met Kate at the Brew-Ha-Ha for sandwiches.

“I’ve settled on a name,” she said when she walked in. He’d gotten them a couple of pre-wrapped sandwiches and had picked a booth near the front windows.

“Oh?” he asked as she sat down. “Hit me.”

She smiled and leaned forward. “I took your idea and ran it by a few of my friends. They loved the simplicity of it. I’m going to call is Pride’s Dance Studio. Riley thought it should be Kate’s Dance Studio, but…” She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t need my name on it. Besides, Lilly’s come up with a really great design.” She shoved a piece of paper towards him. “For the sign.”

Pride’s Dance Studio was in print. Pride was in smaller text and sat above the larger cursive word Dance, while the word Studio sat under in wide bold lettering. The design was both simple and elegant.

“I love it,” he told her. “It’s perfect.”

Kate happily bounced a couple times on the seat and pulled the design back towards her. “I’m heading over to order the sign after lunch. Lilly has a hook-up in Edgeview that can make this and install it. She claims it can be done by Monday. Which…”—she bit her bottom lip and looked at him—“will be my official first day.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Will you be ready?”

She shrugged and leaned back in the booth. He noticed she hadn’t even reached for her sandwich yet. “I’m pretty much ready now. I’m going to make flyers and posters to hang around town describing the classes I’ll have and my schedule. Lilly’s helping with that too. I figure by Monday, I should have enough people signed up to start.”

“Well, if you need help handing them out…” He thought about it. “I’m working all this week and weekend. But I can carry some with me and hand them out to locals if you want. You can drop a bunch off at the schools. Even though it’s summer, they have a bunch of kids in summer school. Most of the small kids attend day care as well, and the parents will see the flyers.”

“That’s a great idea.” She reached over and pulled the meat and lettuce out of the sandwich and nibbled on it.

“You’re eating like a rabbit again,” he pointed out, and she laughed. “Since I’ll be teaching, I have to get back in shape. I’ve gained ten pounds since my injury.”

He ran his eyes over her and realized she didn’t look any different. If anything, she looked happier, healthier, than when he’d first seen her.

“You look good,” he said, taking her hand.

“Thanks, but if I’m going to trust my leg to carry me, I need to get back in shape. Which is why, after I work with Lilly on the flyers and the sign, I’ll be heading to the new place to see how far I’ve fallen.”

He frowned at this bit of news. Sure, she’d been hitting the gym with him, but Pilates and boxing were a far cry from what he knew her old routine was.

“Are you sure you’re ready for it?” he asked, concerned.

She smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything crazy. I know how far to push myself. If I push too hard, it’ll only set me back farther.” She squeezed his hand, and he relaxed a little.

“Maybe I can swing by and watch you practice?”

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and she smiled even more as she nodded. “I’d like that.”

Chapter Sixteen

Kate held onto the barre and rested her bad leg on top of it, stretching it until she felt the tension in her muscles relax. Even though it had been almost three months since she had danced, she hadn’t thought her body would regress this much.

For this first day, she moved through all of the warmups she knew until she’d worked up a sweat.

Even with the knee brace and tape on her bad leg, she was cautious as she began her basic stretches. She warmed up for more than an hour before moving around the floor in a dance she knew by heart.

The music she’d picked as background noise reminded her brain that, at one point, she would have flown across the floor. Her body ached to do so again, but her mind kept her grounded.

Everything was ready for opening day. The mirrors and barres were up, and her dad, her brother, and Tom, when he hadn’t been sick, had all helped convert the two storage rooms into changing rooms. Parker had built little privacy booths with benches and hooks and curtains. Blake Jordan had found some old high school lockers at an auction, which the men had installed in both rooms. She’d painted them warm blue and pink to cover the bright orange they’d been before. Massive wood benches were hauled in for both rooms.

When the door opened, she smiled at Tom as he walked in. He’d changed out of his uniform and was wearing a pair of sweat shorts and a T-shirt. In his hands was a small bouquet of pink roses.

“How’s it going?” he asked, running his eyes over her.