Page 54 of Fire in You

My God, was I that easily readable?

“Even though I know it still fucks with you. It still fucks with me. Italwaysfucks with me, but you were the one hurt. I was the one who screwed up, and yet you still try to protect me.”

I was going to break the arms of my chair.

“And I don’t deserve that,” he said, a muscle flexing along his jaw. “I sure as hell didn’t deserve it then, and I still don’t deserve it now.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I struggled to get air into my lungs. “Brock . . .”

“But I’m going to change that,” he promised, and my eyes flew open. “One day, one day real soon, I will change that.”

Chapter 16

“This . . . this would be so perfect.” With one hand on her protruding belly, Teresa turned in a slow circle. “I can almost see the mirror over here, across the wall. The bars right across from it.”

Avery nodded as she stood next to her friend. “God, this is . . . this is even more than what we expected.”

I allowed myself a small smile as they roamed the cavernous room lit up by industrial overhead lights. We’d already lost the guys. Jase and Cam had disappeared with Brock about five minutes into the meeting.

I stood back and let Avery and Teresa do their thing. There were a couple of more spaces that were empty, but I felt this one would work better since it was large enough to be sectioned into more than one space. I’d already gathered part of the information Brock had requested, pricing other classes in the area and their average class size. As I explained to Brock before, there wasn’t a lot of competition.

“So you think this space would work?” I asked.

Avery glanced over her shoulder, her eyes bright and warm. “Yes. This would definitely work.”

“Some of the spaces we looked at before were literally just rooms above businesses that were kept cool by ceiling fans,” Teresa explained. “And let’s not even talk about the condition of the floors in those places.”

“All right, so at least we know this space could work.” I clasped my hands together as I tapped the pointy toe of my heeled shoe. “The next step is getting a close as possible on an estimate for how much it would cost to convert this space into a dance studio. That’s where you guys would come in,” I explained. “I’ve spent some time looking at floor plans and material, but I figured you two would know exactly what you would need to make this work. So what I would want is an estimate.”

They exchanged looks and Teresa said, “We can do that.”

“Easily,” Avery agreed. “When would you need the information?”

“We have time. We’re nearing the end of the year, so we’re moving into the budgets for spring. If we were to greenlight this project, we’ll need to get permits and all of that lined up. Once we have the estimate, then we’re one step closer.”

Excitement glimmered in Avery’s eyes. “Do you think this is going to happen?” she asked me.

“I think Brock is on board. He does have some concerns about cost and profitability, which is normal, but I think there is a lot of growth potential here,” I answered truthfully. “The trick will be getting my father to sign off. He’s open to new ideas, but this is not something he’s ever considered before. I want to have everything lined up before we go to him. We want to position this so it doesn’t even cross his mind to turn it down. I think we can make this work.”

Avery hobbled from one side to the next, which I guess was her version of her happy dance.

Giggling, Teresa raised her arms and shook them before waddling over to where I was standing. “Thank you.” She stood on my left side and placed her hand on my arm. “Seriously. I know nothing is official yet, but thank you for wanting to help us and trying to make this possible. Dancing has been such a large part of our lives, that to be able to seriously get involved in it again is nothing short of making a dream come true for us.”

“No problem.” Blushing a little, I glanced over to where Avery was smiling at us. “So what do you guys think about possible timing if this pans out?”

“The timing is perfect if we’re looking at the spring before anything starts to get moving,” Avery said, looking toward Teresa. “You’re due by the end of December—”

“Thank God,” Teresa muttered.

“By the time classes would be ready, we’d probably be looking at mid-summer, right?”

Teresa nodded. “Right.”

There was a sudden burst of male laughter followed by the sound of something fleshy hitting what sounded like a mat.

Teresa glanced at the double doors with a slight frown. “I really hope Brock isn’t showing them moves.”

“God, I hope not, because I’m really hungry and don’t want to spend the evening in the emergency room,” Avery agreed.

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