Page 26 of Save the Dance

“Right.” He checked his watch. The morning was still young. He pushed away from his desk. “Are we all caught up?”

Smiling, Evelyn shook her head. “You still need to sign the paychecks, or you’re going to have some very unhappy employees.”

“Right.” He reached for the folder. With all that was on his mind and on the schedule, he’d be lost without Evelyn to keep tabs on him this week. Still, he hated to see her work so hard. Last night, she’d dropped in on the party only long enough to fix a plate. According to at least one source, she’d taken her food back to the office to eat. “As long as I’m sticking around for a while, why don’t you take the morning off? I’ll cover the phones and such.”

“Can’t. I have a meeting with vendors at ten.” Her features brightened. “But I could practice our songs for Wednesday night till then. I’d love to run through the whole routine.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Clicking his pen, he flipped the folder open and took the first check off the stack.

“Okay. I’ll be in the conservatory if anyone needs me.”

“We won’t.” Shooing Evelyn out of his office, Jason couldn’t help but feel that by the time the contest was over, he’d owe his cousin far more than a wedding veil.

In the meantime, he’d make the morning do double duty by mulling over exactly what had gone wrong last night. One thing for sure, he should never have asked Tara to dance with him. Holding her in his arms had only led to problems. The kind neither of them could afford.

The heart wants what the heart wants.

The saying was one he’d heard his dad repeat often enough. He’d begun to wonder if his heart wanted Tara, but his mind knew better. This time, for a lot of reasons, he had to side with his mind.

Tara sipped coffee while she watched the little circle on her screen spin. What was taking so long? Yesterday, her reports to Regina had gone in a flash. Today, though, long seconds had passed since she hit Send, and her laptop was still deciding whether or not it wanted to follow her instructions. Worse, it kept shutting itself off in the middle of the task, forcing her to log in and start over.

What to do. What to do.

She could sit here and simply wait for the device to do its thing. Or, she could practice her apology to Jason. Not that she needed to. She’d been over what she intended to say a thousand times during what had turned into a sleepless night.

She drummed her fingers on the table as the screen timed out for the third time. Phooey. Changing the settings went against the company’s security protocols, but enough was enough. Once the computer booted up again, she brought up the control panel. With a few keystrokes, she modified several of the power options. By the time she finished, the laptop no longer shut itself off mid-task or required her password every time she stopped typing to think for more than five seconds.

Satisfied that the machine would attempt to send her reports until it succeeded, she pushed away from the table. At the buffet, she doctored a second cup of coffee. A tempting aroma rose from a breakfast dish that featured layers of fruit and thick slices of bread in an eggy custard. Her mouth watered. Though she’d told herself that she’d eaten enough for three days at the party, she couldn’t resist taking a plate from the warmer and dishing up a small helping. One glance at her computer put a smile on her face when she returned to her table. The circle had disappeared, the email sent.

Her mom liked to say that snow and adolescence were the only things that went away if you ignored them, but Tara had a few new candidates to add to that list. Patience—and the occasional reboot—solved most computer problems. Snarled traffic in Midtown would unknot itself, given enough time. And her attraction to Jason would fade, too, if she simply pretended it didn’t exist.

Yes. That was exactly what she’d do. She’d ignore the way her tongue got all tied up in knots whenever she saw his tall form striding toward her. She’d banish him from the dreams that had kept her tossing and turning through the long night. And she absolutely would not think about how good it had felt when he’d held her. Because she couldn’t afford to develop feelings for the man. Not now. Not when she’d finally been given her one big chance to succeed at Weddings Today.

Her decision made, she concentrated on her breakfast, which tasted every bit as good as it smelled. Snatches of piano music drifted into the room while she ate. The notes stirred a familiar itch to run her fingers over the ivories, press her feet on the pedals. She’d inherited an upright from her grandmother, but her apartment was far too small to accommodate it. Even if she could figure out how to lug it up five flights of stairs.

Her laptop chimed. A quick glance assured her that her reports had reached their destination. Finished with breakfast, she powered the computer off, tucked it under one arm, and headed down the hall in search of the source of the music.

It didn’t take long to find it. In a salon she’d barely looked inside during Jason’s tour of the house, Evelyn sat at a grand piano. Light poured through the mullioned windows, setting her red hair aflame while she sang along as she played a rollicking song about life on the high seas. Tara didn’t recognize the melody but tapped her toe along with the music. When the young woman struck the final chords, she applauded.

“I didn’t know anyone was there.” Evelyn’s ever-ready smile widened. “Did you want to play? I can leave.” She started to stand.

“Don’t be silly.” Tara waved the woman back onto the bench. “I enjoyed listening to you. Was that one of the numbers you and Jason perform together?” She wandered closer.

“Yes. It’s part of the set we’ll sing at the Smith reception on Wednesday.” Evelyn slid a few pages of sheet music across the lid’s glossy black surface. “I’ve been so busy this week I’ve hardly had a chance to practice. Everyone wants to get married in June. I don’t know why. Me, I’m going to get married in the fall. The colors are so lovely that time of year.” She plinked an ivory key. The clear tone of a middle-C rang through the room. “I thought I’d get in an hour or two before things get hectic again.”

“That’s probably because I’m here, right?” She didn’t expect an answer to the question and studied the sheet music. The chords seemed simple enough, the words straightforward.

“Not really.” Evelyn grinned. “We were already slammed to begin with. Don’t tell Jason, but I actually enjoy filling in for him when he’s busy. It gives me a better sense of what it takes to run this place.”

Tara handed the sheets back to Evelyn. “Do you ever see yourself doing that? Taking charge of the Captain’s Cottage?”

“Full-time? Not on your life. Too much responsibility for me—I’ll leave that to my cousin. Keeping track of the weddings that take place here at the Cottage, making sure there’s adequate turnover time between events—that alone is hugely complicated. Then there’s working with the vendors, maintaining the website, handling all the publicity, supervising the maintenance and housekeeping crews. People depend on him for their jobs. Brides count on him to provide the perfect venue. I don’t know how he does it all, but he never complains, never loses his cool.” She paused to take a breath.

“He must really love what he does.” Her chest ached when she thought of how her assignment might impact Jason. Unable to meet Evelyn’s eyes, she studied the view on the other side of the window.

“He does. We all do. Working here, working anywhere in Heart’s Landing, it’s more than a job. It’s a calling. We’re dedicated to seeing that every bride who walks through our front doors has the best experience of her life. You know that saying, ‘It takes a village?’”

Tara nodded.

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