Page 55 of If Ever

"Whoa! Sorry," Dominic says.

"Tom was in town on business and stopped by."

"Hey, man. Good to see you." He grins. "Now I understand why she’s been hiding in her trailer again."

I struggle to keep a straight face as Dominic looks from one of us to the other and then spots the nearly empty champagne bottle.

"Have you been drinking?" he asks her, hands on his hips.

"Only two glasses." She smiles then covers her mouth with her fingers as if she shouldn't have confessed.

He shakes his head.

"You're the one who told me to save it for someone special," she sputters.

"I wasn't going to let her have any more," I say.

"Have you eaten anything since lunch?" He frowns.

"I ran out of time. But on the bright side, I'm not nervous."

Dominic shakes his head. "Yeah, I bet you're not. Come on slugger, we've gotta get going. Tom, I'll catch you later?"

"You bet."

Dominic nods and leads Chelsea away. "Having fun?" He asks her, while I can still hear them.

Chelsea nods. "Tom likes me."

He laughs and puts his arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, I got that."

***

While Dominic and I wait to dance, I spy Tom and sneak a wave.

"Like what you see?" Dominic blurts from behind me.

I jump and spin around, trying to act nonchalant.

"Please focus, just for the next two minutes."

"What? I'm focused."

Dominic shakes his head. I know he's frustrated with me, but I'm fine. In fact, I'm great. I want to revel in the glow of having Tom here, but I realize Dominic's right. I take a breath. Our dance is playful and set to a catchy tune. But it's also tricky with a couple of lifts and stunts. I focus and take my place next to Dominic.

He smiles. "You've got this. Just relax and have fun."

The music starts and we take off in the light-hearted number where I, as the genie, am trying to fool my master. It's polar opposite of the angsty, emotional dance from last week.

As we cover the dance floor, I think of Tom. He's here, for me. I don't miss a beat. In fact, I think his presence fuels my performance. When we finish, a rousing round of applause greets us along with high praise from the judges, but I pay little attention as my eyes find Tom. He's on his feet clapping, and I beam back at him.

When the show is over, I meet him as the crowd files out.

"You were adorable." He hugs me and I'm no longer shy about trotting around in my skimpy costume.

Later, after the interviews are over, we're tucked into a booth at a quaint Mexican restaurant, this week's post show after-glow locale. "How much time before you have to go?"

"Just shy of two hours."

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