Page 35 of It Had to be You

sight of Alexander standing in her line of sight, working on his phone.

It shouldn’t bother her really. She was trying to keep her mind on what was in front of her.

Her job.

And whether or not things worked out with Alexander, she still had her reputation and her

pride. She was going to keep hold of those, no matter what.

The music ended and the whole group applauded each other and Tatum was the loudest of them all.

"You’re all making me look like a really good teacher!"

The group turned their applause to her, and she felt a familiar warmth building in her chest.

This was different from being on stage or in competition, this was real. Person to person.

People appreciating each other.

"All right, all right," she laughed and waved them off, "I’m glad to see some of you decided to come in this morning before venturing out into San Juan for our second day. I’ll see you folks again tomorrow."

Instead of heading back to the stereo and the dance mirror where she’d left her things, she followed the group to the door and waved as they walked away. It was good to see the sunshine in the open area of the ship. It made her look forward to the rest of the day.

If Alexander wanted to spend it with her, then great.

If not. Great too. She’d traveled by herself before.

She’d likely do it again.

"I’m getting the feeling that you’re mad at me."

She held onto her tongue for a moment, shaking her head. Turning until her back was flat against the door, she met his gaze with her own, searching for some kind of answer in his eyes. Trouble is she hadn’t really asked him the question. And that wasn’t fair.

She never liked it when someone expected her to read their minds.

"Have you changed your mind?"

Once the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

"Never mind," she looked down at the ground, at the long slant of sunshine across the floor, "you

don’t have to answer that."

"No," he replied.

She heard the silence stretching out and lifted her chin so she could see him.

And when she did, she saw him smile.

"No," he repeated, "I haven’t changed my mind. And yes, I had to answer that."

She couldn’t help but laugh. She needed the release. "Okay. Thank you."

"And I think I know what I did."

Tatum felt a slight pinch between her brows and tilted her head toward him.

"I was trying to surprise you with something, but I know I was on my phone and I wasn’t really ‘here’ during the class." He lifted his hand and touched the side of her face. "I am sorry for that."

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