Page 8 of It Had to be You

Sitting back in her chair, Blair folded her arms and gave him a pointed look. "The woman you were just talking to. That’s Tatum Hansen."

When he didn’t respond to her announcement, she continued.

"She was the U.S. Professional Latin Champion three years in a row and won silver at the World Professional Latin Championships."

He still drew a blank.

Blair leaned her forearms against the edge of the table. "A ballroom dancing champion. Are you saying you didn’t know?"

Alexander shrugged. "We talked about dessert."

The look on Blair’s face was somewhere between abject shock and a kind of outrage. "Dessert? Really?" Before he could answer, she asked him another question. "You mean to tell me you didn’t know we’re going to be in her class tomorrow?"

"What class?"

"Social Dance! I signed us up."

"You signed us up for a dance class, when?"

Blair shrugged. "While my guy was in their computers, I signed us up for classes."

He wanted to ask her how he was supposed to know that, but he’d seen that expression on her face before, and he didn’t want to argue.

Reaching for his fork, he managed to pick up a piece of the pork belly, finding himself suddenly starving. Or perhaps it was a need to find something to busy himself with so he didn’t need to talk.

Blair stood, the legs of her chair scraping across the concrete floor.

Alexander stood, years and years of good manners making the gesture second nature.

"I’m not hungry anymore," she told him. "Would you walk me to my suite?"

His answer was also second nature. "I would be happy to," were the words that came out of his mouth, even though it was one of the last things he wanted.

As they began to walk, the Chef called out to him. "Would you like us to keep your plate warm?"

"We," Blair was the one who answered, "are done for the night."

Alexander was almost too happy to hear the words, but probably not for the reason that Blair had intended.

CHAPTER 3

The next morning, Alexander was waiting outside of Blair’s suite ten minutes before she said to be there. He didn’t want to give her any reason to be upset. After the silent walk from the night before, he really didn’t want a repeat of the same.

He’d argued with himself the night before after he’d handed his suit off to the gentleman who was going to launder it. The hot water from the shower had been a welcome refresher after the evening. Alexander felt like he owed Martina an apology and the next time he saw her, he was going to offer it. It wasn’t about his reputation. He had never been hesitant to admit when he was wrong. His parents taught him to acknowledge wrongs and to do his best to mend fences. He honestly felt that Martina deserved at least that.

Blair was a strong woman with a reputation for being forward and decisive, but he was sure that the matchmaker hadn’t expected her client to not just make an end run around her schedule, Blair had dug a tunnel and managed to parachute in over the walls as well.

The door opened and Blair stepped out with a brilliant smile on her face. "Well, you’re early." She fairly beamed in his direction. "I bet you’re as eager as I am for this class."

He managed to keep his smile on his face. "I’m looking forward to spending this time with you."

Alexander meant the words. They had been friends for quite some time, almost a decade. He wanted to give this a chance. He was committed to that.

Even if Tatum Hansen had turned his head, he was here to spend time with Blair and he was going to honor that commitment.

"I can see that you got my text."

He followed her gaze and looked down at his clothes.

---