Page 39 of Love, Always and Forever
He didn’t bring up how that evening had progressed from sharing ice cream to almost losing control after a few hot kisses on his front porch. “I helped you pick out a motorcycle.”
“Which I love, and I really appreciate your giving up your afternoon to help with that.”
He waved off her gratitude. “It was fun, and I had a good time. So here’s my question: would spending an evening as my plus-one at a charity dinner dance with my family fall within the parameters of our agreement?”
Before answering, Amy mirrored his position, leaning against the opposing counter as she considered the question. After a brief hesitation, she asked, “Am I correct in assuming that we’d actually have to dance?”
Okay, that wasn’t the response he’d been expecting. Considering the worried look on her face right now, saying yes might just be a deal breaker. Or maybe she saw dancing with him as skirting too close to the line.
“If you’re worried about me trouncing on your toes, my mom made sure all of us learned our way around the dance floor. If you don’t want to dance with me, you could still dance with the other guys.”
Jack and Tino were both married, so they’d be safe choices. So would Ricky because he was too young. Not Jay, though. The former Seal was a little too full of himself, not to mention single, available, and had no friends-only agreement with Amy.
At first, she had actually looked shocked by his suggestion that she’d be willing to dance with everybody except him. “Don’t be silly. Of course I’d want to dance with you. The problem is that I don’t dance.”
Her shocked expression faded into chagrin. “I never learned how.”
His own glum reaction morphed into stunned surprise. How was that even possible? “Really? Didn’t your high school have proms and things?”
Granted, high school dances weren’t exactly known for the foxtrot or the waltz, but they certainly had their own version of a slow dance. Some of his fondest memories from that time in his life involved swaying slowly in one spot with his date.
“Yes, the school had dances.” Amy turned away from him, using the excuse of getting treats for the dogs to avoid looking in his direction. “I just never went to any.”
What the hell? Who wouldn’t have leapt at the chance to take Amy to a dance? With those long legs and dark chocolate eyes? Personally, he would’ve been all over that. “Was there something wrong with the guys in your school? Were they all idiots?”
She knelt down to pick up Panda, who promptly launched a major face-licking campaign. While his antics weren’t conducive to continuing their conversation, it did bring a smile back to her face. Obviously the subject of dancing, and school dances in particular, had hit a nerve. An especially painful one judging by the way she buried her face in Panda’s fur to avoid looking at Mikhail.
He couldn’t stand to see her hurting like this. Without asking permission, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Forget I said anything about the dinner dance. It was a bad idea.”
Although this new bit of information about her past only added to the questions he had about Amy’s life up to the point their paths had crossed. What kind of background had she come from that had left so many gaps in her life experience? Now wasn’t the time to press for answers just to satisfy his curiosity.
Amy tucked her head under his chin and cuddled her puppy between them. “I’d be glad to go with you, Mikhail, as long as you promise you won’t feel obligated to sit by me all night instead of dancing with other people.”
So not happening. There had to be some other alternative to both of them watching everyone else out on the dance floor. Well, duh, the solution was obvious.
“How about I teach you how to dance?”
Her head came up fast, bumping his chin and knocking his teeth together with an audible crunch. She jumped back out of his embrace. “Oh, God, did I hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine.” He smiled at her to show her no harm done. “Now, about those dance lessons. We won’t be winning any trophies for our dazzling skills with the limited time we have, but I’m pretty sure we won’t embarrass ourselves in front of everybody, either. What do you say?”
She set Panda back down on the ground; he promptly trotted off to lay down next to Sarge on their favorite throw rug in the living room. Meanwhile, Amy studied Mikhail for several seconds. “Are you sure you want to spend even more of your time off helping me?”
“I’d actually be helping myself, wouldn’t I? After all, I’m the one in need of a plus-one friend for that night.” He offered her a hopeful smile. “In fact, we could enlist the aid of my mom to make sure you get good info on how it’s done right. She successfully taught her husband, three sons, and even Ricky how to dance. You’ve got to be a lot more graceful than any of us were, so I know you’ll do great.”
“What makes you think that?”
He held up his foot and wiggled it. “For one thing, you don’t wear a man’s size thirteen shoe. That poor woman had bruised toes for years. Ricky’s given her a whole new crop of them with his lessons.”
At least now Amy was smiling again. “You sure she won’t mind?”
Marlene would jump at the chance to meet the woman Mikhail was “not dating,” but he kept that tidbit to himself. “I’m sure she won’t. Mom loves to dance.”
“Okay, if she’s willing and you have the time.”
Time for a quick demonstration. Mikhail caught Amy’s hands in his and pulled her in close. Humming the tune to a favorite slow country ballad, he shuffled the two of them around the kitchen floor. At first it was like dancing with a board, but things improved considerably when Amy finally relaxed in his hold. He closed out their first dance with a flourish, spinning her out and then back in. Then he dipped her back over his arm and lifted her upright again.
“Ta-da!” He grinned at her. “Well done, lady. I knew you’d be a natural!”
