Page 59 of Just a Little White Lie

I run my gaze down his arms and can’t help wishing for them around me again. His large hand splayed on my back felt so good. I wonder what it’d feel like to hold and claim that hand. My little fingers could slip right between his, and I’d pull him close, our bodies pressing together as I rose to my tiptoes and—

“So the first thing we need is music.” He snaps me out of my drool-worthy daydream, and I blink, then start nodding.

“Yeah, of course. Music. Yep.”

I move around to my laptop and pull up Spotify, hoping the small gesture will create some kind of barrier for myself. I just need a reminder that Jack’s annoying and he doesn’t like me, and the sensations rippling through my body are not something I can entertain.

Leer jet be gone! Heck, I’d even welcome the vulture right about now.

Keep it together, Lauren. Music. Just focus on the music.

JACK

“So, we’re going to need something with a solid beat but also a little room for movement and varied dynamics. At these types of comps, it’s often good to have a mash-up of a few songs.” I move around behind her, leaning over her shoulder and resting my hand on the desk.

She smells so freaking good.

When she launched herself at me, I had to catch her. And she felt amazing in my arms, just the way I knew she would. Her gratitude made me grin, and I wanted to tighten my hold, draw the hug out, and make it last the day.

What are you doing here, man?

Helping her out! Doing what Luke asked me to.

No. You’re playing with fire.

But she pulled away. She was the one to end it, so I really don’t have anything to worry about. We didn’t kiss yesterday, and we only shared a friendly hug right now. A brothers-and-sisters hug, right?

I’m just being a nice guy doing the right thing.

A whiff of her perfume catches me again, and I can’t avoid the dizzy… giddy… drunk feeling that curls through me.

I try to stop inhaling as I point to the Search bar on Spotify. Stepping back, I create some much-needed space.

You’re here to work. Help. Stay focused!

Somehow, I manage to rasp, “Let’s try something like ‘Low’ by Flo Rida and T-Pain. That’s not too complicated, and the kids should be able to keep up.”

“They’re actually pretty good.” She throws the comment over her shoulder before getting caught up in the music. She starts bobbing her head to the beat, and I can’t help smiling.

She was the first thing I saw when I walked into the dance studio, and aw, man, it was so awkward.

I can see potential there, but right now, she’s got some work to do. Watching those kids laugh at her irritated me. I wanted to bark at them all to shut up and show some respect, but I also understood why they were giggling. Lauren looked way out of her depth, and it just confirmed that my sleepless night of tossing and turning was for a reason.

I woke up with an overwhelming conviction to offer my help.

It went against everything I logically thought I should do, but something inside me just wouldn’t let up.

It forced me into my car and down to the school. It forced me to tell the receptionist I was a dance instructor and a friend of Miss Fillion’s.

“She’s asked me to come down and help her with a routine.” It wasn’t really a lie. She’d been asking me for days, and I’d been digging my heels in.

But her looks of desperation had finally gotten the better of me, so I came.

I saw.

And I knew I couldn’t keep saying no.

“What about something more melodic, like…” Lauren pulls me back to her side, typing in “Moves Like Jagger” and pressing Play.

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