She’s doing amazingly in the competition. We’ve performed so many dances now—a tango to ‘When Dove’s Cry’, a Charleston to ‘Fat Sam’s Grand Slam’, a quickstep to ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade’, and a paso doble to ‘It’s my life’. Last week, it was an American Smooth to ‘Cry me a River’, one of my favorite songs to dance to. I was beyond proud of Elise for the way she performed it and even more satisfied when she received tens from two of the judges. Of course, we’re nowhere near the final rounds yet, so a top score from Denzel is impossible. He’s so stubborn.
This week, we have a rumba, one of the hardest dances for a celebrity to master. Today was the first day of training for it, and when we’d finished, Elise looked exhausted. We really have done nothing but work, so I gave her the afternoon off, and now I’m meeting her and Izzy for dinner.
“What would you like to eat, Izzy?” Elise questions her daughter as they both read through the menu of the retro diner Izzy chose. I would have preferred the French place down the road. It’s more authentic to the area, but we all agreed it was Izzy’s choice.
“Please can I have a burger, Mama?”
“Of course you can. I’m guessing with lettuce and mayo, no cheese?”
“Yes, please. Can I have fries as well?”
“Someone’s famished.” Elise shakes her head and smiles at her daughter.
“I think I’ll have the same, but I’ll also have cheese on my burger,” I say to Elise with a chuckle. Izzy joins in with me and rolls her eyes.
“Well we might as well just make that three burgers then.”
We all place the menus down on our table, and the waitress instantly comes over and takes our orders. She returns with two waters and a lemonade before leaving us alone to talk.
“What dance are you doing this week, Mama?” Izzy asks and then blows through her straw making bubbles into her lemonade.
“Izzy!” Elise’s tone warns her daughter to stop what she’s doing, and the little girl immediately begins to suck her drink through the straw instead.
I’ve spent very little time around children, but there’s something about Elise’s daughter that captures my attention. She’s like a mini version of her mama mixed with a bit more of a tomboy nature. Elise always dresses in skirts, but I’ve only ever seen Izzy in jeans or shorts. She’s got amazing knowledge of sport as well. I did wonder if it was Simon’s influence, but Elise assured me she’s only been this way since they moved to New Orleans last year. Izzy is happy, and that makes Elise happy too.
“I’m doing the rumba,” Elise responds to her daughter’s question.
“Is that the sexy dance?”
“You’ve done far too much research on these dances, young lady.”
“I just hope you aren’t going to stop me from watching?”
“That’s a good idea. I might get Gabby to bring a blindfold with her.”
“I’ll make sure it’s not too sexy for Izzy to watch,” I interject because the look of sudden disappointment on Izzy’s face is heartbreaking.
I’m sure she knows her mama is joking, but I’m not prepared to wait and see if it upsets her.
“No, you won’t,” both Elise and Izzy answer at the same time, and I flatten myself against the red leather of the booth we’re sitting in, pretending to be shocked by their joint protest.
“It needs to be sexy to win over Denzel,” Izzy elaborates. When I look at Elise, she’s gone bright red, but then a smirk breaks out on her face.
“What Izzy said.”
“Ok.” I hold my hands up in defeat. “We’ll make it sexy enough that Izzy has to wear a blindfold.”
The youngest occupant of the table groans loudly just as the burgers are brought to the table. We sit in a comfortable silence while we all eat. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the food was placed in front of me, and it tastes like a dream. I finish first and Izzy second. Elise leaves a few of her fries, so I reach over and pop them in my mouth.
“Mama, can I go on the play equipment outside?” Izzy inquires, looking longingly at the door.
“Go on, but be mindful you’ve just eaten. Take it easy and stay where I can see you.”
“Of course, Mama.”
Izzy disappears off to play, and I sit back in my seat and watch Elise as she finishes her water. Over the past few weeks, she’s changed back to the confident and smiling girl I knew in school. Her complexion is no longer pallid, and her eyes don’t dart around, constantly looking for the first sign of trouble. I can’t imagine what she went through. It breaks my heart to even try.
“It’s rude to stare unless you’re going to tell me what you’re thinking,” Elise interrupts my day-dreaming.
“I don’t know—maybe my thoughts are ruder than me staring at you,” I tease her, licking my lips
“What the hell were you thinking?” Elise looks alarmed.
“How good it was when you wore your short skirts at school. I got a lovely view of your panties every time I happened to drop something.”
“Perv!”
“I was an adolescent boy. Everything went straight to my dick.”
“And now?” She playfully raises an eyebrow.
“Let’s just say I’m excited to see you in your rumba outfit.”
“You’ve always been a terrible flirt, Leo Westwood.”
“And you, Miss Landry, wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“No. I wouldn’t, and that’s the frightening thing.”
A silence falls between us, and I shuffle closer to Elise in the booth. I wrap my arm around her, still not speaking, and she lays her head on my chest.
“I’m glad fate brought us back together, Leo. Even if it’s given me blisters all over my feet and an appetite like a pregnant elephant.”
I can’t help laughing. The comment about the elephant is something we learned in biology when we were at school. I like the fact it’s stuck with her.
“Mama?” Izzy comes back to the table, looking perturbed.
“What’s wrong?” Elise leans forward but doesn’t move away from me.
“I want to go on the climber, but there are some big boys on there, and they don’t seem very friendly. I wish Sam was here.”
Elise cocks her head to look out of the window.
“Play on the other equipment. We’ll be getting dessert soon anyway, so you won’t be out there for long.”
Izzy’s face falls. I hate to see a woman upset.
“I’ll come on it with you.”
I let go of Elise and shuffling back out of the seat, I emerge next to Izzy. Elise looks at me with a ‘you don’t have to do that’ expression on her face, and I give her a wink.
“You choose dessert for the three of us and call us in when it’s ready. I’m sure you can remember what I like to eat.”
Leading Izzy outside, the older boys stare down at me from the climber when I start to help her get up it. They can’t be more than fifteen, but I remember being that age and wanting to intimidate the other kids around me because I thought I was so cool. I soon changed that opinion when I had my backside walloped by my mamá for getting into a fight with an older boy after I’d scared his younger brother.
I give the boys a stern look as if to say they can stay sitting where they are, but I am going to let Izzy play on the climber. They seem to respect that and turn back to looking at their phones and ignore us as Izzy completes the climber assault course in no time at all.
“Will you do it with me this time, Mr. Leo? I bet I can beat you.”
“I dance professionally for a living, Miss Izzy. I’m pretty fit, you know.”
“I know. Mama was telling Miss Gabby that you’re pretty fit as well, but I’m smaller and can move quicker. I think I can beat you.”
“You’re on.”
We both climb to the top of the rope and wooden structure. Izzy is right—she’s smaller and able to maneuver over the ropes and through tighter spaces a lot quicker than I can. The boys, who’ve been watching
us, start to cheer us both on when they see we’re racing. Izzy swings across the final gap before I even have a chance to reach out for the rope, and she wins. She does a little victory dance, and the boys congratulate her and then start talking about doing their own races.
“Ok, you did beat me, but don’t tell your mama. I don’t want her thinking I’m a loser.”
“Loser.” Izzy makes the sign of an ‘L’ on her forehead.
“Oh no you don’t.” I chase around after her as she screams pretending to shout for help.
Shortly after, Elise appears at the door to the restaurant and shouts to tell us dessert is ready, and we make our way back inside, both of us breathing heavily. I’m not sure I should have run around that much on a full stomach. I sit back down and take a sip of my water before looking down at the dessert Elise ordered me—beignets. I feel my mouth start to salivate at the traditional pastry. They’re more of a breakfast treat, but I could eat them at any time of the day. I can’t believe she remembered after all these years. I’ve always had a soft spot for them.
“Thank you.” I mouth at her while she helps Izzy with the mammoth chocolate cake they’re both sharing.
“Mama?”
“Yes, my darling.” Elise cuddles up to Izzy.
“I like Mr. Leo. He’s a lot of fun.”
“He is. I have to agree.”
“Do you think he could live with us? He could be my daddy rather than the one I’ve got…I don’t like him.”
Chapter 11
Elise
Izzy’s comment at dinner was sweet but worrying at the same time. I don’t think I ever saw Simon play with her in the way Leo did. I’m not surprised she likes him more. As I put her to bed, she reiterates her enjoyment of the evening and her reluctance for school tomorrow.
There’s no way she’s watching Leo and I practice the rumba, especially if he’s going to make it sexy. We only went through the steps today, so we’ve yet to put everything into a routine. I don’t know how I feel about it. I’ve watched some of the others perform it, and it calls for a lot of closeness. With the obvious growing attraction between Leo and me, I know it’s going to increase the sexual tension between us.
“Night, my darling,” I call to Izzy as I return to the lounge where Leo is nursing a beer and flicking through the TV channels. He stops on an old baseball game, and I have a quick peek to see if it’s Rhys’s team, but it’s not. I settle down in the chair next to Leo and pick up the beer he got for me.
“Are you all right with what Izzy said tonight? You’ve been a bit quiet since,” Leo immediately asks.
So much for easing me in slowly! Mind you, I remember him always being up front even as a child. When we were toddlers, he told me one day we’d get married because I was his. He was only five at the time.
“It was a bit of a shock, but I’m not surprised really. Simon wasn’t the type of father to play with her in the way you did. In fact, we wouldn’t have been in the diner in the first place. It wasn’t his sort of place. He preferred Izzy to learn about more cultured food. I’d have to sneak her snacks after we went out for dinner because she was always hungry. Snails and frogs’ legs are not something you feed a toddler. However, I must admit it has given her a varied diet. She’ll eat a lot of things most children would turn their nose up at.”
“Just not snails and frogs’ legs.”
“Well would you eat them?”
“Hell no, I’m a meat man. Give me a hunk of beef, and I’m happy. Mind you, my mamá’s paella is the best.” Leo makes a groaning sound of delight.
“God, I’ve missed that. I liked the way she’d make me a separate dish with all the prawns shelled because I hated to fiddle with my food. I think I might just have to go to Spain to visit her.”
“I should go myself. I’ve not been for a while, and she’s not been too well.”
“I’m sorry.”
Leo looks so sad I reach out and place my hand over his.
“When my father left, she never really recovered from the betrayal.”
“Maybe when the dance show is over, we can all go there. I know Izzy would like to see some of Europe.”
“I’d like that very much.”
Leo picks up the remote again and starts to flick through the channels until he finds a movie. It’s one of mine. The one I was Oscar nominated for. I instantly cringe, but he leaves it on.
“I’ve never actually watched this movie,” he states.
“This is about five minutes in.”
“Do you mind if I see it?” he asks, and I find it refreshing that he wants to.
Simon only ever watched one of my movies with me and criticized it the whole way through, so we never did it again. However, I had to watch all of his and tell him everything that was brilliant about his acting. As I’m not the biggest fan of action movies, it was often difficult, but I was always polite.
“Go on. Just expect me to cringe at any parts where there’s poor acting.”
“You won’t cringe at all then, I’m sure.”
Leo pulls me a little closer to him on the sofa, and we settle down together and watch the movie. I’d forgotten how good it actually was, and why I received such critical acclaim for it. I’m a young mother in the movie, who’s been raped and left pregnant as a result. I’m outcast by my family because I refuse to get rid of the child. The story follows how my character first starts living on the streets before getting a job and finding somewhere to live. Eventually she has her son and they meet a nice doctor at the hospital who falls in love with her, and they live happily ever after. It’s certainly a hard movie to watch in places but leaves you feeling contented and warm inside. The Oscar winner that year was a friend of mine for her portrayal of a girl with autism in the Victorian era. I cried the entire way through it, so I was glad she won.
When the movie finishes, Leo places down his unfinished beer. He’s been holding it tightly in his hand the whole time the film was playing.
“What did you think?” I’m not sure I want to know, but I ask anyway.
Leo leans forward and shuffles on the sofa so he’s facing me.
“Do you miss Hollywood?”
“Does that mean it was good or bad?”
“It means, do you miss it?”
I think for a minute before replying to his question.
“I thought I would miss it more than I do. I love acting and being someone else, losing myself in the emotions of a scene like the ones you’ve just watched. But do I miss the Hollywood life? No, the intrusion into my personal life was more than I ever thought it would be. I knew there would be some but not to the extent there was. I couldn’t even go to the store without people critiquing what I was wearing. If I forgot my wedding ring, my marriage was falling apart. If I wore the wrong color, I was lambasted. I remember pregnancy watch with Izzy. I didn’t drink champagne at an event because I knew I was pregnant, and it was all over the gossip magazines the next day. They even zoomed in on photos of my stomach to see if I had the start of a baby bump under my dress. I wasn’t one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood, so I don’t know how they deal with it all. To be under the microscope twenty-four seven is not something I think I ever want to do again. That’s much more Simon’s thing. In many ways, it was why he tried to control me so much—he was worried about keeping up appearances. He released our baby scans to the press before we’d even told all our family. I’d wanted to sit down and talk to my mama about it first, but I wasn’t given the opportunity. The announcement had to be orchestrated for maximum exposure to raise our Hollywood profiles. It felt like another acting job in the end. One that was too painful when it exploded because the violence was real.”
I lower my head into my hands when I finish speaking. I don’t think I’ve ever voiced so much displeasure at the Hollywood life to anyone before. I hated it in so many ways. New Orleans was a breath of fresh air to go back to. It’s peaceful, and I can walk around the streets without having camera flashes going off i
n my face.
Maybe I’ve made a mistake doing the dance show.
It will put me back in the spotlight.
My breath quickens in panic.
No, I can’t go back to all of that.
Leo pulls my hands away from my face, and cupping the bottom of my chin, he presses his lips passionately against mine. My panic recedes as I lose myself in his kiss. It’s full of the emotion we’re both feeling. The affection between us has been developing with every dance and the time spent in each other’s company getting to know one another again.
Eventually he pulls away but rests his forehead on mine.
“Why did we ever lose contact with each other? Our lives could have been so different. I could have saved you from him.”
“No, fate decreed we had to part for a while, to grow and learn. We had to experience life separately before we came back to each other as better people.”
“I’ll never hit you.” Leo pulls me into his lap, and I allow him, savoring the heat of his body and enjoying the touch of a man for the first time in a very long while without the fear of him hurting me.
“I know,” I whisper back.
Turning my head toward the clock, I see it’s late in the evening. The film was a couple hours long, and we’ll need to be up in less than five hours for training.
“Why don’t you stay here tonight?”
“Here?” Leo tilts his head and looks at me, trying to read the meaning behind my words.
“I can’t promise you anything, Leo. I mean intimacy wise. I don’t know if I’m ready to welcome a man that far into my life, but what I do know is I don’t want you to leave my side. I want you to hold me all night. Be beside me when I wake so I know none of this is a dream, and I really am safe in your arms again.”
Leo doesn’t reply. He stands and holds his hand out to me.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter 12
Easy Rumba Page 7