by Lucy Kevin
She went to sit down on the wooden benches and slipped her feet out of the skates. Christian soon sat beside her and did the same.
Except, once their skates were off, she looked up and realized that Christian was standing in front of her, holding out his hand. There was a twinkle in his eye and a sense of grace to the movement, despite the fact that he was standing there in his socks.
In that moment, he was Fred Astaire...and Paige couldn’t wait to be his Ginger Rogers.
She held out her hand and Christian took it smoothly, taking her into the moves they’d been practicing earlier. He was leading her perfectly this time, sweeping Paige up in the whirl of the movement.
She felt as if they could have been in a black-and-white movie just then. There was no music, but he had the steps memorized, and the timing of them seemed to come from somewhere inside him. She flowed with him around the skating rink as though it was the perfect dance floor, until he finally spun her into the last movement of the dance.
“You did it!” Paige said breathlessly. “You actually did it!”
Christian seemed every bit as ecstatic as she was. He held her tightly in his arms for a moment or two, looking deep into her eyes as the moment was suspended in time, as if there was no place he’d rather be and no one else he’d rather be with.
And then he kissed her.
CHAPTER NINE
Christian led their kiss as effortlessly as he had led the dance, his lips pressing against Paige’s with the mix of joy and desire. Paige kissed him back with just as much passion, because in that moment it felt exactly like the right thing to do. And even though they’d been close while they’d been dancing, their sweetly seductive kiss felt so much more intimate.
She’d always dreamed of a kiss like this. A kiss just like the ones in the movies—sweet and passionate, tender and powerful, all at once.
Christian drank in her smile, saying, “I love seeing you look so happy.”
“I am. I really am.”
He drew her close again and held her, his cheek against the top of her head. Their kiss had been so perfect, so unexpected, but at the same time such a natural continuation of everything that had been happening over the last couple of days. It had been so easy to get caught up in the excitement of their dance...and so worth it when she had.
He had been in the zone from the moment that he’d held out his hand to her. Of course, there was still so much for him to learn as a dancer, but the Fred Astaire feeling that they were going for had definitely been there. While they’d danced, she had been able to feel his intensity of emotion and the way he had led every step. With his acting skills, he had made their dance far more than just a set of choreographed movements: He had made it beautiful.
“You were perfect, Christian.”
“So were you.”
She had been talking about his dancing—at least she thought she was, wasn’t she?—but
was he? Or was he talking about their kiss? One she knew she’d replay over and over in her head for a very long time to come.
Still, she was on too much of a high to worry about any of that right now. “You can really do this. You can pull this movie off! I’m sure of it now.” When he had first arrived, the truth was that she hadn’t actually thought he’d get to the stage where he could be convincing in one of Astaire’s dances. And then when she’d first seen him try to dance, she’d been sure that her teaching skills would not be up to the task. But now, after experiencing the wonder of one perfect dance with him in the middle of the empty roller-skating rink, she knew better.
He moved to take her hands as they stood near the entrance to the rink. “You really think so?”
Paige had heard a note of nervousness in his voice only a handful of times. Once had been on the first day, when he’d been down on the floor doubting himself, and then a couple of times after that, when the moves had been really challenging. Yet, now she was surprised to see that her approval meant so much to him.
“Absolutely, yes! If you can dance like that all the time, you’re going to be great. That was the first time I really felt something while you danced, way deep down the way I’ve needed to feel it.”
Something beyond the fundamental attraction of being close to him, at least. Paige had felt that from the start, of course. Most women would, she knew. But what she’d felt when they’d been dancing just now had been so much more than that. Something had changed. Something had shifted. In the best possible way.
“What you said last night about Ginger Rogers acting her way through it made a huge difference,” he told her. “If you hadn’t been here with me every step of the way, if you hadn’t known how to put things in exactly the right way, so that I could think like a dancer, I would never have known how to dance like that.”
Hearing his praise, Paige felt a wave of satisfaction run through her. She was always happy when one of her students had a breakthrough, but with Christian it felt like so much more. Just seeing him look so happy about his achievements was something so simple yet powerful. She could feel that happiness practically radiating from him.
She was also aware of how special he had made her feel, too. Here at the roller rink, it had felt like he’d transported her to another world where it was just the two of them. Where everything was amazing, and doing something crazy like kissing him was the most wonderful thing she’d ever experienced in her life.
Right then, she didn’t feel even a hint of regret about the kiss they’d shared. How could she when it had been the perfect way to end a perfect dance?
“How about Indian takeout tonight?” Christian suggested as they gathered up the skates they’d taken off and put them away.
Paige loved the image of the two of them together on the couch once again. They’d been there the last couple of nights, but in the wake of their kiss, the image felt different. Tonight, it seemed to hold all kinds of promises. Promises that made Paige shiver slightly in anticipation, because being close to him now would never be the same. Even dancing with him held a different kind of anticipation now that they’d kissed.
“I’d love that,” she said. “We’ll have to find another great Fred Astaire movie to watch.”
“Something tells me I haven’t even begun to make a dent in your dance movie collection.”
He was right. They still had plenty of movies to go through—and plenty of nights’ worth of takeout. Paige could so easily imagine sharing her couch with Christian for many nights to come. She knew it was a dream, but right then it felt so good she wanted to believe that it could be true. His dancing had helped to transport her to a beautiful, magical world that she didn’t want to leave. Not yet.
When he reached out to take her hand as they walked back to the car, she not only let herself enjoy being with him, she also allowed herself to look forward to more of his kisses once they got back to her place.
“There he is!” a voice shouted from the parking lot.
“Christian! Look this way!” someone else called.
A crowd of people were approaching them, phone cameras flashing. There were only a dozen or so people, but they were making enough noise for two or three times that many. Most of them appeared to be young women.
Paige immediately slipped her hand from Christian’s, hoping no one had gotten a clear picture of them together.
“Karen must have posted something on the Internet,” Paige said. How could she have forgotten that was going to happen? How could she have gotten so wrapped up in Christian that she’d forgotten about the real world?
He shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a crowd to be waiting outside for him. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. It wouldn’t be right to just ignore them, but we won’t be delayed long. I promise.”
He turned on his full movie star smile as the crowd of fans got closer, moving forward slightly to meet them. “You must have been waiting for a while,” he said to them, turning on the charm that came so effortlessly to him.
; That was all it took for everyone to start talking at once, asking for autographs and photographs and wanting to discuss every detail of the current season of Seattle General Medical. In a matter of seconds, a cluster of women in their teens and early twenties literally surrounded Christian, all looking for attention from their favorite star.
They all got it, too. Every one of them. Christian stood at the center of the group, every inch the gracious star. Paige had thought her sister Morgan had star quality, but Christian’s was at a whole other level, and as effortless as if he’d been born with it.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying the show, Julia,” he said, having apparently learned the names of everyone in the group in a matter of seconds. He spoke to one woman after another, and she could see that he made each feel as if she was the center of his world.
Paige remembered the way he’d been with her family when he arrived for dinner. He’d spoken to each member, making them feel as if he truly was interested in them and their stories. In a matter of minutes, he’d become a part of all their lives, making them feel like close friends.
Exactly like he did with me.
Just minutes ago, she’d been feeling so special, as if she and Christian understood one another perfectly—the Astaire to her Rogers. Just the two of them in their own little world, as if they’d meant something to each other.
Yet, here he was tonight outside the skating rink, doing what movie stars were meant to do by freely giving his time and attention to his loyal fans. And Paige knew that each of them probably felt as if she was the only woman in the world who mattered to him. As if there was some kind of special connection between them, and that if only they could have a little more time together, it might blossom into something special.
Paige’s ex had a knack for making everyone around him feel special, too. At least when he wanted to. When Patrice was with someone he wanted to impress, or with a beautiful woman, he always managed to make them feel as if they were the most important thing in his life. He’d certainly made Paige feel that way.
But the truth was that Patrice was the most important thing in Patrice’s life. The rest of the world had been nothing more than a cast of extras caught up in the grand story of his life, with Paige meaning little more to him than a walk-on part. A minor love interest to be enjoyed and discarded with no more thought than you’d give a side character in a ballet once the performance was over. She had only momentarily been the center of his world until he had the choreography he wanted, and then she hadn’t been of any importance to him at all.
Of course, Paige knew Christian wasn’t just using her to get what he wanted the way Patrice had—she had willingly agreed to be his dance instructor. And Christian also didn’t have an ounce of disdain for his fans. He was giving his all to them because he was a wonderful, generous man.
At the same time, if she was really honest with herself, she should have known better than to read too much into his kiss at the end of their one perfect dance. It wasn’t Christian’s fault that she had. It was her fault for thinking that one kiss—even one amazing kiss—would mean more than it really had. He was here to learn how to dance for a movie, and after the week was over, he would be gone. But she would still be here, nursing yet another broken heart, unless she was a whole lot more careful to guard it around him than she’d been so far.
As Christian’s fans asked him to pose for more pictures and sign more autographs, Paige slipped quietly away from the crowd.
CHAPTER TEN
Even as the fans had clamored for Christian’s attention, he’d been aware of Paige the whole time and saw her begin to slip away. He was about to call out her name to ask her to wait a couple more minutes, when one of the young women in the crowd put a hand on his arm.
“Christian, it would make my entire day if we could take a photo together! I totally loved the last season of Seattle General Medical. I swear I’m your biggest fan.”
He always found it amazing just how committed fans could be to actors they had only seen on a screen. Which was, of course, why he did his best to live up to their expectations when he met them. Without fans like them, he wouldn’t have a career, and that’s why he always felt that he owed them at least a little attention.
“Why have you come to Walker Island?” the woman asked as her friend took their picture. “Have you decided that you want to live here?”
He could hear the breathless excitement in her question. He could feel it from practically the whole group, actually. It was exactly the kind of excited question that could start a rumor.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m here to do research for a role.” He wasn’t sure that saying he was here to learn to dance would be a good idea. People might work out that there was only one place on the island where he could do that, and then he and Paige might find themselves with an audience for their dance sessions.
Paige. Just thinking of her made his heart do a flip in his chest. Their dance had been amazing. But their kiss had been extraordinary. He’d felt as if they were finally getting a chance to explore the connection between them that had been there since Christian arrived on the island, and he couldn’t have been happier about it.
Wanting to continue deepening their connection where they’d left off, he was just about to let his fans know he had to leave when one of the other young women asked, “What’s it like when you have to kiss one of your co-stars? I mean, I know you don’t really have a relationship, but you’re still kissing them, aren’t you?”
“You’ve answered your own question,” he said with a smile. “It’s not real.”
“But it looks so real on-screen!”
Even if he had only just met the actress he was kissing on-screen, he was good at convincing the audience that whatever their characters felt for one another was the truth, running far deeper than the story currently being told. “Then I suppose we’re doing a good job as actors, aren’t we?” Christian’s laugh turned that into a joke for everyone. But it was no joke how so many of the rumor mills had him linked with most of his co-stars. Being able to portray a connection with someone like that was a double-edged sword.
And it was nothing like what he was experiencing with Paige.
For once in his life Christian had an emotional connection to a woman that was everything his romantic acting roles promised. Only, with Paige, there was no pretending. No layers of character providing the emotion. No cameras.
Instead, it was just the two of them, a woman and a man falling for each other in the most natural, and honest, way possible as they danced in each other’s arms.
“I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening,” Christian said as he finished signing his last autograph in a hurry, looking around for Paige. It was only as he pried himself free from the crowd of admirers that he finally realized she had disappeared.
He knew big groups of fans could be overwhelming for some people. And after the comments she’d made at dinner that first night about not understanding how anyone could enjoy being famous, it wasn’t difficult to guess that his group of enthusiastic fans had probably pushed at the edges of her comfort zone.
But was that the only reason she’d gone? Or was there another reason that she’d run?
Could she have decided she regretted their kiss, after all?
He got back in his car, knowing immediately where she would have gone to seek refuge. Not the family house, regardless of how much she loved her sisters and grandmother. No, for Paige, there would be only one place that would truly soothe her if she felt off-kilter.
The dance studio.
When he pulled up outside the studio, he could see that the lights were on. The door was unlocked, so he went in, wanting to talk to her. Wanting to ask her why she’d left. Wanting to kiss her again. Wanting to see her beautiful smile as they danced together.
The sight of Paige alone in the middle of the dance floor was enough to make Christian’s breath catch. She was in the same clothes she’d worn to the skating rin
k, but her hair was down, falling loose past her shoulders in a golden wave as she danced to the song They All Laughed from Shall We Dance. He knew from watching the movie with her that it was Fred Astaire’s part she was dancing, rather than Ginger Rogers’ supporting role.
How was it possible, he found himself wondering as he watched her move gracefully across the floor, to dance with someone for a couple of days and never see them truly dance? But he already knew the answer—Paige had been concentrating on teaching him, not showing off her own abilities. Even when they danced together, she rarely concentrated on herself.
Now, it was easy to see how much she’d held back just to let him keep up. She moved so gracefully, so perfectly, so effortlessly, giving herself up to the music completely.
Because Paige had talked him through most of the choreography in this dance, Christian could remember the general shape of it. Enough to realize that this wasn’t the original. That more expansive leap hadn’t been in there, because Christian was sure he would have remembered it. And several other moves looked like they owed more to street dance than to Fred Astaire. Even the parts he did remember had their own little beautiful twists.
Through it all, there was an amazing intensity to her dancing—a sweet and pure joy that spilled over into the room. When Paige got to her version of the tap duet at the heart of the piece, Christian found his own feet tapping softly on the floor outside, trying to keep up. He was so swept up in the moment, and in her, that it was impossible to remain still.
More than anything, he wanted step in there and join her. He wanted to take her in his arms and finish the dance with her pressed close to him. He wanted her to look at him the way she had back at the skating rink. And he wanted both of them to get lost in another kiss.