Save the Last Dance

by Save the Last Dance (epub)

  “Yep. I don’t really care if I go or not, but Allison likes that stuff.”

  “You two have been going out a while, huh?”

  Finn nodded. “About a year or so.” He grinned. “She lives next door.”

  “Next door, huh? Boy, I hope you don’t break up.” Of course, the moment he said the words, he wished he could take them back. “Sorry. That was pretty rude.”

  “Nah, it’s the truth.” Finn shrugged. “I hope we don’t break up too, though I doubt it would make a difference as far as us living next door to each other. She graduated in December. So I’m dating a college girl now.”

  “Wow. Are you going to go to the same college?”

  “Doubt it. Allison is attending community college this spring and then maybe Miami or OU. All the coaches who’ve been looking at me are in other states.”

  “That’s hard.”

  “Yeah, but Allison is cool with that. She’s really into her plans and I want to play ball as long as I can, so we agreed to not try to hold each other back.”

  Finn had his life together. All of it. And, here Jeremy was, still just trying to believe that the adoption was actually going to go through.

  Reaching out to pet Henry, Finn said, “What about you?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah. Are you going to the dance?”

  Jeremy nodded. “ I asked Bethany Seevers. Do you know her?”

  “I know who she is. Bethany’s real cute.”

  “She is. She’s a dancer.”

  “That’s cool.”

  Jeremy still couldn’t believe that she liked him so much, since she could have anyone she wanted. “Does everyone get their dates corsages?” Even though she was going to meet him after rehearsal, he wanted to make sure she got a corsage if all the other girls had them.

  “Pretty much. But don’t worry about dinner. My folks are hosting a big dinner here. You and Bethany should come over.”

  “Thanks, but I’m going to have to meet her at the dance.” He briefly explained about her ballet rehearsal.

  “That sucks, but you should still come.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Sure you do. You’re new and you don’t want to walk into the dance by yourself, do you? That’s the worst.”

  That would be awful. Thinking how much better it would be to arrive with a whole group of people, he said, “Are you sure parents won’t mind if I show up?” Of course, what he was really worried about was if Finn minded.

  “Nah. Allison’s parents are putting it on too. Plus, there’s already going to be like thirty of us. One more won’t make a difference. And don’t worry about being the only one without a date. There’s about five or six who are going to the dance in a group.”

  Finn made it all sound so easy. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s really cool of you.”

  “It’s no big deal. Oh, wait. I’ve got to see this,” he said as a new graphic listing players appeared on the screen.

  When Finn started watching the updates intently, Jeremy texted Bethany and told her about Finn’s dinner idea.

  Would you mind if I went?

  He had no idea if she would be mad about that. She texted back right away.

  Of course not.

  Okay, good. I think I’m going to do it then.

  I’ll get there as soon as I can. At least Miss Shannon said I didn’t have to stay after we went through the ballet one full time. I bet I’ll get there by 8:30!

  8:30 is good.

  We’re going to have so much fun.

  Yep.

  His finger hovered over his phone’s screen. He should probably text something else, but he had no idea what to add. Before he could come up with anything, Bethany had already responded.

  I never asked, but you like to dance, right?

  Yeah. I like it fine.

  But the truth was he didn’t really like it. Well, he didn’t really know how to dance. He had no idea what she was going to think when she saw just how bad he was.

  “Want to grab some lunch?” Finn asked. He pointed to his cell phone’s screen. “My dad just told me that the taco truck is parked downtown.”

  Glad Gunnar had given him some spending money, Jeremy got to his feet. “Sure. Tacos sound great.”

  Finn grinned. “Cool. I’ll put Henry on a leash and let’s get out of here.”

  Standing up, Jeremy followed Finn and his dog. Henry’s tail was wagging like crazy, he was so happy to be included in the outing.

  Jeremy thought he knew how the dog felt.

  CHAPTER 29

  “I will honor Christmas in my heart,

  and try to keep it all the year.”

  —charles dickens

  “Is everything okay?” Kimber asked.

  Gunnar stopped staring at his phone. “Yes. Why?”

  “No reason. You’ve just been frowning at your phone for the last five minutes.”

  Realizing she was right, he set it on the small table next to her hospital bed. “I’m sorry. It was Jeremy.” He shook his head. “It’s the craziest thing—sometimes I feel like I have to pry the words out of that kid. But when it comes to texting, he turns into a chatterbox.”

  “Maybe he feels safer communicating that way.” Shoot, she knew some adults who felt that way.

  “Maybe so.”

  He still looked worried. After reaching for the button that adjusted her sitting position, she adjusted herself so she could see him better. “Is everything okay? Do you need to leave and go be with him?”

  He reached for her hand. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. Don’t worry.”

  “You know I’m going to worry. I’m grateful that you’re here, but I still feel terrible about you giving up so much to sit here in this hospital room with me.”

  He shook his head, as if he was amused by her logic. “Baby, work is fine. Ace completely understood why I had to hop on the first flight out. Shoot, he probably would’ve kicked my rear if I told him I was staying in Bridgeport while my girlfriend had been attacked in New York City.”

  She winced. “You make it sound—”

  “I made your attack sound as bad as it was,” he said, once again correcting her attempt to downplay what happened. “Now, stop worrying about me. I’m good. ’Kay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Good.” He picked up her plastic glass that was filled with water and ice. “Now, how about some more water?”

  “Thanks.” She carefully placed her lips around the straw and sipped slowly.

  Watching Kimber put in so much effort to get a sip of water, Gunnar felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. No matter what she said, he thought she looked pretty bad. She seemed so small in the middle of the bed. All he wanted to do was protect her.

  “Gunnar, now what’s wrong?” She took another sip, but this time studying him through half-closed lids.

  And just like that, his whole mindset shifted. Instead of looking at her bruises, he started trying not to notice just how perfect those lips were—or how it had felt to finally kiss her the other night.

  All he’d done since he’d arrived was kiss her chastely. It wasn’t like he wanted to do more, she was in a hospital bed—but he would be lying to himself he didn’t admit that he was looking forward to the day when she was feeling better and they could move things forward.

  When she held the cup for him to take, Gunnar knew he had to get a handle on himself. “So when are your parents coming back?”

  “In an hour or so. They wanted to take Traci out to lunch.” She frowned. “I hope they aren’t driving her crazy. They’ve probably asked her a hundred questions.”

  “They’ve been sweet, Kimber. They’re good people.” He wasn’t lying either. Though, they were certainly a handful. Kimber, so wary and reserved, was the exact opposite of them. They
seemed to speak only with exclamation points.

  “They are good people, I’m not denying that. But they can be overwhelming.”

  “Ah, have you met Traci? I only just met her but I can already tell that she’s not the type of woman to let people run ragged over her.”

  “I guess you’re right.” She pressed a palm flat against the mattress. He’d learned over the last twenty-four hours that she did that when she was worried about something.

  “When did you start doing that?” he asked, gesturing to her palm.

  “Pressing the mattress like that?” She tucked her hand under one of her many blankets. “I don’t know. Back when I realized that I couldn’t afford to bite my lip or crack my knuckles, I guess.”

  “How come you couldn’t do that? Would your parents get that upset?”

  “Oh, no. It was my career. When I was first starting out, I was so insecure, I felt that any little flaw would put me at a disadvantage. Even something as small as swollen knuckles.”

  Kimber didn’t usually talk about her modeling life. But when she did share details, he always felt a little humbled. “You’ve sure made me rethink a model’s life. I thought you just had to sit there and look pretty.”

  She smiled at him. “There’s plenty of that. But there are a lot of pretty girls out there. For someone like me, who looks a little different, it was a reason to worry.”

  “You don’t have to worry now.” He stopped himself from reminding her that she was supposed to be retired. If she’d stuck to her decision, she would have never been in New York in the first place, and therefore wouldn’t be sitting in a hospital bed right now.

  Looking up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “It’s not over, Gunnar. I know it’s not.”

  “All right then, how about this? No matter if it’s over or not, you’re not alone in this. You’ve got your sisters and me and your parents.”

  She looked shell-shocked. “I appreciate that, but we need to keep my parents out of this.”

  As far as he was concerned, they were already involved. “What are you talking about? I saw how they were looking at you. They love you, Kimber.”

  “Oh, I know that.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “But they aren’t going to want to see that part of me.”

  “What part?” When she shifted uncomfortably, he knew he should probably let his concerns slide. She was still injured and no doubt feeling badly. Plus, he was no counselor and it wasn’t like he didn’t have his own issues with his parents from time to time.

  Gentling his voice, he added, “We don’t have to talk about this anymore, but I’ve only seen beauty when I look at you. And I’m not talking about the outside either. I’m talking about what’s inside—your heart and your mind. You’re a pretty special woman, at least to me.”

  She reached for his hand. “I don’t know how I got so lucky finding you. You really are just the nicest guy.”

  “I’m nice to you.”

  “That’s enough for me.”

  He brought her hand to his lips. “Good, because I want you to keep me around for a while.” He realized then that while he’d tried to show her with his actions how much she meant to him, he hadn’t actually said the words. No, all he’d done was skirt around it, but he didn’t actually come out and say any of the words that a woman would be looking for.

  When he thought about it that way, it felt wrong. Weak, even. And he was a lot of things, but he didn’t like to think that weak was one of them.

  He scooted his plastic chair a little closer. “You know, Kimber, I’ve been looking for the right time to talk to you about how I’ve been feeling, but I guess that was silly.”

  One eyebrow rose. “Silly?”

  He guessed she had a point. He couldn’t ever recall a time when he’d used that word to describe himself. “Um, how about wrong?” He thought some more, then went back to his original descriptor. “Weak?”

  This time, both of her eyebrows rose. “Weak? Gunnar, whatever you’re describing isn’t close to how I’ve been thinking of you. You’re gonna have to be a little clearer because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Okay. What I’m trying to say, and not very well, is that I care about you. A lot.”

  Her whole expression softened. “I care about you too, silly.”

  He chuckled. “Uh-oh. I’m not going to live that down, am I?”

  “Probably not. It’s too tempting to use to tease you.”

  Just as he was bending down to kiss her smiling lips, they heard a rap on her door.

  “Knock, knock.”

  They sprang apart like two guilty teenagers.

  The cop, Officer Benson smirked as he sauntered in. “Sorry for interrupting, but it’s time I finished my interview with Miss Klein here.”

  CHAPTER 30

  “We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.”

  —Robert Burns

  After getting released from the hospital, Kimber had attempted to go back to her hotel room instead of her parents’ house. Going home with Gunnar and Traci in tow had felt like too much.

  Too many memories. Too many explanations. Too much togetherness, especially since both Traci and her parents had a tendency to speak what was on their minds. The last thing she wanted to do was play referee, or worse, have Gunnar witness it all.

  But in her parents’ typical bossy way, they’d overruled Kimber’s wishes. Mom had been especially persuasive, saying how she wanted to fuss over her but there was no way she was going to be able to do that while sitting in a hotel room the size of a postage stamp, no matter how fancy it was.

  She’d ignored Kimber’s protests that she didn’t need to be fussed over.

  Her parents had also said they wanted to spend some time with Gunnar and Traci. Her dad kept joking about he wanted to get acquainted with “Kimber’s young man,” like she was seventeen or something. Her mother kept talking about how “gorgeous” Gunnar was, but she also kept hinting that she wanted to try to make up for lost time with Traci.

  Her parents had good intentions, and everything kind of, sort of sounded reasonable, but it still made Kimber a nervous wreck.

  In the end, Kimber had agreed to go home, but had also shared that she really needed some space and couldn’t stay up too late, since she, Traci, and Gunnar all had to be at the airport in the morning to catch an early flight back to Cincinnati.

  This was after she refused to stay in New York longer.

  Her parents weren’t exactly wealthy, but they were well off. Well enough to hire a car instead of hailing a taxi to take them all to the Brooklyn brownstone that Kimber had grown up in.

  So they’d all arrived on her street in style, which had made more than a couple of their neighbors come out as Gunnar was helping her out of the car.

  Noticing that Mrs. Latimer was leading the pack, Kimber inwardly groaned. Mrs. Latimer had always gotten into her business.

  “Get ready,” Kimber said. “They’re going to want to say hello. They can be kind of nosey too.”

  Gunnar grinned. “Babe. I’m from Spartan, West Virginia. I can handle nosey neighbors. Being nosey is what we do back there.”

  “Kimber!” Mrs. Latimer called out.

  “You go say your hellos and I’ll rescue you in a second. I’ve got this.”

  And sure enough, he did. While she was asked about her bandage on her head, Gunnar answered questions about dating a super model and assured them that his whole family had the same accent that he did.

  Traci was far more awkward, but she was pleasant enough and ignored Kimber’s attempts to run interference.

  “Kimber, what happened to you?” another lady asked.

  Before she could answer, Gunnar swooped in. “She had a little accident, so I think I better get her inside, ma’am.”

  The ladies smiled
at him like he was the cutest thing they’d ever seen while he escorted her toward the door.

  After chatting to quite a few people as well, her parents and Traci ushered them all inside.

  “Kimber, you go relax,” her mother said as she climbed the stairs. “Dad’s going to start dinner. I’ll be down in a minute to help him.”

  Knowing her mother was going to want to get the guest bedrooms organized, Kimber nodded. “Okay, come on in. So . . . this is home.”

  “No, this is you,” Traci announced.

  Noticing that her sister was staring at the wall next to the fireplace, Kimber tossed her bag on a chair and followed. And then saw . . . her.

  Four magazine covers were framed and displayed in the center of a dozen other smaller, framed shots of her.

  Kimber was shocked into silence.

  “Kimber, baby, look at you,” Gunnar said.

  “It’s like a Kimber shrine,” Traci said.

  And . . . her whole level of embarrassment had reached a new low. “I swear, I didn’t know this was here.”

  He lightly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m glad it is. I can’t believe I’ve never seen all this. You look . . .”

  “What?”

  “Different.”

  “I know. It’s a lot of lighting, makeup, and camera angles.”

  “I don’t think so, Kimber,” Traci said, tilting her head slightly to the right. “It looks like you, but Gunnar’s right. It’s almost like looking at a stranger.”

  “Let’s go into the kitchen. I’m sorry about this.” She was not only embarrassed by the whole display but acutely aware that Traci didn’t have parents who commemorated her accomplishments.

  Gunnar didn’t move. “Just a minute. Why are you sorry? I like seeing all of your photos. It’s fun to see what you did in your former life.”

  Her former life. She blinked. He was right. All of this was her former life—not who she was now. “You’re right. All this is behind me now. Come on. My parents are waiting.”