Page 113 of Just Like Home

Yep. The nerves were definitely little backstabbers.

“Let’s just do a simple box step,” she said. “The woman always leads with her right, which means—”

“I lead with my left.”

She grinned. “You can be taught.”

He rolled his eyes, then straightened, his grip on her hand firm. She counted him off and walked him through a 1-2-3 count, the most basic steps of a waltz.

And to her surprise, he caught on right away.

“I thought you said you were bad at this,” she said.

He frowned. “Bad is an understatement.”

She smiled. “Let’s do it again.” They’d worked their way up to moving around the floor when Amelia appeared in the doorway, Hildy at her side.

“You two look wonderful together,” Hildy said, a sigh in her voice.

Charlotte stepped out of Cole’s embrace. “Amelia, you’re here.”

The little girl turned shy.

“Are you ready to dance with your uncle?”

Amelia didn’t respond. Brinley had told Charlotte that the week had been a productive one with Julianna’s oldest. She’d danced in all of her classes, and she’d danced well. But maybe this dance, which she was supposed to do with her father, had a different sting.

“Why don’t you two show her what you’ve done so far?” Hildy smiled softly at Charlotte. “We’ll give her some time to warm into it.”

“Good idea,” Charlotte said. She returned to Cole, who still stood in the center of the floor while Hildy led Amelia off to the side.

Charlotte turned on some music—not their official song because she hadn’t selected that yet—and led Cole in a circle around the room. When they returned to the place where they’d started, she lifted her chin to face him. “Okay, now you lead.”

His arms went limp. “I’m not ready for that yet.”

“Yes, you are,” she said. She didn’t give him time to think about it. Instead, she counted him off and waited for him before she moved. On her second “One-two-three” he nodded and off they went, the same way they’d done before, only this time, it was Cole who determined their direction.

It was his hand on her waist that guided her, and for the briefest moment, she let herself get lost in the most basic of moves.

They returned to the center of the room and came to a stop. She should step out of his arms. She should drag her gaze away. She should run for safety.

But she did none of those things.

Instead, she simply stared, memorizing the way it felt to be held.

Behind her, Hildy cleared her throat. “That was lovely. Cole, I had no idea you could dance.”

“I can’t,” he said, still looking at Charlotte.

Finally, she took a step back. “Your turn, Amelia.”

The little girl stood and stepped forward quietly and stood in front of her uncle.

Cole smiled down at her. “Now the real test begins.”

Amelia glanced up at him, a curious look in her eye.

“The real professional,” he said. “I’m not sure I can keep up with you.”

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