Page 23 of The Suitcase Swap

‘You look amazing,’ he said, not bothering to hide the reverence in his voice. What was it about her that turned him inside out?

Her smile brightened. ‘Thank you.’ She smoothed a hand over the dress self-consciously. ‘Marisa helped me pick it out. I wanted something that would look good for the blog, but . . . you don’t think it’s too much?’

‘If it’s too much,’ Mike said, ‘then too much is a good look on you. You look beautiful.’

She blushed, taking the seat next to him. ‘Thanks.’ She looked up at the menu, which was chalked onto the wall behind the bar. ‘You nervous about dancing?’

‘Oh god, yes,’ Mike said. ‘It’s been a while.’ He watched her out of the corner of his eye. He’d been nervous, and that was still there, that startled moth feeling in his gut of anticipation, but there was something else, too. Being with Sophie eased something inside him in a way he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around. He just somehow knew that with her here, he would have a good time.

‘I’ve danced with friends,’ Sophie said. ‘But I haven’t danced with a partner in years.’ She grimaced. ‘Which now strikes me as a bit sad. Not that I need someone to feel complete,’ she added quickly. ‘More that I supposedly had someone, but we’d stopped dancing together.’ Her mouth twisted in another grimace. ‘Which is probably more than you wanted to know.’

‘I think,’ Mike said slowly, ‘that there might not be a limit to what I want to know about you. And that while you’re with me, while we’re both here, we shouldn’t worry about being too much. We should just have fun.’

Sophie watched him for a long moment, as if trying to make sense of his words. ‘All right. I’ll probably get someoneto take pictures of us if I can. Do you mind being in them? I can put something over your face if you’d prefer to stay anonymous.’

‘I don’t mind being in the photos,’ Mike said. ‘If anything, it would give my kids proof that I took a night off. Might get me some respite from their constant hounding.’

She grinned. ‘They sound like they love you.’

‘They’re good kids,’ he admitted. ‘I’m so proud of both of them. I just wish . . .’ He let out a breath. Probably wasn’t good form to talk about Tara when he was on a sort-of date, was it? Sophie hadn’t minded before, but he didn’t want to cross some sort of line . . .

Sophie put a hand over his. ‘Life isn’t very fair, is it?’ She turned back to the menu, her voice suddenly casual in a way that told Mike she felt anythingbuteasy about her topic. ‘Tom hasn’t talked to his father since the divorce.’ She seemed to realize she still had her hand on his and took it back. ‘I didn’t ask for that. I don’t want to get in between them, but with the way Andrew’s acting, it’s like he divorced both of us. He hasn’t tried to bridge that gap at all. It makes me so angry. Tom deserves better. I should havechosenbetter.’

Mike reached out, putting his hand over hers on the bar. ‘I’m sure you did the best you could at the time.’

Sophie nodded, swallowing hard. ‘It doesn’t feel that way sometimes, but thank you.’ She turned those big hazel eyes on him, and the effect was disorienting, like he might fall into them. Which was ludicrous. ‘From the little you’ve said about Tara, you did choose well. She would have been proud of her kids, Mike. Maybe it’s silly to say that because I didn’t know her, but I feel like I know you, at least a little, and . . . I can’t imagine you would love her so much if she wasn’t the kind of person who would love her kids one hundred per cent. Does that make sense?’

Mike blew out a breath, feeling like he’d been kicked again, but in a way that felt kind of good. ‘Yeah, it does. And she was. Thank you.’

Her smile was faint this time, but looked fully meant. ‘Anytime,’ she said. ‘Now how about we get a drink, put everything aside for the night, and try not to be the worst salsa dancers in the world?’

Chapter Seven

Javi was a man of medium build with tanned skin, black curly hair shaved at the top, and the body of a man who danced for a living. Sophie was also convinced that he was possibly some sort of wizard because the way the man moved was magic. Which she felt only highlighted how not-magically she was moving.

‘Okay, cross body lead, one two three, here comes the turn,’ Javi said, clapping his hands. ‘Remember, small steps, no bouncing. At the end of the lead, changing hands, five, six, seven, good!’

Mike placed his hand on her hip, grumbling as he led her in the steps. ‘I swear that man is actually a cat.’

‘It’s uncanny, isn’t it?’ she whispered.

‘He’s freakishly talented – I know this is his profession, so of course he should be, but damn, what have I been doing wrong my entire life?’ His arm slid around her waist as they moved into the next part of the dance, and Sophie missed her step.

She didn’t mind that she was fumbling her way through the dance moves – it was fun, even if she wasn’t a natural at it. It was only that she might have been better at it if she wasn’t distracted every time Mike touched her hip, or held her for a step. The touches were fleeting, but it also felt like they were layering up, each one building to something inevitable, like flowers blooming in the spring. Or like theTitaniccrashing into an iceberg.

Mike, even buttoned up in a suit for his professional look, was handsome. It turned out that this side of him, his jacket abandoned, top two shirt buttons undone, sleeves rolled up revealing his forearms, took him a step beyond. Sweat glistened on his forehead, his hair was tousled from him running his hands through it, he was breathing as hard as she was from the exertion, and it was quite possibly the single sexiest thing she’d seen in her entire life.

His eyes glittered with laughter as he flubbed another step, barely missing her feet.

Javi came over to them, his hands still keeping the beat. ‘Small steps, move those hips. Show everyone you’ve still got it.’

‘You’re a very good teacher,’ Mike told him. ‘Don’t take our butchering it personally.’

Javi clucked his tongue. ‘You’re having fun and trying. Dance is about joy, and the sensual pleasure of letting your body move. Who cares if you’re not perfect? This isn’t a competition.’

‘Well said,’ Sophie said with a laugh as she wobbled on her heel, Mike catching her easily, his arms wrapping around her andoh.

‘My assistant got some footage and stills of you,’ Javi said. ‘You should definitely get some shots from the social, though.’

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