Page 39 of Halstead House

“That’s real nice of you, Ana. Thank you, but I’ve eaten already. I was making my way to the dance floor when I saw you two over here. Thought I’d see if Grace wants to take a twirl with me.” He looked to me, and I read the hint of challenge in his expression.

My stomach clenched. “I’m afraid I’ve never done this type of dancing,” I hedged.

“What type of dancing do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean, I’ve never line danced or done any of the couple dances with their intricate steps.” I felt my face warm and cursed it for the millionth time.

“Don’t worry about that. Everybody has to learn sometime. I’m a great teacher.”

He stood up from his chair, kicking it back toward the table he’d taken it from and held out a hand to me. I looked to Ana, who just shrugged. I was on my own to decide. It should have been a simple decision: to dance or not to dance. But it wasn’t. There was true potential for me to embarrass myself or cause some kind of disturbance, and I couldn’t be relaxed about that. A Burke was always proper in public. No scandal should ever be attached to my name.

While I realized that I lived a strict set of rules, I did agree fundamentally with some of them. The way Ana was acting toward Jonathan made me think that dancing with him would cause some unwelcome consequences—whatever that meant. I didn’t want anything to be said about the Halstead family because of me. Then again, this was the man I’d recently shared a nice conversation with over a sandwich, and we had worked side-by-side. He seemed harmless enough for one little dance.

“Come on, baby girl, nothing to worry about,” Jonathan said in a soothing tone as he took my hand.

Turns out I didn’t like being called baby girl. I was learning new things about myself every day. Still... I had worn my hair down, and it seemed like an awful waste of hair-tugging if I turned down this opportunity.

I took his hand and a deep breath at the same time. “Okay. One dance.”

“We’ll start with one and see how it goes.” He smiled his handsome smile. My eyes practically crossed at the sight of all that male beauty, and all arguments flew out of my head. He was dangerous.

As luck would have it, a line dance was starting when we found some space on the dance floor. My eyes were wide as I turned to Jonathan, but he grinned and nodded.

“Just follow along and you’ll pick it up.” He let go of my hand after giving it a reassuring squeeze.

I looked to where Ana was still sitting at our table. I understood the words Jonathan had said, but I wasn’t exactly comforted by them. Thankfully Ana understood my panicked look and hurried out to join us. She shoved her way in to stand next to me.

“Okay, Grace, nothing to worry about. Line dances repeat the same movements over and over. We’re in the middle of the crowd, so no one will notice you. I promise you aren’t the only one learning this dance tonight,” she said quietly.

I bit my lip and nodded. “Okay. That makes sense.”

I was comforted by Ana’s presence next to me as the music started and all around me people began moving as one. Arms and legs kicked and flew in unison. People whistled and called out words as they got into the groove. I noticed two girls in the row behind me laughing as they stumbled through the moves, trying to learn. The only difference between them and me was that I was doing it stiffly while they were relaxed, not self-conscious, and laughing. I tried to make my muscles unclench.

I made a mistake as we rotated and allowed myself a small laugh. Jonathan heard me and smiled. “See, this is fun.”

I looked to Ana, who was on the other side of me, eyes glowing as she did the moves perfectly. “You could have taught me these dances before we came,” I said off to her side.

“And miss watching Miss Perfect Pants struggle? I don’t think so.”

“I’m not perfect,” I argued as we turned again.

“Obviously.” Ana tapped me on the shoulder to get me moving in the right direction.

After another full rotation I got the hang of the steps and began to feel freer and more confident. By the time we turned again I was smiling. Another turn and I was laughing. When the song ended I had my full megawatt smile shining.

I felt sweat trickle down my back as I thanked Ana for coming out to dance with me. She gave me a spontaneous hug, which lodged something new and sweet in my throat, before heading back to our table. A feeling of affection washed over me as I watched her walk away. She’d seen my need and come to my side for no reason other than to help me. I had a friend. The feeling was remarkable.

I turned to Jonathan, smile still shining, as the music slowed to another couple’s dance. “Thank you, that was fun,” I said.

“You can’t leave now,” he responded, grabbing at my hand. “This is the good part.”

“I really should...”

“Come on. You wouldn’t let me take you to dinner. At least share one slow dance with me.”

My argument died and he saw his chance to pull me in close to him and put both hands on my waist. I instinctively reached for his shoulders as he guided me into some simple footsteps. As soon as I gave in to his directions we were moving gracefully across the floor, weaving through the other couples.

As my apprehension melted into the soothing movements of the dance, he pressed me gently closer, moving his hands from my waist to my lower back and making it so that our heads were side-by-side. I went hesitantly into his less formal embrace but held my distance when he tried to squeeze me tighter.

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