Page 14 of Igniting Sparks
I reach out and grasp her hand, a warmth flooding my fingers. “Please. Finish what you were saying.”
“So, I figured this was it, you know? Working in town andliving down the road. Until my mother called me with my aunt’s proposal.”
“The dance studio.”
She nods. “The Evelyn Court Dance Atelier. Do you know it?”
I shake my head. “No, but I’m not much of a dancer.”
She tips her chin and smiles up at me. “I’ll bet you could be with the right partner.”
“The right partner makes all the difference.”
Okay, that soundedwaymore sexual than I intended.
Mina laughs, the edges tinged with nerves. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t date much.”
See, there is no way that is true. No woman, looking like Mina does, sits home alone every night.
But if that’s how she wants to spin it, I’ll play along.
“Untrue,” I scoff. “Apparently, you’re engaged. He’s a hell of a guy, too.”
Mina groans into her hands. “You are not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“Where is the fun in that? Go ahead, I’m listening. Your aunt’s proposal.”
“Right. My aunt is retiring and wants a family member to take over the studio. It has a storied history in Sparkwood and a long roster of clients. Blah, blah, blah. But financially, I’d be set for life. Plus, I’d be back in the dance world again.”
A small smile plays on my lips. I can see Mina leading a class, her hair in a bun as she teaches little girls to dance. “Sounds perfect.”
“Except she doesn’t want some single girl taking over the studio. She wants a pillar of the community, complete with the husband and white picket fence. A fucking façade of Sparkwood perfection. I figured I could talk her out of it, because I have so many ideas for the studio. But then my cousin, who damn near flunked out of ballet 101, shows up wearing some ostentatious diamond and crowing about Mr. Wall Street. Suddenly, she’s the perfect candidate. At least by my aunt’s standards.”
Seems this transaction is nowhere near as cut and dried as I first expected.
I run a hand over my bearded jaw. “You’re competing with your cousin for the studio? That’s diabolical.”
“Sick, isn’t it? I’m not even sure if Aunt Bitsy is seriously considering me at all or is just having fun messing with my head.”
“Maybe she knows you’re the best choice. Ever think of that?”
A blush blooms on Mina’s cheeks at my statement, only upping her cuteness factor. “I needed to hear that. Thank you.”
“So, why me?” Okay, unexpected question. Have I wondered? Of course, but I didn’t plan to announce it aloud. “I just happened to be the right single guy at the right time. Is that it?”
If this is just a deal, if I was the first available guy she saw, then that alleviates any further discussion.
The kiss becomes transactional. Simple.
So why does that concept bother the hell out of me?
Mina paces the small space, her nerves evident. “No. I mean, I don’t know. My mother wanted me to pretend my cousin was my fiancé. Could you imagine?”
“Wouldn’t your aunt figure that out pretty quick?”
“Bitsy doesn’t know anyone on my father’s side. Doesn’t care to, either. She hates him for stealing my mom away. She was her golden child. Loved her like a daughter. Until she had the audacity to fall for a blue-collar mechanic.”
“Doesn’t sound like love to me.”
