Page 49 of Kissing the Debutant
Lillian’s eyes widened. She whipped her head around to stare at the woman she’d just told about Jack’s hands, his lips. “Oh, crap.” Lillian picked up the cheeseburger on her plate and took a giant bite, for once thinking of anything but the calories.
17
Jack
Jack pushed his dust mop down the hall, past a studio full of little girls in tutus, giggling and dancing circles around Katrina. Familiar music lured him to the small studio at the back of the building.
Lillian was in the middle of her routine, laser focused as usual. She was more than ready for her competition, and he was so proud of her for venturing out of her comfort zones. In so many ways, she’d risen to the challenge, and even now, she wore a confident smile on her face. Something he’d never seen from her whenever she practiced her classical routines. Lillian was having fun. She’d found the joy in dancing again, and Jack had been a part of that.
“Are you just going to lurk by the door, or are you coming in?” she asked as she moved through a complicated sequence of footwork she could easily do in her sleep now.
“I’ve already swept this room, so I’m just admiring the view.” He leaned against the doorway, folding his arms across his chest.
“Slacking on the job?” she teased, coming to a stop with a heartbreaking smile.
“Never.” He took a step into the room, but his phone rang before he had a chance to ask her out for dinner tonight. “Hey, Mom, what’s up?” he answered with a hint of dread in his voice. He knew this afternoon phone call too well.
“Jacky, my beautiful, sweet, favorite son.”
“Oh no, what do you want?” He laughed. “Double shift?”
“If you don’t mind picking up the kids from Mrs. Patterson’s. We could use the extra money.”
“You know you can count on me, Mom, but isn’t Dad coming home tonight? You sure you want to miss that?”
“He’ll understand if I’m not there to welcome him.”
“Try to make it home for dinner if you can. Love you.”
Lillian stepped up beside him to grab her water bottle out of her bag. “Is that your mom?” she whispered, a hint of a blush creeping across her face.
“Yeah, one sec.” He winked at Lillian. “Mind if I bring a friend over for dinner?”
“The more the merrier. Love you, Son.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Jack glanced at the time on his phone before he slipped it into his back pocket. His shift was almost over.
“Let’s cut practice early.” He took Lillian’s hands in both of his.
“Early?” She frowned at him as if he’d suggested something impossible.
“You’ve never skipped practice before, have you?” he teased, pulling her close.
“My mother would kill me.”
Jack shrugged. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right? You know this routine better than I do, and I created it. Come meet my family tonight, and you can practice twice as hard tomorrow.”
“I don’t know.” Lillian glanced over her shoulder at the empty studio. “I just got warmed up… but sure. Let’s do it.”
“Excellent.” Jack leaned in to kiss her. “I’ll finish up and meet you out front in five.”
“Okay.” She avoided his gaze again.
Jack couldn’t hold back his smile as he put his cleaning supplies away. He was dying to spend time with Lillian outside the studio. He wanted them to have more than just dancing as a common ground, but he worried someone like her couldn’t relate to his family and the responsibilities that fell to him when his parents were busy with work.
“Katrina.” He ducked into the chaotic classroom swarming with hyper baby ballerinas. “I need to duck out early to pick up the terrible two.”
