Page 26 of Embraced at Seaside
“You’re opening your own studio?” He stepped from the truck as she ran across the lawn carrying her shoes.
“I don’t know!” She fumbled with her key, and he came up behind her and took it from her hand, calmly unlocking the door for her.
“Why didn’t I know that?” He stood on the front step, clearly waiting for an answer.
“Because we have sex; we don’t talk.” She saw something that resembled disappointment, or hurt, wash over his face, and she realized she was running off again. She slowed her frantic mind long enough to say, “Thank you for an incredible morning.” She dropped her shoes by the door, waiting for him to leave.
“Maybe we should,” he said, remaining on the front porch.
“Should…?” She’d been answering so quickly she hadn’t really processed the conversation.
“Talk.”
“Talk?” She laughed, thinking that maybe he was just playing with her, despite the effort he’d gone to this morning. “Seriously, I’ve got to get ready.” She started to close the door, and Hunter put his hand against it, keeping it open.
“I’m being serious. We should…” He looked around the living room, as if the answer he was seeking was there somewhere. “Have dinner or something.”
“Dinner?”
“Yes. We should eat together.”
She felt every second ticking away, still confused at where all this was coming from. “We eat in bed. We’re good at that.”
He crossed his arms and lowered his chin, and she finally understood just how serious he was.Dead serious.
“Youwantto have dinner with me? Totalk?”
“Yes.” His response was accompanied by a single curt nod.
“Okay.”Oh my gosh. Hunter.
“Okay.” A hint of a smile played on his lips. “Tonight.”
“It would be nice to ask me instead of tell me.”
He dropped his gaze, and when he lifted it, his smile reached his eyes, and her insides went soft.
“Jana, would you like to join me for dinner tonight?”
She couldn’t help but smile at the restraint in his voice. “I can’t. I’m working until ten. But tomorrow I get off at seven.”
“I’ll be here at seven forty-five, then. Tomorrow.”
“Fine. But just for the record, you could haveaskedif seven forty-five was okay.”
“You’re a pain, pretty girl. A sexy, smart, scorching-hot pain.” He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before heading back to his truck.
Jana closed the door and leaned her back against it, wondering how many stars had to be misaligned for Hunter Lacroux to ask her out on a real date.
Chapter Eleven
JANA’S NERVES WERE strung tighter than a ballet dancer’s shoe ribbons. She sat between Bella and Leanna on Theresa’s couch, trying desperately to stop thinking about her morning with Hunter and focus on her meeting with Theresa. Jana could see from the serious look in Theresa’s eyes and the firm press of her lips that she took her job very seriously.
A plate of muffins and a jar of Leanna’s jam sat on the coffee table between them. Jana wished she could be on the outside looking in like the rest of the girls, who were watching the babies and, she was sure, watching Theresa’s house like hawks.
Theresa crossed her legs and flicked a speck of thread from her pleated shorts. “So, you want to hold dance classes in the rec center? What types of classes, how often, and how many students do you expect to have per class?”
Jana folded her hands in her lap, trying not to fidget as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Yes, I would. I don’t think you’d allow me to install a ballet bar, so probably hip-hop, jazz, line dance, experimental or freestyle, and maybe ballroom, if people sign up, but that’s rare around here.” Excitement filled her chest at the thought of actually being able to make these types of decisions for her own studio. “I was even thinking that you guys”—she turned to Bella and Leanna—“might be interested in taking a Foxy Mamas dance class.”
