Page 40 of All's Fair in Love and Christmas
She hurried over to the record player and loaded an album. “Can I have everyone’s attention?”
Heads peeked up behind computers like groundhogs darting from their underground burrows.
“Jeremy and Lincoln would like to perform for you an original dance set to music fromThe Nutcracker.” Jill lowered the needle onto the record.
The opening notes of “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” filled the large industrial space. Jeremy rose onto his tippy-toes and took tiny steps, his arms in an arc over his head. When the bassoon played a lower register, Lincoln followed him out, mimicking his moves.
Jeremy had no idea what he was doing as far as the dance was concerned. An internet crash course on ballet could never replace the years of training and discipline it took for real dancers to master the choreography for the actual Sugar Plum Fairy ballet. But that wasn’t his goal. If anything, the more he hammed it up, the closer he’d be to his objectives. Yes, plural, because he found he’d added to his original goal of making things right with Mackenzie. Now he also wanted to see her smile. Hear her laugh. And maybe even imbue her with confidence so that the next time she found herself in a situation where she felt embarrassed, she could snub the thoughts of those around her and keep dancing. Figuratively speaking.
Jeremy kicked his leg out as high as he could, which didn’t even make a ninety-degree angle. The muscle in his groin protested. Okay, no more of that. He hopped from one foot to the other, trying to stay in time to the bell-like sounds of the song. He made sweeping motions with his hands. Lincoln spun around him in atight circle. Giggles and undecipherable murmurings drifted to him from their audience.
Jeremy dropped from his toes to a flat-footed position, his arms in a circle in front of him like he was making a hoop for someone to throw a ball into. Up on his toes, then down again. He had no idea if the move was even a real ballet step, but it allowed him to look out and see everyone. As expected, there was a lot of laughter going on. Jill had her phone out and was recording the whole thing. Jeremy found Mackenzie standing in between Keri and Sofiya. Her hands were up and covering the lower portion of her face so he couldn’t tell if she was smiling or not. Her eyes were large, as if she were in a state of shock.
He remembered reading that when ballerinas spun, they found a focal point to stare at and always came back with their eyes to that spot so they wouldn’t get dizzy. Jeremy focused on Mackenzie’s face and spun. His head whipped around to find her again. The skin around the outside of her eyes crinkled, and her shoulders rose and fell in silent laughter.
Lincoln ran into him, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. Lincoln caught his waist to steady him, but then held on. Jeremy gripped Lincoln’s wrists to shove him away, but Lincoln stopped him by saying, “Jump.”
Jeremy jumped, scissoring his feet in quick succession. He remembered one of the dancers in the videos he’d watched doing something like that.
“Is this song ever going to end?” Lincoln grumbled in his ear.
Finally, the music started to fade. Jeremy and Lincoln bowed in unison. Sofiya darted over to them.
“That was...” She laughed. “Well, it’s safe to say I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Jeremy looked around Sofiya to Mackenzie. He didn’t want to be rude to his boss, but he really wanted to talk to Mackenzie and apologize face-to-face.
“You’ve taken the Christmas spirit to a whole new level.”
His neck snapped back around to face his boss. Sofiya thought the dance was for the promotion?
“I like the dedication.” She looked him up and down, appraising him. “Keep up the good work.”
As soon as she walked away, Jeremy headed toward Mackenzie. Keri saw him first. He was afraid she’d cut him off, but she surprised him by saying something to Mackenzie and then walking away.
Mackenzie faced him, her hands folded in front of her. Her head dipped slightly down, but she didn’t stare at the floor like he’d seen her do before.
“I told you I’d think of a way to make amends.” He slid his hands into his pockets, thankful yet again for the joggers and not tights.
A breath of a laugh escaped her lips. “You did warn me.”
“Hey.”
At his single word, she looked up and met his gaze. He couldn’t believe how careless he’d been to hurt someone so undeserving of his backhanded comments. He only hoped he’d been able to mend any pieces of her he might have broken and vowed he’d never be so negligent in the future.
Staring down at her, he had an overwhelming urge to reach out and trail a finger down her arm. Maybe push back the curtain of hair that sometimes fell to hide her face. He knew she felt more comfortable at the edge of the crowd. In the shadows. But somehow a spotlight had been turned on her for him. One he wasn’t quite sure how to turn off.
She tried to look away, but he ducked his head to maintain eye contact. She needed to see he truly meant it when he said, “I’m sorry, Mackenzie.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but no sound emitted. “I—” she finally managed to squeak out. Her breathing quickened. Her gaze darted away. “I’ve got to go.”
She turned on her heel and fled.
16
Why can’t my brain work normally like everybody else’s? Why does it have to short-circuit all the time? Other people would have been able to look at Jeremy after he apologized, after he performed that wonderfully ridiculous dance number, and come up with something to say. Anything would have worked.
A simpleI accept your apology, for example.
