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“Sure. That’s what this is all about, right? You can only tell so much from dancing with one another. If she picks me, then I’d like to see what might be there.”
My sister looked like she was about to explode with excitement. “Okay. Then you better go home and get your beauty sleep. You don’t want to scare her away tomorrow.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ali
Work was nuts. Luckily Saturday night had been slower than usual because people hadn’t been sure we’d be open. People that did come in were either diehard customers or didn’t have any clue that we’d been under suspicion in the first place. A few customers asked how things were going, and what caused the shutdown, but Anton was able to brush all of that away.
In the kitchen, we took extra precautions. We had sanitized everything with a deep cleaning and then gotten to work preparing for the night. Our menu was adjusted to fit what we could quickly cook without hours of extra preparation, and what we had in stock, along with a few recipes that we were introducing on a special menu that we called a testing menu. We tried to make the customers feel special by saying they were part of our surprise test group, and I was out of the kitchen on and off during the night to check on their opinions. I was also watching my staff like a hawk.
Not that I thought any of them had done something wrong, but I couldn’t take the chance that it would happen again. By the time the night was over, I was exhausted. At midnight, I was walking in my door, and I was asleep on my feet.
Sunday was more of the same, and it was another stressful night, but at least we were back to our regular menu, for the most part. There were a few things that we weren’t able to get in fresh, but we were back in business. I spoke to Randolph as soon as I woke and let him know how things were going. He didn’t seem concerned and told me that he knew I could handle it. That is why he had hired me as the head chef. That made me feel a little better, but it still irked me that we had been blamed for food poisoning when there had been no proof found.
On Sundays, we opened at four instead of five, but we also closed an hour earlier. I was home and in bed by eleven, and while I was excited about this next week of dancing, I was also dreading it. I had never imagined that it would be so physically grueling.
* * *
DidI seriously think just last night that the past week had been physically grueling? Holy crap! I stood in the dance studio, my jaw hanging open as I watched Clara and Victor move around the room. They expected me to do that? There was no way I could do half of what they were asking, and I sure as hell could not look even half as sexy as she did.
I knew that Clara was the dance partner to the two men, and I wondered what she thought of them. What would they think of me after dancing with her? She was grace and style, and her body was so fluid and oozed sex. I couldn’t do that.
I spun around and started walking toward the door. I heard Holly yell, “Cut!” and then a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me around.
“Where do you think you are going?” Cal asked although he looked very concerned.
“I can’t do that, Cal! There is no way I could do that dance. She makes it look so easy, but I can’t do that! The way she flips her hair and brushes her body against him. You expect me to do that with two men that I don’t even know? I cannot do that! Or—or trust them to flip me over their back, hold me as they spin in a circle, and lift me like that? There is no way!”
Holly appeared at my side. “Ali, you can do this! This dance was made for you.”
“Made me for me? Are you nuts? This dance was made for sexy and sophisticated. I am neither.”
“Cal, can you give us a moment?” He nodded and stepped aside as Holly led me over to the corner.
“I know you don’t think you can do this, Ali, but I know you can. I can picture you doing it. Now you need to picture it. Isn’t this exactly what you wanted—a dance to get you out of your comfort zone and show people that you are a sexy woman with more than your food?”
I pursed my lips and hugged myself. “Holly, how the hell can I trust these men to hold me like that? Jesus, they are touching almost every part of my body. I don’t even know these men.”
“I agree that it is a very touchy dance, but you can’t tell me that it didn’t intrigue you just a little bit. Put aside your fear for a moment, and picture those two men that you danced with last week. Don’t you think they are going to be afraid of not being good enough for you? Can you picture either of those men giving up?”
I considered that for a moment. Both of those men had been determined and reliable and also fun. Would they be able to pull this off and add in the sexual and romantic elements? Would we all look like bumbling idiots? At least if we were I wouldn’t be alone in this.
Holly took my shoulders. “I will promise you that both of these guys are going to be just as afraid as you are. But I know they are going to do it because they are both determined to make you happy and see if that connection grows. It’s going to be tough, but I know you can do this, Ali.”
“There is no way I can look anywhere as sexy as she does.” I nodded toward Clara, who was chatting with Victor and Cal.
“You will. I promise you. Once you get the hang of it and get comfortable with this dance, you will add your own sexuality to it.”
I laughed abruptly, and everyone glanced my way. “I can’t believe I am going to do this.”
“You got this, Ali.”
“If you say so,” I muttered, and then she pulled me back to Cal and Tarin, who gave me more of a pep talk.
“Alright, let’s go back to the end of the dance and get a new reaction from Ali,” Holly called.
I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and shook out my arms, nodding toward Holly that I was ready. The music ended, and Tarin turned to me. “What do you think?”
