Save the Last Dance by Shelley Shepard Gray

Author:Shelley Shepard Gray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 2020-09-25T20:19:08+00:00

CHAPTER 18

“Sitting under the mistletoe

(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),

One last candle burning low,

All the sleeping dancers gone,

Just one candle burning on,

Shadows lurking everywhere:

Someone came, and kissed me there.”

—walter de la mare, “mistletoe”

“I think y’all have got those steps down now,” Shannon announced, effectively breaking the tension between him and Kimber. “So you can stop . . . if, you know, you two would like to take a break.”

Still holding Kimber close, he stared down into her eyes. She blinked, looking just as confused as he felt by the directions.

But then his mother giggled and reality hit him in the face.

Embarrassed, he dropped his hands and took a full step back. What had he just done? He was here to learn the cha-cha with his mother, not get lost in some make-believe world with Kimber!

Making himself ignore the fact that Kimber was still frozen in front of him, he cleared his throat. “Mom, are you ready to practice?”

“Well, actually . . . I’ve decided to come back tomorrow night to Shannon’s senior class.”

He turned to face her. “What? Why?”

“Well, I was talking with Gwen here while Shannon was working with you and Kimber and she was telling me how much fun the senior class was.” Her voice was as chipper as usual, but there also seemed to be something else underlying there. Like she had a really good secret that she wasn’t interested in sharing with him. “Plus, those folks know a lot of the dances, so I can work on improving, not just learning basic steps like you are.”

“Oh. I guess that does make sense.”

“I think it does. The senior class is going to be a better fit for me, I think . . . for several reasons.” She smiled over at Shannon. “I’m delighted to have gotten to watch you teach though. You did a good job.”

Gunnar looked back at Kimber. She’d moved a little bit away, but she didn’t look like her usual assertive self. Actually, she seemed to be feeling just as confused as he was. “I guess you learned to cha-cha for no reason,” he said to her. “I’m sorry to waste your time.”

“You didn’t waste it.” Gesturing toward her sister, she said, “Shannon’s been after me to learn something new.” She smiled tightly. “Tonight I did.”

“Ballroom dancing just might be your thing,” Shannon said, her voice all business. “You did a lot better cha-chaing than you did at ballet or tap.”

“Ballet was extremely painful, though I did better than Traci.”

“Only marginally so,” Shannon said.

His mother chuckled. “I find that hard to believe, dear. You look like you can do a lot of things well.”

“Not as many as one would hope.” Looking adorably flustered, she walked over to his mom. “I’m glad we got to meet. How long are you in town for?”

“Only about a week or so. Although these classes were a good excuse, I really wanted to meet Jeremy before I go on my Christmas cruise.”

“He’s a good kid.”

Right before his eyes, his mom turned into a grandmother.

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