Now, she clutched a bag of bagels and cream cheese, along with a portable carafe of coffee she’d purchased at a bakery, and let herself into the house.

  Shanna followed the smell of burned toast with a poignant smile.

  She sauntered into the kitchen and looked at her father, older now, gray at the temples, his reading glasses askew, but still vital and well built for pushing sixty.

  “Bagels?” she offered.

  Her dad plucked charred bread from the toaster with his fingertips, then dropped it on the counter with a curse.

  Then he skewered her with a stare. “Sure. As soon as you explain why you’re wearing men’s clothes, are rosy with whisker burn, and smell like sex.”

  Certainly nothing off about his eyesight.

  “I do things beyond work and practice at the dance studio.”

  He sent her a pointed stare over the top of his glasses. “I never noticed it until today. You’ve always been very single-minded about winning.”

  “I still am. What happened last night won’t happen again.” She passed him the bag of bagels, hoping it would distract him.

  He ignored the gesture and arched a sharp brow, as if he disapproved. But Shanna couldn’t shake the impression that he was suppressing a smile.

  “I suspected it would happen someday. Maybe it’s the female way. Who is he?”

  Shanna frowned. “What do you mean, ‘the female way?’”

  He shrugged. “Women follow their hearts, which usually lead them to some man or another, who may or may not respect their desire to keep pursuing their goals.”

  Exactly. No doubt, he’d have complete disrespect if she ultimately made that choice. Her brothers, too.

  “Which is precisely why Alejandro and I are…done.”

  “Alejandro? Do I know him?”

  Shanna shook her head. “Argentinean. He owns a nightclub. We met at the benefit for the Catholic orphans charity last weekend.”

  God, it was weird to be discussing her love life with her father in the kitchen of her childhood home at seven in the morning. She needed coffee for this.

  “Hmm.” Her father hesitated. “What does he think of your dancing?”

  “I assume he’s okay with it. Not that it matters.” Shanna sipped the caffeine-laden brew and let it sink into her hazy brain.

  He reached for the carafe of coffee and poured a steaming mug. “A hindrance, is he? Resenting your practices?”

  “No.” Not unless she was avoiding him.

  “Latin men are notoriously jealous. He can’t handle your time with Kristoff and the way your partner has to touch you?”

  Shanna had to laugh. “No, he knows way too much about Kristoff to be jealous.”

  “So you’re just worried he’d be a general distraction?”

  “He would. The other night, I was headed for a sensible dinner and an early evening to bed. Big day of practice the next morning, which is vital with the competition coming up. He came by and just assumed I’d go out for ice cream with him.”

  “Ice cream. That’s a huge problem.” Her father sipped his coffee, seemingly deep in thought.

  Somehow, Shanna got the impression he was laughing silently at her.

  “It is! I can’t afford to blow off sleep and eat a gallon of ice cream to satisfy some romantic notion of his. And then he tells me personal stuff, about his childhood and friendships. He blurts out his views that commitment is absolute and infidelity is inexcusable. Why tell me? The whole incident is taking up my thoughts that should be directed to the competition, which is tomorrow. And last night, he kept me up half the night…”

  Realizing she’d nearly spilled the details of her sex life, Shanna flushed, then continued with a safer topic. “The man is just consuming. Him just being steals my attention and leads my thoughts astray. Every trick I’ve used in the past to ward off would-be Romeos doesn’t work with him. He just doesn’t give up and won’t go away.”

  “And you’re so tempted to let him into your life that it frightens you.” It wasn’t a question. He seemed to know that’s exactly how she felt.

  “How…?” She grappled to find the right words. “You know?”

  “Your mother had a life before we married. Did you know she was a prima ballerina?”

  A prima ballerina? No clue. “I knew she flitted around the kitchen and she was graceful…”

  But her mother had died years ago. In some ways, her mother was as great a mystery to her as she would be if Shanna had never met her.

  “American Ballet Theater. She was set to star in the season’s Giselle. To this day, I’ll never know what she saw in a cocky weightlifter coming fresh off a gold medal high. I had to have been a complete ass. But she claimed to love me. God knows the sun rose and set on that woman, as far as I was concerned.”

  Shanna frowned, sensing that she would not like what came next.

  “You married her and—”

  “Encouraged her to stop dancing. Made sure I got her pregnant with your brother so she had to stay beside me. I was a hugely selfish bastard where her time and energy were concerned. If I could take it back somehow and let her take her rightful place on stage…”

  Mouth gaping open, Shanna stared at her father. This was the man who had driven her for years. Nothing she’d ever done was ever good enough. Second place was first loser. Quitting was the professional equivalent of a noose.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I know.” He sighed heavily and sat on one of the little wooden chairs they’d had forever. “I pushed you and pushed you. I don’t think I realized until just now that I did it because I wanted to make up for what I did to your mother. She never said that she regretted her decision. But I’d catch her every so often holding her toe shoes with a wistful look on her face. I suspect she always wondered what could have been. I didn’t want you wondering, too.”

  Shanna gaped, shock ricocheting through her. Her father had intentionally killed her mother’s dance dream? And regretted it like hell. For years, he’d driven Shanna, fueled her ambition. As a child, she’d wanted to follow one of her brothers into their sports, but he’d specifically signed her up for dance class after dance class. Now she knew why. But…

  “You sound as if you’re encouraging me to continue with Alejandro. Why change your mind now?”

  He stirred his cooling coffee. “In retrospect, I don’t think your mother really regretted her decision to leave dance and marry. After she was gone, I realized how short her life had been cut and that I’d prevented her from fulfilling her dream. I regretted standing in her way. I beat myself up a lot over it. But you know, most of my memories are of her smiling. Your mother used to have this one little grin when she was particularly happy. A little lopsided, with a dimple in her left cheek and a twinkle in her eye. When I think about that smile now, I know she was at peace with her life.” Her father paused, looked up at her. “Until this morning, I’d never seen that smile on you. But there was a moment when you got out of your car. I was watching through the window. I saw that smile on your face. I’m guessing Alejandro put it there.”

  He had. When she pushed aside her tumult about tomorrow’s competition, happiness sneaked in, again and again. The thought that, after last night, she might never see Alejandro again, gouged her with deep shards of pain. And it shouldn’t. Their relationship had been short. Intense, yes, but nothing to build a lifetime on?

  Why did she feel like she was selling them short?

  “He sounds like the kind of guy who wouldn’t demand you give up your dream,” her father said. “If he can make you happy and give you the freedom to pursue what you want professionally, why aren’t you grabbing onto him with both hands?”

  Yeah, why not? “With him as a distraction, I may never win.”

  “Would you rather lose a competition or the man you love?”

  “It’s not that simple, Dad. If I…divide my time, I won’t be as dedicated. If I never become a champion, you won’t think I’m weak?”

  “Would it really matter if I did?”

  Shanna paused. Thought. Alejandro’s love or her dad’s approval? No choice. “It would bother me if you weren’t proud, but I’m an adult.” She drew in a deep breath as her realization became an admission. “I should be doing what makes me happy.”

  “Yes, and you need a man’s love more than Daddy’s blessing.”

  She nodded. “Jason, Ash, and Kyle would make fun of me if I chose to be with Alejandro.”

  Her dad rolled his eyes. “They’d make fun of you no matter what you did. They’re convinced that’s their prerogative as big brothers.”

  In spite of the weirdness of the conversation, Shanna laughed. “You think?”

  The smile faded as something occurred to her. “I’m not sure matters with Alejandro will be as simple as me expressing my feelings. Let’s say I’ve played very hard to get. He may not be talking to me after I, um…sneaked out on him this morning.”

  “Why don’t you send him tickets to tomorrow’s competition? I bet he shows. I want to meet the man who managed to see beyond your Bitch of the Ballroom act.”

  “You’re coming tomorrow?”

  He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Whether you’re crowned champion of the ballroom or of Alejandro’s heart, I’m proud no matter what.”

  9

  Waiting in the darkened corner of the ballroom’s dance floor, Shanna drew in a deep breath, smoothed her hair, straightened her sleeve, shifted her weight. And scanned the crowd—again.

  Nothing.

  “You must not fidget.”

  If she hadn’t been so nervous, she would have laughed at Kristoff. Why not just tell her she shouldn’t breathe? “I know. Sorry.”

  “You are nervous?” her big, blond partner stood behind her and whispered in her ear. “Do you fear losing?”

  The competition? Not as much as she thought. They would lose, of course, and during her largely sleepless night, she’d come to accept that. Kristoff had only been living his personal life, and he’d tried to engage in his kink of choice in a responsible environment. It wasn’t his fault someone had it out for her and had circumvented Sneak Peek’s rules to hurt her. But Alejandro? She absolutely feared losing him. In fact, she suspected she already had.

  Shanna had delivered the tickets to Sneak Peak in person this morning. Del had greeted her at the door. Actually, greeted was a strong word. Met was more accurate. Reluctantly, in fact. His behavior had been considerably cooler than their last meeting. When he said he’d give the tickets to Ali, she added that she hoped he would visit her before the show so they could talk. Del had merely given her a terse nod, then shut the door in her face.

  Clearly, she’d hurt Ali enough to seriously piss off Del.

  Alejandro hadn’t come to see her before the competition. Another scan of the ballroom…there sat her father, who waved. She smiled back, but she still didn’t see Alejandro’s coffee-dark hair, swagger, or sin-laced smile.

  Had she pushed him away one too many times? The painful thought tightened her stomach into impossible knots. Throwing up didn’t feel out of the question.

  “Shanna, you are nervous about the routine?”

  No. She and Kristoff were ready. Beyond ready. They knew these dances. They had perfected their chemistry and rhythm on the floor. The blackmailer’s footage would keep them from winning, but they would give their best showing. She couldn’t ask for more than that.

  “Or do you regret that you were unable to replace me with a new partner in time for this competition?”

  Scowling at his bitter tone, Shanna glanced over her shoulder at Kristoff. Mouth pinched, eyes tight, shoulders stiff. Damn, he looked nervous. Petrified. What was that about? He was never wound up before a competition. Maybe he was rattled about the video potentially circulating the judges’ table? After all, this threat affected his career, too.

  As Kristoff continued to watch her with narrow, burning eyes, and she replayed his question in her head, Shanna finally understood.

  “I’m not replacing you.” She dropped her arm to her side and reached for his hand. She gave it a friendly squeeze. “I never auditioned anyone else. You were right about the partner swapping; it was stupid.”

  He shot her a suspicious stare. “Why the change?”

  “I used to bury my guilt about dropping someone for the sake of winning. It never worked. You made me see how pointless it was.” With a little help from Ali and Del.

  “You do not seek to replace me? Truly?”

  She smiled. “You’re stuck with me.”

  Kristoff leveled his mega-watt smile at her. “For days now, I cannot stop from worrying you plan to replace me.” He squeezed her hand. “Thank you. I am happy now.”

  “We win or lose together, okay? Besides, maybe we haven’t been winning because we’ve forgotten that dancing isn’t all serious. Maybe…we just need to have fun with it tonight, see what happens.”

  Kristoff hesitated, then teased, “Who are you and what have you done with my partner?”

  Despite her nerves and her worries about losing Ali, Shanna had to laugh. If nothing else, she’d cemented one important relationship tonight. And damn if it didn’t feel good.

  “If we were alone, I’d slug you for that.”

  “There is the Shanna I know and adore,” Kristoff muttered.

  Just then, the music ended, and the announcer reminded the crowd of their competitors’ names and number. Shanna drew in a relaxing breath. In. Out. They were next.

  “Before we go on, I must tell you something.”

  “Kristoff, we’re about to be announced.”

  “This is true, but—”

  “Couple number one hundred three, Shanna York and Kristoff Palavin from Los Angeles, California.”

  The crowd’s cheer wasn’t as enthusiastic as Kristoff would like, Shanna knew. She should care, she supposed, but right now, she couldn’t get past the fact that Alejandro had chosen not to use the tickets she’d left him.

  Which meant he’d given up on her, she feared for good.

  Forcing a smile as the onlookers clapped, she walked onto the dance floor, Kristoff beside her, cradling her palm in his. They struck their pose and waited.

  Doing her best to focus on the next three minutes, Shanna plastered on a smile and projected it to the crowd. The music burst over the quiet, Shanna arched, kicked, and turned.

  There sat Alejandro.

  His face gave away nothing, but the grin that shaped her mouth was her first real one of the day.

  He’s here. Here!

  And he looked incredible in a black suit, white shirt, and a satiny charcoal tie.

  She knew he looked even better out of the suit.

  Before she whirled around to face Kristoff again, she flashed Ali a look she hoped communicated just how thrilled she was that he’d come.

  Over the next two minutes, forty seconds, she and Kristoff poured their souls into the dance. And he was spectacular, as if some light had been turned on inside him. Relaxed yet crisp. Strong. God, he played to the crowd. He really was incredible. Shanna responded, acting the part of the seductive female to his commanding male in the cha-cha-cha.

  No doubt in her mind, they sparkled, shined, brought the WOW to the dance floor. Shanna couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed dancing so much.

  When the music ended, she knew they had done their best. Yes, she’d love to win tonight, but if it wasn’t in the cards, they would spend a year living down the scandal and practicing their butts off. They would conquer this trophy next season.

  The crowd stood, cheered, their enthusiasm catching. Never before had she felt so liked by the crowd, so connected to them as she and Kristoff bowed.

  She turned her head slightly to see Alejandro. He, too, stood and clapped, then bent to whisper into the ear of a small but striking middle-aged woman who shared his eyes. His mother.

  Then he turned his attention back to her, fixing burning hazel eyes on her, and Shanna felt the zing and sizzle all the way to her toes.

  Damn, she loved that man.

  “You and Alejandro?” Kristoff asked as they left the dance floor. “You have a…thing?”

  “What?”

  “You looked at him as if you cannot wait to devour him, as if you are all his. Or as if he is all yours. Is that true?”

  Shanna swallowed a lump of nerves. God, she hoped Alejandro being here meant that he’d forgiven her for running away and being afraid to believe in them… If not, she wasn’t giving up. No more switching partners for her when things got difficult—not professionally or personally.

  “That’s my plan.”

  “In fourth place…” the announcer droned, and Shanna listened long enough to realize her name hadn’t been announced, then clapped politely.

  This was usually the part of the event that made her most nervous. How many times had she stood at the corner of the stage, trying not to pass out, praying she would not be disappointed by failing to grab the trophy again, only to hear her name announced long before the first place winner’s? How many times had she trotted out her plastic smile, like third place thrilled her, while feeling crushed inside? Too many.

  But tonight…she almost wanted the announcer to call her name now, so she could finish this dog and pony show and talk to Alejandro. His face still gave away absolutely nothing, not anger, not joy. Had he forgiven her and come to be with her? Or had he simply come because she’d given him free tickets and his mother liked to attend? No clue. That man could probably play a mean game of poker.

  “In third place…”

  Again, not her name. Another polite clap. Another clandestine glance at Alejandro. He raised a brow at her, but his expression remained utterly, frustratingly unreadable. Forget the contest results. Not knowing how Ali felt about her was killing her.

  And what did that say about how much she loved him? She was well and truly hooked.

  “In second place…”