Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
T hat night at dinner things were going well with Blair. The incident at work had been taken care of and they were able to enjoy each other’s company and conversation.
Until the music started.
He was in mid-sentence with Josiah Harrison, a man whose tech company had produced the software that Wen Spring International used for not only their ebooks, but also their paper and hardback formatting. Martina had matched Josiah with Harmony Tottori, a young woman with a mind for programming like Amadeus had an ear for music.
The four of them had entered into a conversation around mutual interests when the band began to play their first song.
One moment he was standing there listening to Josiah talk about an app that Harmony was working on and in the next moment, he was on the dance floor with Blair moving his arms into a waltz hold.
"I hope you’ve been practicing."
Her smile was the same toothy, brilliant grin, but instead of bringing out the same in him, he found himself having to make his lips return the gesture.
"I can’t tell you how odd it felt in that class this morning. Why, we hadn’t done more than step side to side for almost five minutes."
"Well, it is a basic class."
"Basically boring. You really should have just let me show you how, Alex."
"I think it was probably better to have us learn together in the class. That way we’re on even footing."
There was a moment of silence that lasted just long enough for him to start worrying if he’d said something stupid… and then she laughed.
Not just a giggle, not even a snort.
No.
Blair Sexton laughed, hands to her middle, gasping-breaths and watery eyes.
And that left him to stand there and wonder. Not exactly what he’d expected, but he was learning that Blair wasn’t at all what he’d expected, even though they had known each other for years.
"Oh my goodness!" She lightly touched her finger under one eye and then switched hands for the other. "I hope my make-up isn’t running."
"I’m sure it’s fine."
"No, seriously, that was funny! Ironic really, seeing how I’ve always thought you had a stick up your butt."
That pulled a cough from his throat. "What did you-"
"Come on," she leaned in closer and thankfully dropped her voice to a softer volume, "you’re always so serious. That’s why I laughed. If you went through the trouble of making a joke, I wanted to show you that I appreciated it."
At that point he couldn’t even remember if he’d made a joke.
"So, you laughed, to make me feel good?"
"Good. Confident. At ease. Anything along those lines would be great. Right?"
He was trying to wrap his mind around the message that she didn’t think he was confident.
"Now listen," she shifted to put their arms back in the proper waltz position, "I want to see what you learned today. So, let’s go."
Okay.
Trying to relax from the revelations of the last few minutes, Alexander drew in a breath and listened for the music. The band was truly talented and he easily recognized the classical tune almost immediately.
Letting out his breath he counted in his head ‘One. Two. Three.’
His feet didn’t fail him.
Big. Small. Small.
Big. Small. Small.
Using the first two measures to ease into the dance, he gently splayed his fingers on Blair’s lower back and steadied the hand he was using to hold hers.
And then he stepped forward.
His stomach turned and twisted with worry, but they turned and began the second part of the circle without incident.
It didn’t take long to complete the whole set and he started in on the same set, needing a couple of repetitions to make sure he had it all set in what Tatum had called ‘muscle memory,’ and he was really beginning to enjoy dancing with-
"Did she teach you to spin?"
He turned his head to look at Blair, but he wasn’t exactly sure what she’d said.
"Did she teach me-"
"To spin your partner." Blair’s big grin was a little tight at the corners. "Something a little more impressive than a basic step."
He bit down on his back teeth, struggling to keep himself from speaking too quickly.
"Then again, you said you hadn’t known how to waltz before today, I guess this is fine."
Okay. He let go of a breath and smiled as he caught sight of Ben and Pearl across the floor. The two were having a great time just moving back and forth at nearly half the speed of the other couples.
Neither of them looked anything but happy with their dance.
During the class when Ben realized that his hip didn’t make it easy to dance at the same speed as the others, he’d felt awful and wanted to apologize to everyone else when Tatum took a moment to work with the couple.
But every other couple had waved off his apology and busied themselves with practice.
Alexander smiled at the memory of watching the whole thing unfold. As the only one without a partner, he watched as Tatum carefully took Ben and Pearl through a few test steps and movements and when she discovered that Ben had no issues with the side to side motions
that they’d learned first she just suggested they use that movement.
"Fine by me," the older man had added, "I get to concentrate on sweet-talking my girl."
When Tatum made her way back across the room and offered him her hand so that they could practice the steps, he could see how happy she was. How much she had enjoyed working with the couple.
And he realized how much he’d enjoyed seeing her work.
"Alex?"
He blinked to refocus his thoughts and settled his gaze on Blair’s drawn expression.
"What’s wrong?" He walked her to the edge of the dance floor and turned so he could see her face clearly. "What happened?"
"You zoned out on me," she shook her head as she reached into the folds of her skirt and pulled out her phone.
"Where were you hiding that?"
She hit a speed dial number and reached up with her free hand to remove her dangling earring.
"I have an excellent tailor and they make sure I always have pockets." She rolled her eyes. "Men. I was trying to get your attention. My phone was buzzing and you were all," she gestured vaguely in front her face, "dreamy. Really, you should pay more atten- Charlie, why did it take so long to answer my call?"
Alexander stepped back and turned his attention back to the dance floor. A few of the couples from the class were on the floor and one of the couples weren’t having much luck at remembering who was supposed to step where, but they were having a great time.
Lucky.
"Uh oh." Blair stepped behind him and he could tell, by how muffled her voice was, she was crouched down behind him. "Martina is coming this way!"
A sharp pain lanced through his back. He had a feeling that his old frenemy had just elbowed him in the back.
"Hide me."
"You and I promised to set aside our phones."
"I bet you have yours in your coat."
"No." He couldn’t help the frustration he felt that she thought he was doing the same thing. Then again, they were supposed to be a match.
"Right. Look, just hide me for another minute or two-"
"Why don’t you just go outside? There are a bunch of places where you won’t have to worry about-"
He heard the soft click of the door behind him and knew he was alone.
Okay, even if he hadn’t heard the door, he would have known by the sudden silence.
With a sigh he reached up and opened the top button on his dress shirt. "Finally, a chance to breathe."
"Ouch. Is it that bad?"
He shook his head and schooled the smile on his lips as he turned to face Martina.
"No, not that bad. How are you, Martina?"
"I’m fine." Stepping up beside him, her voice barely managed to hide the humor in her tone. "But the real question is… ‘How are you doing?’"
He opened his mouth to respond, but he closed it again. He quickly rewrote the words in his head. "I’m good. Having a good time with the events and there are a lot of interesting couples here."
There was a pregnant pause before Martina spoke. "You’ll forgive me if I’m not about to ask you for a quote for my marketing brochures."
Alexander coughed in surprise.
"I’m serious, Alexander. I’m here to help you. And to help Blair, who was the person ducking out the side door a moment ago. Am I right?"
Nodding, he smiled and felt the gesture deep down. "You’re right."
"From what I heard," Martina took a step back and turned so she could look at him, "she left partway through the morning class and just joined you for dinner."
Nodding, he lifted a hand to wave at another couple from the class as they waltzed by. "Work emergency."
"And you, Alexander, how is work doing without you?"
He nodded and smiled. "Great. My department heads send me progress reports and my assistant distills what I need. She knows why I’m here. In fact, Sydney is probably the reason why I’m
here."
He could tell that he’d piqued her interest. "Do tell."
"Sydney and I grew up near each other. Same schools. Same community. And we’re both driven people.
"When I told her about the cruise and asked if she could move my schedule around, she almost hugged me. Being my assistant, she’s been there through all my relationships. She said that she
would move heaven and earth to make this work because she believes that if I can find a match, a woman brave enough to handle me on a long-term basis, then there’s hope for her."
Martina nodded, considering his words. "After we get you matched up, you have her come see me and I’ll find her someone too."
"You can tell her," he explained. "I don’t think I can handle another one of her hugs."
"Oh?"
He saw that look on her face, and tried to brace himself for the interrogation he knew was coming.
"Any feelings for the ‘assistant’ that might be romantic?"
"No. Absolutely not. We’d kill each other."
"She sounds interesting."
"She’s a great friend and I know she wants the best for me, so she’s handling things while I’m here on the cruise. I trust her with my life and my business."
Martina nodded. "Good to know."
They stood, listening to the music for a moment or two.
"Looks like your dance class from this morning was a good experience."
The first thing that popped up in his head was an image of Tatum, held gently in his arms while they danced. She’d made everything seem so simple and easy when they were practicing together that he was sure she was managing to lead him without him knowing it. The true test had been when he was dancing with Blair. He’d been able to do the steps and turn them around and complete the whole pattern, but Blair hadn’t been happy with it.
"Oh," Martina’s tone was a little worried, "is there something I should know?"
Turning to answer her, Alexander had a chance to look at their host. She sparkled from head to toe. In a word, she was stunning. And the look in her eyes told him that she was going to get down to the truth.
"The class? That was the best thing about my day." He gestured to the dance floor. "I got to meet Ben and Pearl before class and they look like they’re having the time of their life tonight."
The couple beamed at each other and Pearl’s cheeks were flushed with a pretty glow.
"And your partner?"
He was still watching Pearl gaze up at Ben with rapt attention.
"Tatum was great. I still can’t believe she got me to waltz." Alexander shook his head.
When Martina didn’t respond, he turned his head away from the dance floor and saw her looking at him, eyes slightly narrowed.
She smiled at him, but it was a strange half-smile that didn’t tell him much about her mood. "Tatum?"
Oh.
He reached up a hand and smoothed it through his hair. "Blair had to leave part of the way through the class. I was going to sit out the rest of the class, but Tatum used me to demonstrate."
"Used you," Martina laughed, "did it hurt?"
The two shared a good chuckle together before he answered her. "It was tough. Having a beautiful woman let me hold her in my arms while I learned how not to trip over my own feet? It was a sacrifice."
He could have sworn that she was biting the inside of her cheek trying not to laugh.
"You’re a prince among men, Alexander Wen. A true gift to others."
He shook his head and sighed. "I try my best."
"I bet you do." She nodded and the look on her face shifted, showing concern. "I’m just sorry you’re not getting to spend enough time with Blair. Tomorrow, we’ll be in San Juan. I hope you’ll
take advantage of that time and get her off the ship for some one-on-one time."
He had to shrug at her comment. "Well, we were supposed to talk about the schedule for tomorrow, but-"
"She’s putting out fires at home?"
Alexander nodded.
Martina’s tone dropped into a deeper ‘concerned’ tone. "You two haven’t signed up for activities? I thought I saw your names on the list?"
Alexander dropped his gaze to the floor before he met her curious gaze. "She signed us up for everything."
There was more than a hint of shock on her face. "You okay with that?"
That was the question that he’d been mulling over since Blair had caught up to him before the dinner on the first night. Looking at Martina he remembered the mood that he’d been in when he’d made his video for her. Being a man with a love for words he remembered a good deal of what he’d said that day.
"Well, I did ask for a woman who knew what she wanted."
Martina’s smile said she remembered it as well. "True, very true, but it sounds like you might be second guessing that character trait."
He shook his head and then nodded it. “A little." He held up his hand. "Please don’t think that I’m trying not to get along with her, we’ve known each other for years."
"With you both being in the same field, I had a feeling. We saw pictures of both of you at different events in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but neither of you listed the other in your past relationships."
"Like I said, we’ve known each other for years, but neither of us had really said anything to each other about the possibility of dating. So, I have to say it makes a lot of sense. We do understand the work aspect of our lives, but I’m wondering if we’re both on the same page about finding ‘the one.’"
Martina nodded thoughtfully. "I can see that, based on the fact that she’s not really here at the moment and skipping out on a dance class she signed you both up for. Still, I think she is looking for a real relationship-"
"I’m not doubting that either." He realized he had probably made a mistake in wording his answer. There was no editing software that worked on words already out of his head. "I just think that we’re in two different places in our heads. I thought it was going to be hard to set down my phone and leave it behind in my room, but once I closed the door and went off to the class this morning, it wasn’t really an issue.
"I managed to get back after lunch and check it. Answered a couple of questions. Signed a contract or two that needed it, but that took maybe a half-hour. Leaving to get here tonight, I set
it aside on the desk and walked away."
"You sound surprised."
"That’s the truth of it," he explained. "It was a big enough step to take the time away, somehow I’ve always felt like I was neglecting things if I took more than a day or two off here and there."
"I can see how that might be the case, but you look like a vacation agrees with you."
He smiled back, honestly. "I think it does."
Alexander looked around the room and there was no sign of Blair. "I should probably go look for her. If I don’t talk to her I won’t know where to show up tomorrow."
Martina thought about it for a moment. "If you need your schedule you can talk to my staff. They’ll be happy to print off a copy for you, but I know one thing that you’re signed up for
tomorrow without having to check."
It only took a moment for him to realize what it was. Smiling, he shrugged. "Dancing?"
"You have a good night, Alexander. If you need anything-"
"Thank you, but I’m sure I’ll be fine."
Martina gave him a measuring look. "You know, I think you’re right."