I approach the bar my boss is standing behind as he dries some freshly cleaned glasses.
“How many people did you recruit for inventory and why are we using customers to help?”
“I have a confession.” He chuckles lightly and puts the glass away, tossing the towel over his shoulder. “I didn’t call you in for inventory.”
“I kinda got that. Then why am I here?”
Paul taps his fingers on the bar for a split second and then tosses the towel on the counter to make his way underneath. “Follow me.”
Intrigued by what was clearly a set up on his part, I do as he instructs. I glance at my sister when we pass by but something in her expression has me looking twice. My jaw drops as it dawns on me.
“You helped set me up, didn’t you?”
She shrugs again, a sweet and innocent look on her face but she’s not fooling me. I’ve seen it before. She used to give it to me on Christmas and birthday mornings when she pulled off an unexpectedly thoughtful gift. Now I’m really curious.
“Ladies,” Paul claps his hands together. “Thank you for waiting an extra few minutes before we begin. You guys know Kiersten.”
He gestures to me and they all cheer. I respond with an awkward wave. I’m not one who normally minds being put on the spot, I’m pretty quick-witted, but the more they look at me with the expectation of something I’m in the dark about, the more concerned I become.
“She doesn’t know why she’s here,” Paul admits to the crowd. “Some of you are privy to why. Others of you are just now finding out this information, but let me assure you, from what I know, Kiersten is the best and she will rise to the challenge. Your money will be well spent, I promise.”
“It better be,” Lauren shouts making the other women laugh, but I see it on her face. Whatever is happening, she’s in on it too. And she has full confidence I will rise to this challenge.
Paul turns to me and takes a deep breath, nerves written all over his face. My heart responds by beating faster. For whatever reason, this moment feels huge. Life-altering huge. Or again, maybe I’m reading into things that aren’t there. Either way, I find myself holding my breath.
“I made a huge mistake keeping my feelings for you private.”
I blink multiple times. Of all the things I expected him to say, which wasn’t many considering I have no idea what’s happening, that wasn’t it.
“It wasn’t because I was embarrassed or ashamed or because I was keeping you my dirty little secret. It just felt like something really important and delicate and I didn’t want anyone getting in the middle of it and screwing it up.”
A few of the women react with sounds of awe and I’m sure more than one of them clutches their chest. But I’m focusing on Paul as he takes a step forward and grabs my hands, like he’s anchoring himself to me as he bares his soul.
“I’m so in love with you it makes me stupid. But it also makes me scared. I’m so afraid I’m going to fail you and Carson that I tried to push you away to protect you both. I don’t want to do that anymore, Kiersten. That’s why I’m saying it in front of all these ladies here. Because I know if I screw up, if I get even close to failing you, these ladies right here will have something to say about it.”
“Damn straight!”
I’m not sure who calls out, but it makes everyone laugh, including me. It’s a welcome feeling and narrows my eyes just enough to squeeze out the tears I’ve been trying to hold back.
“I know it’s going to take some time for you to trust me again, but I’m going to woo you, Kiersten Willoughby. And I’m going to do it publicly so there’s never any doubt in your mind that you’re worth all the embarrassment and humiliation the men these ladies are attached to will no doubt give me every night.”
I have no response, completely speechless. Instead, I wipe the tears off my cheeks and sniff, overcome with the emotion he makes me feel. For the first time, I understand the depth of his feelings for me and I’m not afraid.
“I love you, too. So much. And I look forward to being wooed by you.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger smile on Paul’s face than right now.
“Really?”
“Really. Now kiss me and make it official.”
He doesn’t hesitate, just grabs my hips and steps into my space, kissing me like his life depends on it. He nips and sucks on my bottom lip and I’m fully invested in the feel of his lips on mine, I barely hear the hoots and hollers surrounding us. After a few minutes, or hours, or seconds because what is time?, he takes a step back, but keeps hold of my hand.
“Before we embarrass ourselves any further,” he says making all of us chuckle again. “I need to introduce you to your first dance class.”
Everything comes to a screeching halt. “My what?”
“I know how much you loved teaching dance classes before you started working here. And I know you’ve always wanted to open your own studio.”
I know Lauren shared that information. I glare at her, and she responds by shrugging like she thinks my feelings are irrelevant.
“I don’t really have the money to front a whole new business so with the help of a few friends,” he makes a point of looking directly at Lauren and Nicole individually, confirming my suspicions. “We decided this might be a good place to start.”
“I… I don’t understand.” I really am lost. The words all make sense but this is such a huge endeavor, I can’t wrap my brain around it.
He smiles, seeming to understand how hard it is for me to comprehend. “All these ladies want to learn how to dance. They’ve seen you taking a break on the dance floor at night and know you’re the perfect person to teach them.”
My head whips over to look at the crowd of women again. “Really?” I’m answered with a chorus of nods and smiles.
“They’ve each paid thirty bucks for an hour and a half lesson today. And all that money is yours to pocket. No fees or anything since I’m already here and getting ready to open. I even got you some business cards.” He licks his lips and pulls something out of his back pocket. “I took a guess on the logo. We can change it, of course. But it has the office number on it so you can bring in more customers.”
He hands me the small card that says “Willoughby Dance” in large script letters with a picture of a willow tree covering the side. It’s beautiful and classy and exactly what I would have chosen if I was creative enough to think of it.
“I wasn’t sure about the willow tree, but it reminded me of the way you move on the dance floor, all graceful. Plus, it seemed like a fun play on words with your last name. If you hate them, we can throw them out and start over from scratch.”
A blush covers his face as he shares his thought process, obviously not used to sharing so much about his feelings in public. I’m still having a hard time following though.
“Hold on. Let me make sure I understand. Everyone is here for me to teach them how to dance and I’m getting paid for it?”
He nods, his lips quirking up on the side. “I wasn’t really sure how much to charge. I just guessed this first time. Should I have charged more? I can pay the difference if I got it wrong,” he adds quickly.