If The Ring Fits.... Kate Hardy

to answer that?’ Liam asked.

      She wrinkled her nose. ‘I don’t want to be rude.’

      ‘It might be important.’

      ‘It’s probably just Fliss—my best friend—checking that I’m OK.’ She grabbed her phone from her handbag, checked the screen and typed in a rapid answer to reassure Fliss. ‘Sorry about that. She worries about me. So do the Monday Mash-up boys.’ She swallowed hard. She was not going to cry all over him again. ‘I guess Danny, Charlie and Mike are like the brothers I don’t have.’

      ‘So that’s why your phone beeps for ages when you switch it back on after a training session? They’re all checking you’re OK?’

      She nodded. ‘Sorry. It must be annoying for you.’

      ‘No. It’s good to have friends looking out for you.’

      Something in his tone alerted her. ‘Didn’t your friends do that, after your accident?’

      ‘Yes and no.’ He grimaced. ‘A lot of them were worried about seeing me. They thought it’d be like rubbing it in, because they could still dance and I couldn’t.’

      She frowned. ‘I know I only met you a week ago, but that doesn’t sound like the way you’d react.’

      ‘It isn’t. I guess they didn’t know me as well as I thought they did. It was good just to talk about dancing—and, even if I couldn’t dance again, I still intended to be involved in dance. Choreography.’

      ‘Is that what you want to do after the competition—choreograph things?’ she asked.

      He nodded. ‘I want to choreograph a musical for Broadway or the West End. I’ve done most of the routines for the professionals on Ballroom Glitz, this series.’

      ‘So you need to win the competition, to get the producers to notice you.’

      He shrugged. ‘Being in the final would do.’

      ‘No pressure, then,’ she said wryly.

      ‘What about you?’ he asked.

      ‘Hopefully, being on Ballroom Glitz will bring me to the attention of another producer and give me a chance to do something else in children’s TV. Or maybe … It’s probably a bit too ambitious, given that I’m not exactly an A-lister, but I’ve had enough experience now to know what works with kids. I might put together a proposal for a show and pitch it to the networks.’

      ‘Another children’s show?’

      At her nod, he said, ‘So you prefer working with kids rather than, say, acting onstage or on screen?’

      ‘Absolutely. You get really spontaneous reactions from kids, much more than you do with adults, and it makes the live shows more interesting. You have to think on your feet.’

      ‘Was the whole show live?’ He grimaced. ‘Sorry, that’s rude. I ought to know that.’

      She laughed. ‘You’re hardly our target audience. Most of the people who watch us are aged between nine and about fourteen.’

      ‘And I don’t have kids,’ he said. ‘Though Amanda says her kids love the show.’

      ‘Thank you.’ She remembered his question. ‘About two-thirds of it’s live; the rest is pre-recorded. We all have different slots. “Charlie’s Charts” is where he goes through the new music releases that week, with video clips. “Mike’s Movies” is—well, obvious.’ She smiled. ‘“Danny’s Dance” is where he teaches some of the kids in the studio a street-dance move, and then I have “Challenge Polly Anna”. It started off as “Polly’s Puzzles”, where I’d give everyone a brain teaser to solve, but then one day one of the kids in the studio gave me a challenge in return, and it snowballed from there. So I’ve done everything from being able to eat a doughnut without licking my lips, through to juggling raw eggs.’

      Liam raised an eyebrow. ‘How many did you break?’

      ‘Enough for a few omelettes,’ she said with a grin. ‘I practised with rubber eggs until I was nearly there.’

      ‘You don’t give up until you’ve done whatever it is, do you?’

      ‘I try not to, though sometimes I haven’t been able to beat the challenge. I really couldn’t get the hang of roller skating, so ice skating was a definite no-no.’

      ‘Noted.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘You know, we could get juggling into a routine. A circus theme for the jive, maybe. I’ll think about it.’

      ‘I’m in your hands.’ Then she realised how cheesy that sounded. ‘Not that I was coming on to you,’ she added swiftly.

      ‘Of course not.’

      Polly glanced at her watch, and was surprised by how late it was. ‘I’d better go home.’

      ‘I’ll drive you.’

      ‘No, it’s fine. I can take the Tube, and I’m sure you have other things to do anyway.’

      ‘I do have some paperwork to go through,’ he admitted. ‘But I don’t want you walking anywhere. It’s pouring with rain. I’ll call you a cab—and don’t argue. If you’re sneezing your way through the routine next Saturday, you’re not going to enjoy it, are you?’

      And if she was distracted by fighting off some bug or other, she was more likely to go wrong following the steps of the routine. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that his concern was all for her. ‘I guess you have a point. Thank you.’

      He rang the taxi company. When he put the phone down, he said, ‘They’ll be here in fifteen minutes.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      They looked at one another in silence for a moment and the atmosphere became charged. Liam thought of something quickly to say.

      ‘So, our training tomorrow. Does the afternoon work for you? It’ll give me a chance to sort out a new routine in the morning.’

      ‘I’m sorry about that.’ Deciding to be brave, she lifted her chin. ‘Look, I can give your original routine a go.’

      ‘To the song you planned as the first dance at your wedding reception?’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not going to put you through that. Anyway, as I said, I like choreographing. Is “Beyond the Sea” OK for you?’ He hummed the first few bars of the old Bobby Darin song.

      Recognising it, Polly remembered that they’d danced to it before. ‘That’s absolutely fine.’

      ‘Good.’

      Then the intercom buzzed. ‘That’s your taxi.’

      ‘OK. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.’ She paused. ‘And thank you for this evening.’ For not letting her go home to a lonely, empty flat.

      ‘No worries. I’ll see you downstairs.’

      ‘There’s no need, really. I think I can just about manage a couple of flights of stairs.’

      ‘You can manage anything you put your mind to. And that includes nailing our routine.’

      Liam really intended just to shake her hand. In a brotherly way. Except he found himself dipping his head and kissing her on the cheek. Hesitant, a little awkward; but her skin was so soft around his lips, and he could smell that sweet, fresh, floral scent she wore. He couldn’t resist the temptation to linger. And he only just managed to stop himself kissing a line from her cheek to the corner of her mouth—and then taking it further.

      The kiss on the cheek was just like any of the team on Monday Mash-up would have done.

      Except this didn’t feel like a brotherly kiss. Where Liam’s lips touched Polly’s skin, they made every nerve-end tingle.

      Though she was just being ridiculous,