If The Ring Fits.... Kate Hardy

clearly noticed him scanning the room. ‘You think it’s cluttered, don’t you?’

      ‘I’d put everything in cupboards,’ he admitted. ‘But each to their own.’

      He followed her back to the kitchen, and looked at the photographs on her fridge. ‘I assume these are the Monday Mash-up boys?’

      ‘Yes. And this is Fliss, my very best friend, and Shelley and Carrie. They’re the chick-flick chicks—their husbands all hate the kind of girly films we love, so we go without them and eat a ton of ice cream afterwards.’

      There were plenty of photos of her with friends, he noticed, but not with anyone who looked enough like her to be a sibling or cousin, and none of her with anyone older. She hadn’t mentioned her family at all.

      And there was the fact that she insisted on wearing long sleeves. Had there been some terrible car accident or something where she’d lost her family, and maybe she had scars on her arms from the accident that reminded her of what she’d lost? He hadn’t seen any scars today, but then again the cuffs that went with her dress were quite deep.

      But she’d asked him specifically to steer clear of the subject. He couldn’t push her any further. Not just now.

      The pizza arrived; he cut it into slices while she got the salad out of the fridge. Funny how easy it was to be with her, he thought.

      ‘Have you put that proposal together yet?’ he asked when they were both sitting at her tiny kitchen table.

      ‘Nearly. Have you heard anything from any producers?’

      ‘I’m waiting for a few call backs.’ He stopped abruptly.

      She seemed to guess why, immediately. ‘I’m not going to leak anything, Liam. I wouldn’t want to ruin any potential deals for you.’

      ‘No, of course not. Sorry. I guess I’m a bit touchy about it.’

      ‘Building your career up again from nothing, when you’re used to being at the top—that’s not easy. Especially when you know the whole world’s watching you.’

      He wasn’t sure whether she was talking about him or her. Both, maybe. And that knowledge made him admit, ‘I’m not dealing too well with that. I know I should be grateful for having a second chance, but at the same time I really resent having to start all over again, as if everything I achieved before just doesn’t count.’

      ‘People are rooting for you, Liam. They want you back on top again.’

      ‘Maybe. But the media’s fickle. One day you’re a darling, the next you’re a scapegoat.’ He shrugged. ‘There are a few people out there who’d like to see me fail.’

      ‘You won’t fail.’

      The sincerity on her face touched him. She really did believe in him. Probably more than he believed in himself.

      ‘It’s just a shame you’ve been paired with the contestant who can’t dance.’

      He shook his head. ‘You can dance, Polly.’

      ‘Liam, don’t flannel me. I know I’m hopeless. I wanted ballet lessons when I was little, and my dad wouldn’t let me. He said there was no point because I was too clumsy.’

      He could see the hurt flicker in her eyes. She hid it quickly, but her smile went a touch brighter. ‘I promise I’ll try my hardest not to let you down, Liam.’

      ‘Maybe the foxtrot didn’t suit you. You’re doing a lot better with the cha cha cha.’

      She gave him a wry smile. ‘I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.’

      ‘I know. You wouldn’t have got one if you had been.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Nobody puts Polly in a corner.’

      This time, she laughed. ‘Yeah, yeah.’

      It was easy to relax with Polly. Her warmth and sweetness made him feel different, tempting him to let his barriers down and let himself fall for her. Yet at the same time he knew she was vulnerable. She might be feeling the same way as he was right now, but she was the kind who wanted a settled forever, and he had no idea what his future held or whether, in a couple of months, he’d be living thousands of miles away. So he’d have to be careful not to step over the line. For both their sakes.

      ‘It’d be pretty stupid to ask a cake fiend if he’d like some brownies,’ Polly said, clearing their plates away. ‘So I’ll just say help yourself.’ She put the plate on the table, and made coffee.

      The brownies were surprisingly good. ‘A hidden talent, Ms Adams?’ he asked.

      She shrugged. ‘I like baking. I used to make these on Thursday nights for the team—Fridays were our day for shooting the pre-recorded stuff, so we always had Chocolate Fridays.’ Her smile turned super-bright again, and he knew she was missing her old team. But then she gave him a wicked grin. ‘That was your fourth. I thought dancers were leery of scoffing too many carbs?’

      ‘You were counting? Right. I’ll make you work hard for the rest of the week to burn them off.’

      ‘Yeah, yeah.’ She took another brownie.

      So did he.

      When Liam had finished his coffee, he kissed Polly on the cheek. ‘Goodnight. Thanks for dinner.’

      ‘Pleasure.’

      He really wanted to linger. But it wouldn’t be fair to either of them. ‘See you in the morning for training.’

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      ON THURSDAY, they were halfway through training when the door opened.

      ‘You have visitors,’ Amanda announced.

      Danny, Mike and Charlie rushed over to Polly and hugged her in turn.

      ‘We’ve missed you, Pol,’ Danny said, giving her another hug. He looked at Liam. ‘Sorry for bursting in on your training session, but this woman’s impossible to pin down.’

      ‘We get all these lovely chirpy texts from her,’ Charlie said, ‘and we have no idea if she’s faking it or not, because you can’t really tell from a text, and she never answers her phone.’

      ‘Because I’ve been busy,’ Polly protested. ‘And I’m fine.’

      ‘We needed to see that for ourselves, Pol,’ Mike said.

      ‘I’m fine. Really. You all obviously know Liam.’ She introduced the crew swiftly. ‘Liam, this is Danny—now, if you were dancing with him, you’d win, because he’s great—this is Mike, and this is Charlie.’

      She was different with them, Liam thought. Relaxed. And she was clearly fond of all of them, because she seemed happy to be hugged and have her hair ruffled by them all. Hadn’t she said that they were like the brothers she didn’t have? Liam couldn’t remember the last time he’d been that close to someone. Since the accident, he hadn’t let anyone close—even family. And maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, keeping himself separate and pushing people away. Being close to people made Polly sparkle.

      ‘Sounds like a challenge,’ Liam said. ‘Show me what you’ve got, Danny?’

      ‘Can I put some music on?’ Danny asked.

      Liam gestured to his stereo system. ‘Help yourself.’

      A few seconds later, a chart hit started pounding through the studio, and Danny gave them a demo of a street dance.

      ‘Not bad,’ Liam said when Danny had finished.

      ‘A challenge, you said. Can you do that?’ Danny put the track on again, and Liam mimicked what he’d seen.

      ‘Not