God, he was such an asshole. She was hurting, and all he had done was focus on his own bruised feelings. How could he not, though? He’d fallen in love with her, and she didn’t want him. Rational thought was beyond him for the time being.
Still, he would have tried to comfort her if he thought there was even the slightest chance she’d allow it.
Instead, Gina turned back, utterly composed, and continued as if she’d never stopped. “We’re doing American-style rumba, which is taught in a box step. The footwork is slow-quick-quick, on the one, three, and four. Ready?”
Her voice sounded hollow as she explained the moves, and her demonstration looked stiff as she took him through what she explained was a smooth, fluid dance.
“Hey, Gina, are you okay?” Jordy called, his face creased in concern.
She sent him a tight smile. “I’m fine.”
But Stone knew she wasn’t. If he were a different person, it might have made him feel better to know she was as heartbroken as he was, but it just made him feel worse.
Halfway through the day, Chad Silver entered the rehearsal room. The head judge always wore perfectly tailored suits in bright colors and patterns. Today’s jacket was electric blue, over an orange-and-white-striped button-down. Stone couldn’t imagine wearing such a getup, but Chad, with his russet skin, bald head, and abundance of confidence, made it shine.
“Hello, my lovelies!” the judge called in his rich, exuberant voice. He walked right over to Gina and enfolded her in a tight hug. “How are you feeling, my dear?”
She clung to him for a moment, and Stone’s heart contracted. But when she stepped back, her eyes were clear.
“Fine,” she said. “I’m fine. What’s our redemption dance?”
Her smile was a shadow of its usual brilliance. Guilt churned Stone’s stomach.
Chad waved Stone over. “How’s it going, big guy?”
Stone shrugged and gave the expected answer. “Looking forward to the finals.”
“So am I.” Chad clapped his hands together. “Let’s talk about your redemption dance. Last week you showed us sexy and cool with your jazz combo, and intensity and strength with the contemporary. In the rumba, you’re going to give us suave and romantic, but we still want more of your lighthearted side. We know you can dance fast, especially after the breakdancing you did last week. That’s why, for your redemption dance, we want to see you take another shot at your jive from week three.”
Chad made a sympathetic grimace. “We know the package influenced your jive, and we see how far you’ve come from there, since last night’s footage would have thrown anyone off, and you both turned out great performances. We’d like to give you another chance to show the viewers what you can do.”
Stone nodded. “Jive. Okay. Which one was that again?”
Chad chuckled. “The one where you built a house in the woods.”
“Oh. That one.” The one where the producers had tracked down his ex-girlfriend, surprised him with her interview, then tossed him onto the dance floor.
Shit. They were in the same situation here. Gina had been blindsided by the footage last week, partly because Stone hadn’t said anything. He thought he’d been sparing her the stress, but now he could see it looked like he was siding with the producers. No wonder Gina was pissed.
Chad helped Stone with the jive steps he’d struggled with the first time around. It helped to have a man demonstrating how the moves should look, and this time, they were easier. Not only that, Chad made their rehearsal easier all around, with his lively energy and positive demeanor. He seemed extra attentive to Gina’s needs and complimented her choreography skills and work ethic.
When Chad left, Gina shuffled over to the cooler and pulled out a sports drink. Stone grabbed a towel and wiped his face with it.
“I’m going to take off,” she said without looking at him. “I have a headache. We’ll work on the rumba tomorrow.”
She was avoiding him. He supposed he couldn’t blame her. “I think I’ll stay here to keep practicing the jive.”
Her eyebrows arched in surprise. “That’s… that’s good. Do you want me to see if Natasha’s around to practice with you?”
Wow, Ginareallydidn’t want to be around him. “Whatever. Sure.”
“I’ll text her. See you tomorrow.”
Ten minutes later, Natasha came in wearing a guarded look.
“You’re working on the jive?”
“Yeah. Gina left with a headache.”
