Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Originally, Nora had planned to wait a little while before taking Melanie and her mother up on the ballroom dancing suggestion. She figured she had plenty of time—there was no reason to rush into anything. And she was busy with the festival planning.

But then, she'd gotten back to the inn, and Rhonda had pointedly mentioned that they were having a mulled wine tasting that night, and the inn would probably be busy—but the dance studio was having one of their classes that night. Nora could take a hint—she had nothing to lose, and after the unpleasant interaction with Sabrina, she'd found that she wasn't as enthused about spending the evening planning for the festival. Truthfully, she could use a night off from it.

Going to the ballroom dancing lesson seemed better than mingling with Evergreen Hollow residents in a small space over mulled wine, so she'd found a pair of low heels that would work as dance shoes—her actual dance shoes had been left back in Boston—and picked out one of the two ‘party' dresses she'd brought with her. She hadn't honestly expected to wear either one, but it was good to have options.

She'd chosen the dark purple dress. It was knee length, with a flirty scalloped hem and elbow-length sleeves, and a modestly scooped neckline. Nothing that she had to worry about misstepping and flashing someone in, as rusty as she was at dancing, but still fun and pretty enough that the lesson felt like a special occasion. A little treat for herself, something indulgent to do simply for the sake of doing it.

It had occurred to her, as she was getting ready, that she rarely did things like that back in Boston. She usually felt like her time needed to be accounted for, and used efficiently. Even relaxing, she tried to make sure she was accomplishing something with it. Finishing a reading challenge. Watching a show that was also educational in some way. She rarely did anything just for sheer pleasure, without there being a reason to. She had no real reason to take a ballroom class, other than it had sounded fun when Melanie and her mother suggested it.

So here she was.

The glow from the windows on the chilly night and the lilt of a waltz spilling out from inside was soothing. She tugged her peacoat around herself, her boots crunching through the snow as she walked up the pathway to the wooden door. Like a lot of the businesses in Evergreen Hollow, it resembled a residential house more than a commercial building, hollowed out and redesigned inside to fit the needs of the business.

There was an older woman with short, snowy hair in tight curls sitting at the front desk, and Nora handed her the drop-in fee in cash, smiling at her. Now inside the dance studio, she felt the warm glow of familiarity, soothing her further. She recognized the music, a song she'd waltzed to often, and it was nice to hear the sound of the dancers moving across the floor. It felt like a bridge between Evergreen Hollow and her life in Boston, something that she had in both places.

She'd taken a fair few dance classes in Boston, partially just for fun, and partially to have a bit of a challenge. It came in handy to be familiar with ballroom dance as a part of her work, since it so often came up in the events she planned, which had factored into her decision.

And there it was again, of course. Practicality and efficiency, even in her fun. But here, there was no reason for it other than it was a comforting and enjoyable way to spend an evening, and she was looking forward to losing herself in it.

"Thank you," she said, as the woman finished taking her drop-in fee and directed her to the small room just outside the classroom to change her shoes. She sat down on a bench, taking off her boots and slipping on the low heels, and glanced up as a young woman sat down next to her.

"Are you new in town?" The young woman had a short brown bob, slightly curled at the edges, and bright blue eyes. "I haven't seen you here before."

"I grew up here." Nora slipped on her other shoe and sat up. "I'm just visiting for the holidays. I didn't even know this studio was here, honestly."

"Oh! Well, I'm Callie." She held out her hand. "The instructor here is wonderful. You're going to love him."

"I'm sure I will. I've danced a little before—I've been lucky to always get good teachers. I'm sure this won't be any different. I'm Nora, by the way," she added quickly. "I'll be in town through the New Year, so I might come back more than once."

"I hope you do!" Callie stood, gesturing. "Let's go on in. The instructor will be here any minute."

Nora followed, a little bemused by how quickly everyone tended to make friends here, smoothing out her skirt. There were a handful of others in the main studio room, a mixture of men and women of varying ages, and she was just about to say something else to Callie when the teacher walked in.

"Sorry I'm a few minutes late," he said, stopping in the middle of the floor. "But we'll go ahead and get started with the waltz class."

Everyone else started milling about, getting into place, but for a moment Nora couldn't move. She stood there, speechless—and utterly shocked.

The ballroom dance instructor was none other than Aiden Masters.

He was dressed differently than any of the other times she'd run into him in town, in soft-looking joggers and a t-shirt that clung attractively to his muscled torso. She knew she was gaping as she looked at him, her shock written clearly across her face, but she couldn't stop staring. She felt incapable of closing her mouth—which she was all too aware was hanging a little bit open.

Aiden's gaze swept over the assembled students, landing finally on her, and Nora saw the surprise flicker over his face. He lingered for just a moment, looking at her, but he managed to keep his composure far better than she had.

"Let's get started," he said smoothly, and the music began.

Nora knew all the steps. Out of all the classes she'd taken, she had waltzed most often. She liked the simplicity of it—once she learned the rhythm, it became much easier to work on grace and cadence, and she liked the ability to focus on refining one skill in dance, rather than learning a wide variety. She'd occasionally dropped into a foxtrot class or two, and once even a tango, but she preferred the waltz.

It was good, she thought as they began going through the beginning steps, that she happened to be as familiar with it as she was. If not, the lesson would have been a disaster. She couldn't focus, moving through the steps and rotating partners feeling as if she were sleepwalking, entirely taken aback by the shock of the instructor being Aiden . She remembered the glance between Melanie and her mother and felt faintly betrayed. They'd clearly both had a mischievous hand in this when they'd made the suggestion.

Then, as if things couldn't get any more complicated, she heard Aiden call out, "Rotate!" The next thing she knew, she found herself face-to-face with the man himself.

He was very close, and he smelled like sandalwood and juniper. Her mind blanked out momentarily, and she looked up at him, reminded suddenly of his hands on her waist as he'd tried to help her down from the ladder.

"I think I'm in less danger of falling tonight." She was trying for a joke, but the words came out stilted, and she couldn't tell from the expression on his face if he was amused or not.

"I would hope so." He turned her, the two of them moving in perfect rhythm, but Nora could feel how tense she was.

"I didn't know you could dance," Nora said lamely, and Aiden raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not. Why would you?"

"We went to school together." Nora only just refrained from biting her lip. The man was making her act like an idiot, and she had no idea why. Their history was years ago—there was no reason for him to make her trip over her words and dance like she had a board taped to her spine.

Aiden gave her a look she couldn't quite read as they turned again.

"Did you just realize that?" His voice was dry, humorless, and Nora winced internally.

"I didn't at first," she admitted. "But once it clicked… I remember you clearly now. Why?—"

She was about to ask him why he hadn't said anything on any of the occasions when they'd run into each other after she'd arrived in town. But before she could, the music hit a high note, and Aiden stepped back, flawlessly spinning her in a circle to execute a twirl and bring her back in.

Or at least, his side of it was flawless.

She was a decent dancer. She applied herself to anything she attempted, and she'd been to a good number of classes in Boston. Ordinarily, something like that should have been easy. Simple. But her mind was spinning, confused, and flustered by her reaction to Aiden, and she was more distracted than she could recall having been in a very long time.

Which meant, that as he spun her and brought her back in, she turned too far—and her elbow smacked him directly in the cheekbone. As if to add insult to injury, she felt her heel come down on his toe as she attempted to jump back, bringing it all to a grinding halt as he let out a sharp, pained sound.

Nora felt her face flame red instantly. "Oh my goodness," she gasped, one hand coming up to cover her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I'm usually better than this."

"It's all right," Aiden reassured her, taking a step back. "It happens. Rotate!"

And then he was gone, paired off with another partner as a stodgy elderly gentleman with two left feet took his place with Nora.

She couldn't leave fast enough. She finished the class, because it would have been too mortifying to flee immediately, but the second the music stopped and Aiden dismissed them, she made a beeline for the door. She didn't even bother to change her shoes, flinging on her coat and grabbing her boots as she hurried out, wincing as she tried to cross the icy, snowy parking lot in the heels she was wearing.

This was a terrible idea.

She had intended to focus on the festival, and that was what she should have done. The evening should have been spent up in her room, with a glass of mulled wine and her planner. Her gut instinct not to allow herself to be distracted by Evergreen Hollow's ‘charms' that her mother and Melanie wanted her to experience had been the right one all along.

Nora let out an audible sound of frustration as she reached her car, digging into her purse, and realized that she'd forgotten her keys inside. Now she'd have to trudge back and get them. That was really adding insult to the literal injury she'd given Aiden.

She sighed, turning and stepping carefully as she walked back into the building. And she let out another as she walked in and saw that, naturally, it was Aiden at the front desk as the others left. The older woman must have gone home before the lesson was over.

He held out her keys, a bemused smile on his face. "Are you looking for these?"

Nora nodded sheepishly. "Thank you." She took the keys, wincing when she saw the ice pack in his hand. Her cheeks flushed, embarrassment sweeping through her all over again.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling like the apology was clumsy at best. "I don't know what happened."

"Don't worry about it," Aiden said smoothly, his voice calm and brusque.

Nora got the distinct impression that he was being polite. That he didn't really want to continue the conversation. And how could she blame him? She felt like a jerk for not having recognized him at first, and then on top of that, for elbowing him in the face once they'd finally gotten a chance to talk about it.

She felt a strange pull to stand there and catch up with him after all those years, to speak to the kind boy that she'd talked to that day under the shelter. But even though she felt that tug, that desire to pass the time with him and find out what had happened in the years in between, it felt clear that he didn't feel the same.

"The class was great," she said finally, letting out a breath. "You're a really good dancer."

His expression didn't change, and Nora left it at that, heading back out to her car.

Her thoughts were in a whirl the entire drive back to the inn. She thought again of the looks between Melanie and her mother, and huffed out a dry laugh, feeling certain that she'd been set up. They'd planned it on purpose, to send her to a class Aiden was teaching after she'd recognized him in the yearbook, and she didn't know whether to be frustrated or amused that they'd so easily messed with her.

So much for this being a relaxing evening out. She couldn't pinpoint why, exactly, but her heart was racing.

And it didn't slow, all the way back to The Mistletoe Inn.