He shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a crowd to be waiting outside for him. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. It wouldn’t be right to just ignore them, but we won’t be delayed long. I promise.”
He turned on his full movie star smile as the crowd of fans got closer, moving forward slightly to meet them. “You must have been waiting for a while,” he said to them, turning on the charm that came so effortlessly to him.
That was all it took for everyone to start talking at once, asking for autographs and photographs and wanting to discuss every detail of the current season of
Seattle General Medical
. In a matter of seconds, a cluster of women in their teens and early twenties literally surrounded Christian, all looking for attention from their favorite star.
They all got it, too. Every one of them. Christian stood at the center of the group, every inch the gracious star. Paige had thought her sister Morgan had star quality, but Christian’s was at a whole other level, and as effortless as if he’d been born with it.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying the show, Julia,” he said, having apparently learned the names of everyone in the group in a matter of seconds. He spoke to one woman after another, and she could see that he made each feel as if she was the center of his world.
Paige remembered the way he’d been with her family when he arrived for dinner. He’d spoken to each member, making them feel as if he truly was interested in them and their stories. In a matter of minutes, he’d become a part of all their lives, making them feel like close friends.
Exactly like he did with me.
Just minutes ago, she’d been feeling so special, as if she and Christian understood one another perfectly—the Astaire to her Rogers. Just the two of them in their own little world, as if they’d meant something to each other.
Yet, here he was tonight outside the skating rink, doing what movie stars were meant to do by freely giving his time and attention to his loyal fans. And Paige knew that each of them probably felt as if
she
was the only woman in the world who mattered to him. As if there was some kind of special connection between them, and that if
only
they could have a little more time together, it might blossom into something special.
Paige’s ex had a knack for making everyone around him feel special, too. At least when he wanted to. When Patrice was with someone he wanted to impress, or with a beautiful woman, he always managed to make them feel as if they were the most important thing in his life. He’d certainly made Paige feel that way.
But the truth was that Patrice was the most important thing in Patrice’s life. The rest of the world had been nothing more than a cast of extras caught up in the grand story of his life, with Paige meaning little more to him than a walk-on part. A minor love interest to be enjoyed and discarded with no more thought than you’d give a side character in a ballet once the performance was over. She had only momentarily been the center of his world until he had the choreography he wanted, and then she hadn’t been of any importance to him at all.
Of course, Paige knew Christian wasn’t just using her to get what he wanted the way Patrice had—she had willingly agreed to be his dance instructor. And Christian also didn’t have an ounce of disdain for his fans. He was giving his all to them because he was a wonderful, generous man.
At the same time, if she was really honest with herself, she should have known better than to read too much into his kiss at the end of their one perfect dance. It wasn’t Christian’s fault that she had. It was her fault for thinking that one kiss—even one
amazing
kiss—would mean more than it really had. He was here to learn how to dance for a movie, and after the week was over, he would be gone. But she would still be here, nursing yet another broken heart, unless she was a whole lot more careful to guard it around him than she’d been so far.
As Christian’s fans asked him to pose for more pictures and sign more autographs, Paige slipped quietly away from the crowd.
CHAPTER TEN
Even as the fans had clamored for Christian’s attention, he’d been aware of Paige the whole time and saw her begin to slip away. He was about to call out her name to ask her to wait a couple more minutes, when one of the young women in the crowd put a hand on his arm.
“Christian, it would make my
entire
day if we could take a photo together! I totally loved the last season of
Seattle General Medical.
I swear I’m your biggest fan.”
He always found it amazing just how committed fans could be to actors they had only seen on a screen. Which was, of course, why he did his best to live up to their expectations when he met them. Without fans like them, he wouldn’t have a career, and that’s why he always felt that he owed them at least a little attention.
“Why have you come to Walker Island?” the woman asked as her friend took their picture. “Have you decided that you want to live here?”
He could hear the breathless excitement in her question. He could feel it from practically the whole group, actually. It was exactly the kind of excited question that could start a rumor.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m here to do research for a role.” He wasn’t sure that saying he was here to learn to dance would be a good idea. People might work out that there was only one place on the island where he could do that, and then he and Paige might find themselves with an audience for their dance sessions.
Paige.
Just thinking of her made his heart do a flip in his chest. Their dance had been amazing. But their kiss had been extraordinary. He’d felt as if they were finally getting a chance to explore the connection between them that had been there since Christian arrived on the island, and he couldn’t have been happier about it.
Wanting to continue deepening their connection where they’d left off, he was just about to let his fans know he had to leave when one of the other young women asked, “What’s it like when you have to kiss one of your co-stars? I mean, I know you don’t really have a relationship, but you’re still kissing them, aren’t you?”
“You’ve answered your own question,” he said with a smile. “It’s not real.”
“But it looks so real on-screen!”
Even if he had only just met the actress he was kissing on-screen, he was good at convincing the audience that whatever their characters felt for one another was the truth, running far deeper than the story currently being told. “Then I suppose we’re doing a good job as actors, aren’t we?” Christian’s laugh turned that into a joke for everyone. But it was no joke how so many of the rumor mills had him linked with most of his co-stars. Being able to portray a connection with someone like that was a double-edged sword.
And it was
nothing
like what he was experiencing with Paige.
For once in his life Christian had an emotional connection to a woman that was everything his romantic acting roles promised. Only, with Paige, there was no pretending. No layers of character providing the emotion. No cameras.
Instead, it was just the two of them, a woman and a man falling for each other in the most natural, and honest, way possible as they danced in each other’s arms.
“I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evening,” Christian said as he finished signing his last autograph in a hurry, looking around for Paige. It was only as he pried himself free from the crowd of admirers that he finally realized she had disappeared.
He knew big groups of fans could be overwhelming for some people. And after the comments she’d made at dinner that first night about not understanding how anyone could enjoy being famous, it wasn’t difficult to guess that his group of enthusiastic fans had probably pushed at the edges of her comfort zone.
But was that the only reason she’d gone? Or was there another reason that she’d run?
Could she have decided she regretted their kiss, after all?
He got back in his car, knowing immediately where she would have gone to seek refuge. Not the family house, regardless of how much she loved her sisters and grandmother. No, for Paige, there would be only one place that would truly soothe her if she felt off-kilter.
The dance studio.
When he pulled up outside the studio, he could see that the lights were on. The door was unlocked, so he went in, wanting to talk to her. Wanting to ask her why she’d left. Wanting to kiss her again. Wanting to see her beautiful smile as they danced together.
The sight of Paige alone in the middle of the dance floor was enough to make Christian’s breath catch. She was in the same clothes she’d worn to the skating rink, but her hair was down, falling loose past her shoulders in a golden wave as she danced to the song
They All Laughed
from
Shall We Dance
. He knew from watching the movie with her that it was Fred Astaire’s part she was dancing, rather than Ginger Rogers’ supporting role.
How was it possible, he found himself wondering as he watched her move gracefully across the floor, to dance with someone for a couple of days and never see them truly dance? But he already knew the answer—Paige had been concentrating on teaching him, not showing off her own abilities. Even when they danced together, she rarely concentrated on herself.
Now, it was easy to see how much she’d held back just to let him keep up. She moved so gracefully, so perfectly, so effortlessly, giving herself up to the music completely.
Because Paige had talked him through most of the choreography in this dance, Christian could remember the general shape of it. Enough to realize that this wasn’t the original. That more expansive leap hadn’t been in there, because Christian was sure he would have remembered it. And several other moves looked like they owed more to street dance than to Fred Astaire. Even the parts he did remember had their own little beautiful twists.
Through it all, there was an amazing intensity to her dancing—a sweet and pure joy that spilled over into the room. When Paige got to her version of the tap duet at the heart of the piece, Christian found his own feet tapping softly on the floor outside, trying to keep up. He was so swept up in the moment, and in her, that it was impossible to remain still.
More than anything, he wanted step in there and join her. He wanted to take her in his arms and finish the dance with her pressed close to him. He wanted her to look at him the way she had back at the skating rink. And he wanted both of them to get lost in another kiss.
But as he watched her dance more beautifully than anyone else ever had, he knew that this moment wasn’t meant for him. Paige wasn’t putting on a show. She was dancing for the joy of dancing, just her and the music. As much as he wanted to deepen his connection with her, this was her own private moment. One she’d clearly needed after everything that had happened with them at the rink.
If anyone understood privacy, it was him. He knew what it was like to stand in the middle of a crowd and wonder if your life was your own. Paige obviously wanted this moment for herself, without him, or anyone else, interfering. And regardless of how badly he wanted to be with her, he couldn’t bear to take the moment away from her.
Knowing that he had to leave and yet wanting to see her dance for just a few seconds more, Christian finally forced himself to turn and shut the door carefully behind him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Christian arrived at the dance studio earlier than usual the next morning, hoping Paige would also be there so that they would have time to talk before they got back into dance training. Christmas Eve, and yet here he was, ready to dance. Ready to train. Eager for it even. But so much more eager to see Paige, who looked positively gorgeous this morning, in close-fitting dance pants and a crop top that revealed an inch or so of toned skin.
But when she saw him and he opened his mouth, he realized that he wasn’t sure what to say—or how to say it. Not when he had a feeling that getting it just right was crucially important right now, especially given the wary look in Paige’s eyes.
“Yesterday…at the rink...”
“You danced really, really well,” she cut in. “And now that we know exactly what you’re capable of, we’ve
really
got to get cracking so that you can blow your director and co-star away when you show up on set in January.”
He knew he still had a great deal to learn, but that didn’t mean they needed to ignore the kiss they’d shared, did it?
Last night, after he’d left her to dance alone in the studio, he’d felt bereft without their usual takeout and movie. Because even though they’d done the movie and takeout thing only a couple of times, it had felt perfectly natural. Missing out on spending the evening with Paige had made him feel like something had gone terribly wrong.
“Paige, I think we need to talk.”
Her eyes flashed, and for a moment, he thought she might tell him why she’d left him alone with the crowd of fans. But in the end, she quietly said, “I really think we should dance first.”
Taking that as a promise that she wouldn’t run from him again, even if it was abundantly clear that she wasn’t looking forward to talking about what had happened yesterday, he nodded and they got to work. Dancing was what he was here for, after all, the whole point of this trip to Walker Island. Yet this morning, it felt utterly secondary to him. He couldn’t help but think that their kiss—and the reasons Paige had left so suddenly afterward—should take center stage, not the dancing.
Especially not
this
dancing.
He was working to shut out everything but the music and his own body moving through space as, step by step, he tried to get his technique up to par. Paige, meanwhile, was a model of technical excellence, every step in time, every angle perfect.
So then why did it feel like they were so completely out of tune with one another?
They’d never been more technically in step together, but it felt like any connection they’d had was gone, buried under a flurry of movements and turns that didn’t matter even half as much. Christian had seen this happen before on set, the kind of anti-chemistry that could ruin a day’s shooting, taking lines that should have been full of life and communication and sucking all of the life from them.