“Right.” Evidently deciding to drop the subject, she relaxed back into the chair. “Y’all’s Charleston was spot on.”
“Wish I could’ve said the same about Brody and Adele’s tango.”
Tyler laughed. “Brody did say she kept trying to lead. I think he’s relieved to be done.”
“He doesn’t like dancing with anybody but you.”
“True enough. There’s nothing quite like dancing with a partner who gets you.” She fixed him with a Look. “You and Corinne get each other. It shows. And not just to us.”
He didn’t know which part of that statement to respond to first. “What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you been following the town blog about the competition?”
“No, why?”
“There’s a poll about whether you and Corinne will get together.”
Tucker stared at her. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” She circled around his desk, fingers flying over the keys for a moment before pivoting the monitor toward him and pointing. “After that second performance, the ‘Yes’ vote is up to 66%.”
Right there on the screen was a close up of him and Corinne during their jive performance, eyes locked, with a helluva lot more than focus shimmering between them. He felt it every time he looked at her, but it was a whole other thing to actually see it right there in living color and know it was out there for everybody else to see.
“People are actually voting on our theoretical love life?”
“Everybody loves love. And honestly, you two are the only possible couple who could come out of this competition. Well, I guess Charlotte and Chad, but they didn’t stay in long enough for it to matter. But you and Corinne? You’re going to the finals. And there’s a sizable chunk of the town who are absolutely shipping you both.”
Tucker scrubbed a hand down his face. “Corinne definitely hasn’t seen this.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’d panic and bolt. Being the center of attention has been hard on her.”
“How are things going with you two?”
“What? I’m just supposed to tell you? What if you’re in on the pool at Dinner Belles?” he joked.
Tyler brightened. “There’s a pool?”
“I don’t actually know, but c’mon. There’s always a pool.”
“I’ll have to stop by and put in my bet.”
“I wouldn’t bother. Mama Pearl did the setting up here. She’s got the inside track.”
“Oh did she? Because Norah told me what you said when you agreed to participate and that had a Tucker McGee setup written all over it.”
He spread his hands. “I will neither confirm nor deny my original intent. But I will say Mama Pearl apparently did not sprain her ankle.”
Tyler leaned across the desk to pop him on the arm. “You stinker, you.”
“What? I had nothing to do with it. Can I help it if she took inspiration from my noble sacrifice in the name of saving your love life?”
“If you’re expecting another thank you for that, you’ll get it at our wedding. Now are you actually going to give a straight answer about how things are with you and Corinne or do I need to pull out my pliers?”
Long experience had taught him she wouldn’t drop it, so he caved. “Things are good. Accepting I really am interested and this isn’t some kind of cosmic joke where somebody’s going to pull the rug out from under her and yell, ‘Pysch!’ has taken her some time. But I think we’re finally on the same page of there actually being an us. The beginnings of one, anyway.”
He cut a glance in her direction, trying to peg whether Tyler was okay with there being a him and Corinne. Too tired for analyzing subtext, he decided to flat out ask. “Are you okay with this? Because Piper wasn’t.”