‘There are four of you? Do you have any brothers?’
She shook her head. ‘No. Unfortunately for my dad. He was always surrounded by women.’
‘What a hardship.’ He winked at her, and she laughed. He liked that a lot.
‘And you’re an only child, right?’ she asked him.
‘Yep. Just me.’ But he really didn’t want to talk about that. ‘What do your other sisters do?’
They’d reached the entrance. There was a glass booth inside the door. Ryan slid the entrance fee across, and the man passed him two wristbands. ‘First drink is free. After that you have to pay. If you want tuition, speak to Louisa behind the bar. The professionals are on now. Public dancing starts at nine.’
Ryan took the wristbands, fastening his around his right arm. He went to pass the second one to Juliet, but she held her arm out, instead. He circled the yellow plastic around her wrist, trying not to think about the way her skin had felt that day he’d kissed it.
They were friends. He could do this.
‘Lucy’s my eldest sister,’ Juliet said, carrying on their conversation from outside the club. ‘She’s a lawyer. And then Cesca is the next one. She writes plays, but she’s also writing a screenplay at the moment. She’s just got engaged to her movie-star boyfriend.’
‘A movie star?’ Ryan tried not to look amused. ‘Have I heard of him?’
‘You might have. His name’s Sam Carlton, he’s in this franchise called Summer Breeze. I don’t think it’s really aimed at your demographic, though, unless you’re into screaming whenever he comes on screen.’
‘I’m guessing it’s not a horror franchise.’ He raised his eyebrows up.
Juliet grinned. ‘Not unless you’ve got a phobia about surfing. Or seeing your future brother-in-law half-naked in every scene, which, by the way, I think I’m developing. Anyway, you can see for yourself soon. Sam has some meetings in Washington, so they’re going to come over for a visit while they’re this side of the country.’
At the end of the hallway, there were black lacquered double doors that led into the club itself. Ryan reached out, placing his hand on the handle, feeling the rhythm of the bass vibrate against the metal.
‘You ready, London?’ he asked, looking over at her.
She smiled, waiting for him to push it open. ‘As ready as I’ll ever be.’
‘Then let’s go dance.’
The club might have looked nondescript from the outside, but as soon as they walked in through the black lacquer doors, the atmosphere was palpable. The music was loud, the bass pumping through speakers on the wall, and there was already a crowd of people inside. Some were leaning on the long bar that ran the length of the room, sipping multicoloured cocktails stuffed with fruits. Others had already hit the dance floor. She watched as they shimmied and spun around the room, moving apart and then back together in synchronised moves.
It was fast, fun and dynamic.
‘Can you dance like that?’ she asked Ryan.
‘Kind of. That’s the salsa. It’s full of energy. It’s a little bit more extroverted than the tango. All about showing off and looking the best.’ He gestured towards the bar. ‘Shall we get our free drinks? I’ve got a feeling we might need them.’
She nodded, still interested in his description. She could waltz with the best of them, but she’d never danced Latin. ‘So what’s the tango about?’
‘It’s more intimate. You hold your partner close, you feel the music. It’s a dance of seduction.’
‘Oh.’ She felt herself heat up. ‘Will we dance the tango tonight?’
He laughed. ‘No need to look so alarmed. It’s all salsa until midnight. They play the tango music after that. But we don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.’
‘What can I get you?’ the barman asked. ‘First drink is on the house.’
‘What would you like?’ Ryan turned to ask her.
She opened her mouth to ask for a glass of wine, but then hesitated. ‘Um, what are those?’ she asked, pointing over at the fruit-filled cocktails.
‘Mango mojitos. They’re good.’
‘I’ll have one of those then.’