Nate stood up and walked over to her. The Florida sun beamed down on both of them. It was such a nice day he didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want to end this relationship with her on a day like today.
“Don’t say that. I like the life you and I have. These weeks we’ve been together have been the most exciting of my life. I’ve been the closest I’ve been to peace since I quit playing ball.”
“I’m glad,” she said, quietly. “I want that for you.”
“Give me a chance to prove myself,” he said.
She took his hand in hers and then rose up on tiptoes to kiss him. “If you don’t love me then there is nothing else to say. I can’t do things in half measure and staying with you, loving you while you don’t love me, would kill me, Nate. I don’t want to live like that.”
Jen did what she did best when her life fell apart and that was pouring herself into her work. Almost three days passed before she called Russell Holloway’s office and got his secretary. She put Jen through right away.
“This is Holloway.”
“Um…hello, this is Jen Miller. Cam Stern gave me your number.”
“Jen, it’s about time you called me. I have heard a lot of good things about you and I’d love to meet with you in person to discuss an offer.”
“A job offer?” she asked.
“Yes. I don’t know if you are familiar with my clubs…”
“Mr. Holloway—”
“Call me Russ. Everyone does.”
“Okay, Russ. I’ve heard of your clubs. What kind of job did you have in mind for me? Would you want me to travel to all the locations and train the dancers?”
“Yes, and choreograph new shows. I hope you don’t mind but I asked Cam to send me footage of your flamenco show from the club. You are really very talented.”
She was flattered. After all the ups and downs and heartache she’d experienced in the past few weeks, it was nice to have a man just say nice things to her. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for telling the truth. Now what do you say?”
“Do I have to give you my answer right now?”
“I can wait a few days,” he said. “I’m going to send you a ticket to London.”
“Why London?”
“I’m going to be visiting the Kiwi Kensington Klub and you can join me there. Give me your answer then, okay?”
“When is it? I have a lot of rehearsals for the Luna Azul tenth anniversary coming up in May so I can’t afford too many days away.”
“I like that work ethic,” he said with a laugh. “I won’t keep you more than a few days.”
“Okay. I’ll come see you but there is no guarantee I’ll take the job.”
“I understand,” he said.
She phoned Cam and asked for a few days off and then flew to London. She had a glimpse of the life she could have. The Kiwi Klub was bigger than Luna Azul. And it would be very busy and she’d have a chance to reach more people with her dance than she ever had before, but London was cold and rainy and she missed Miami.
She missed Marcia and Riley and she knew in her heart of hearts that this wasn’t what she wanted. She’d be taking the job to run away from Nate.
The next morning when she saw Russ she told him her decision.
“I’m sorry, but I guess I’m more of a homebody than I thought I was. I miss my family.”
“It’s okay. I used to be like that, so I understand. If you ever change your mind, call me. I will always have room for you on my staff.”
That was a sweet offer but she knew she wouldn’t take him up on it. She was tired of running.
So she flew back to Miami and went back to work. She spent every waking moment at Luna Azul. Trying to prove herself. It had somehow become important to her to make sure she spent as much time there preparing for the tenth anniversary celebration as possible, even though she knew Nate was busy and never showed his face around the club anymore.
One night, when she was alone working on a routine, she heard a voice behind her. “It's time for you to go home.”
She glanced at the door of the rehearsal hall and was surprised to see Cam there. He had been riding everyone hard at Luna Azul presumably to ensure that the extra publicity they were getting due to their anniversary celebration wasn’t wasted.
“Not yet. I want to practice some of the things from the notes that Hutch sent me tonight. My dancers need to have it nailed before he heads back home.”
“They are good and so are you,” Cam said. “You need rest. You do know that’s important.”
“Yes, I know it,” she said. But she wasn’t going home to rest. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in close to two weeks. Not since she’d broken up with Nate in a sunny park on what should have been the best day of her life. Instead, she’d been sleeping fitfully and never really finding a moment’s peace.