Christian: Only desperation on my part. Thanks, man.
Despite his buddy’s endorsement, Christian went back through his contacts for another option. Asking Hallie for this favor had the potential of sending them all into a tailspin of chaos.
Was he really prepared for that?
“Is that Christian?” McKenzie asked, peering over Hallie’s shoulder at the laptop on their kitchen’s center island.
Hallie jumped. Perhaps she should’ve picked a more discreet place for her deep dive into Christian’s dancing career via YouTube. She peeled her eyes from the video of three couples in the middle of a lively jive playing on the screen. How long had her roommate been standing there?
“Yeah,” she said as McKenzie slid onto a stool next to her and turned the screen enough to see.
What had started as a mere curiosity about Christian’s time on the ballroom team in college had turned into a week-long obsession to find every YouTube video available of him dancing.
Obsession is such a strong word.Hallie checked the clock above the web browser.Two hours?!Today’s indulgence had lasted longer than the rest.
Maybeobsessionwas a more accurate term than she thought. This curiosity had derailed her entire afternoon. And turned her into a stalker.
Yet she couldn’t stop herself from starting just one more video, this one a dance with only men from what appeared to be a show on campus.
Hello, shirtless Christian. Nice to meet you.Hallie groaned inwardly.Stop ogling him. He’s not a cupcake.
But she still had to use an exorbitant amount of willpower not to fan her face.
He was, for lack of a better word, incredible. His dancing, not his abs, though those were nothing to scoff at either. Other descriptorscould include graceful yet masculine. Powerful yet gentle. This younger version of Christian made the perfect leading man.
“I didn’t know he was a dancer,” McKenzie said after several moments of silently watching.
At least she didn’t comment on Hallie’s obvious loss of sanity. If Beej had been the one to discover Hallie stalking old YouTube videos of the guy, she would’ve gone crazy over a potential love match. Kendall would’ve rolled her eyes. But McKenzie was more subtle.
Thank goodness.
“I didn’t know either.” Hallie started another video.
This is absolutely the last one.It was her favorite because it featured only one couple. She’d watched it four times already, but after exhausting all the content she could find, what else could she do?
Besides turn it off altogether, because she’d already proved she didn’t have the control to do that.
Christian and his partner—a shockingly beautiful woman named Sabrina Abbott, according to the caption—began an Argentine Tango that was both elegant and sensual. Their obvious chemistry came through in the dance, and Hallie, as much as she loved it, felt an uncomfortable twinge near her navel.
You’re being ridiculous.This obsession wasn’t healthy.
McKenzie leaned forward, resting her chin on top of her forearms. “He’s good. Too bad we didn’t know him while I was still competing. I could’ve used his help with my floor routine. I hated the dancing elements.”
Hallie’s phone buzzed on the countertop between them, interrupting any response she could’ve made. McKenzie glanced at it asChristian: My Favorite Clientscrolled across the screen.
A glimmer of mischief twinkled in her blue eyes. “Speak of the devil.” She waggled her ginger brows.
Hallie snapped the laptop closed. Face burning, she waved her arms over the computer. “This never happened.”
“My lips are sealed.” From McKenzie, that promise was like making a blood oath.
Hallie snatched her phone off the counter and rushed from the kitchen, answering the call only when she’d reached the entryway.
“Hello?” She tried to keep her breath steady as she jogged up to her room.
“Hey,” Christian grunted. “Sorry to interrupt. You busy?”
Not unless you count cyberstalking you for the last two and a half hours.
