“Don’t look now, but a man just stopped beside her,” Holly murmured.
The man in question swayed a little as he held out his hand. “Care to dance?”
Joyce shot a wary glance toward the ladies at the table.
Gisele nodded, encouragingly.
Holly shrugged.
Ouida Mae grinned. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be here when you get back.”
Joyce gave the man a weak smile and allowed him to help her to her feet. Soon, they were two-stepping around the dance floor.
Well, Joyce was two-stepping, while her partner was stepping on her toes and stumbling. After several passes, the man’s movements only got worse.
Holly cringed. “Think we should rescue her?”
“Yeah.” Gisele rose from her chair. “If we don’t do it soon, she’ll be black and blue all over.”
The three women had just started across the floor when Joyce’s dance partner tripped and face-planted on the floor.
Simon and Landry rushed forward, lifted the man by the arms and half-carried him to the exit.
Rene met the men at the door and held it open so they could carry the man out.
While her dance partner was being handled, Joyce stood in the middle of the dance floor, her eyes wide, shaking her head.
Before her friends could reach her, the band started playing again.
A man stepped up to Joyce and offered his hand.
Gisele grabbed Holly and Ouida Mae, stopping them before they stepped out onto the dance floor. “Wait.”
“Is that Mitchell Marceau?” Ouida Mae whispered.
Gisele nodded. “I almost didn’t recognize him. He’s usually wearing an old T-shirt covered in worm dirt or fish guts from working all day at the marina.”
“Dang, he cleans up well,” Ouida Mae said.
“Let’s see if he’s got two left feet,” Holly suggested. “We might still need to rescue Joyce.”
They stood back, watching as Mitch led Joyce around the dance floor, his footwork simple but smooth, all the while talking and smiling at the pretty principal.
“Well, I’ll be gobsmacked,” Gisele said. “I would never have guessed Marceau could dance so well.”
“Me either but look at him go like it’s as easy as breathing.” Ouida Mae smiled. “It’s nice to see Principal Ashcraft having a good time.”
“I think we can take our seats,” Holly said. “She seems to be in good hands.”
As they started toward their table, Holly caught sight of Cody making his way toward her. “Oh, great,” she muttered beneath her breath, ducked her head and pretended she didn’t see him.
“Glad to see Rene let you off early. We can have that dance now.” He held out his hand.
“Sorry,” a deep voice said from behind Holly. “She’s already spoken for.” Simon stepped up beside her, took her hand and led her past Cody onto the wooden floor sprinkled with sawdust.
Holly cast a glance over her shoulder.
Cody’s eyebrows formed a deep V on his forehead as he glared at Simon’s back.
