Noah sighed. “I was trying to be helpful. Your basic waltz steps are fine, but your quarter and half turns need some work.”
“You know how to dance?”
The surprise on Cassie’s face gave him a faint glimmer of hope. A few seconds ago, he thought he’d be banished from the cottage and forced to sleep in his SUV. “Grandma taught me how to waltz, foxtrot, and two-step my way out of trouble.”
Cassie bit her bottom lip. “How would you feel about teaching me to dance?”
He pretended to consider her request carefully. With raised eyebrows, he asked, “How long have we got until you need to be step-perfect?”
“A week.”
Noah’s eyes widened.
“I know,” Cassie said miserably. “Sam is getting married next Saturday and I still don’t know how to waltz.”
Noah’s confidence took a nosedive. “Does your date know how to dance?”
Cassie frowned. “I’m not going with anyone, but Sam and Caleb have been practicing for months. They kept warning me that there would be lots of waltzes, but I’ve been so busy—”
“I’ll do it,” Noah said quickly.
Instead of looking relieved, Cassie’s frown deepened. “That was fast. What’s the catch?”
“There’s no…” The words that would have come out of his mouth disappeared. Throughout most of his life, there’d always been catches. But not now. Not with Cassie.
She banged the palm of her hand against her forehead. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Now you’re thinking of all the things you can weasel out of me as payback for the lessons.”
Noah hoped she was joking. “I don’t weasel things out of people. I use my superior negotiating skills and charming personality to encourage people to agree with me.”
“What’s your price, Noah?”
He didn’t want to spoil Cassie’s righteous indignation, but the piercing blue glare she aimed at him wasn’t intimidating. It was hot. His grandma would blush if she knew how useful her dancing lessons were about to become.
“I want to come to Sam and Caleb’s wedding with you.”
Cassie’s mouth dropped open.
“It makes perfect sense. It’s much easier to dance with someone who knows how you move. And I won’t be insulted when you step on my toes.”
“Would that speech be part of your superior negotiating skills or charming personality?”
Noah grinned. Maybe Cassie did share his sense of humor after all. “I’ll go for charm, but only because I’m saving my negotiating skills for another day.”
Cassie didn’t smile. “You’re forgetting one important thing.”
Noah’s eyebrows rose. “I am?”
“You’re leaving on Sunday. That only gives us one day and a few hours to perfect our technique.”
“I could stay in Sapphire Bay for a few more days.”
Cassie seemed as surprised as he was by what he’d said. “You have to go back to Manhattan. You’re the chief executive.”
His grandfather’s voice boomed inside Noah’s head, agreeing with Cassie. Not for the first time, he ignored it. “I can work from here almost as well as I can from my office.”
“You’ll get fired.”
Noah shrugged. “Possibly. But the board can’t do anything about it until our next meeting. That gives me a whole month to do what I want.”
