“Was that a compliment?”
“It was an observation.”
“It sounded like a compliment.”
“Then you are hearing what you want to hear.”
“I am hearing what you said,” she said. “Quite good instincts. Your words.”
“I am already regretting them.”
“I imagine you are.” She let him turn her through the next figure, and her feet did what they were supposed to do, and she felt the particular satisfaction of a thing going right that had previously gone wrong and found it disproportionately pleasing. “You’re still bossy, though.”
“You require it,” he said. “Other partners simply needed guidance, you require the full authoritative version.”
“That says more about you than it does about me.”
“Does it?” he said.
“A man who escalates to authority as his first response rather than his last suggests a certain….”
“I did not escalate,” he said. “I started at the appropriate level for the situation.”
“The situation being me.”
“The situation,” he said, “being you, yes.”
She looked up at him, prepared to continue this, and found him already looking at her with something in his expression that was not quite the argument she had expected, something quieter and more direct, and she lost the thread of what she had been about to say.
They were, she noticed, closer than the dance strictly required, not in any way that Mr. Fowler or Joseph would have found remarkable from across the room, but enough that she was aware of it.
She looked back at where their joined hands were and then back at his face and found he hadn’t moved his eyes from hers.
“You’re not looking at the floor,” he said.
“You told me not to and I’m simply following your instructions.”
“And you’ve decided now is a good time to finally listen to what I have to say?” he asked in a teasing voice.
“Oh, I don’t understand you. It’s like you are not happy either way.”
“I said nothing about being unhappy,” he said, suddenly pulling her closer. At that moment, it was as though she had forgotten how to breathe entirely.
“I…” she said, “you do this strange thing where you leave me feeling rather flustered.”
She was being more honest than she usually was, which was surprising to her considering they were being watched. She only hoped that no one could hear them.
“It’s not something I’m used to being, mind you,” she tried to recover but saw the satisfied grin on his face. “So, it’s somehow unique to you that you manage to bring this out of me.”
“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or concerned,” he grinned, seeming entirely too pleased with himself.
“Neither. I think you should concentrate on teaching me how to dance,” she said, blushing. “Or rather, demonstrating to your son, which is the point of this exercise.”
“I suppose my practicality has rubbed off on you,” he teased again.
She rolled her eyes at him and then her foot turned wrong.
It was a small misstep, but she stumbled forward and his arm came around her, his hand moving from her waist to the small of her back, pulling her in to keep her upright, and for a moment she was considerably closer to him than she had been.
