“Do not finish that sentence,” Dane said, before she could respond. Wren’s eyes flew to his face, and she pulled in her breath at his etched-in-stone features.
Right, well … thank you, Dane.
She looked at Colt, who looked like he wanted to die due to intense humiliation. “I’ll just go,” he muttered.
Wren gripped his forearm, holding him in place. “I’ve been dancing all my life, and I can promise you that many professional athletes start wilting after just ten minutes practicing one of my routines.”
“That I’d like to see,” Penn retorted, his tone mocking.
“Dancers are incredibly strong,” she said, hoping to convince him.
“He needs to train with the new doc here?—”
“I’m not a trainer, neither am I the new doc,” Dane said through gritted teeth. He lifted his hands and shook his head. “Jesus, I thought men had moved on.”
Colt grimaced, and Penn flushed.
Don’t provoke him, Dane!
Wren tried again. “There are quite a few boys in the class?—”
Penn’s stubborn expression didn’t shift. “You can dress it up however you like, Miss Dunlop. I know what I see. It’sgirly, for God’s sake.”
Lovely. Toxic masculinity on full display.
Dane looked at him, looked at her, and his eyes narrowed. He folded his massive arms across his chest, the cords in his strong neck bunching. “Do you consider me girly?” he growled.
Penn lifted his hands, confused. “No.”
Where was Dane going with this? His smile had absolutely no humor. “I enlisted, went to college, briefly served, and then joined Humanatus Global Relief. I have seen and done things that would make you shit your pants. I know my way around an M5 and a scalpel, and I can return fire while amputating a leg.”
Colt turned white, and Penn gulped.
“Uh…” Penn murmured, also looking confused. He lifted his hands. “Thank you for your service?”
Dane rolled his eyes, moved toward the door, and opened it. The song had changed, but the kids were still dancing, oblivious to the tension behind the door. “So, I’m going to take my highly non-girly ass, and I’m going to join Wren’s dance class. Are you going to join me, Colt?”
Wait …what?No, hold on, this was a dance group for teenagers, not for hot guys in their mid-thirties and the human equivalent of an icy margarita on a hot day. She could, maybe, cope with a room of teenagers, but Hot Doc? Uh, that would be a solid no.
Penn looked equally flummoxed. “You’re going to dance?” he asked, making it sound like Dane was going to drown puppies.Jerk.
“Yes, and I’d like Colt to join me.”
Penn narrowed his eyes at Dane, thinking. “Okay, here’s the deal. He can continue to attend dance class as long as you do. You bail, he does, too.” The manipulative asshole! Penn’s smile turned nasty. “And I don’t see you lasting more than a session or two.”
Dane tipped his head to the side, and Wren expected him to back down. He might suffer through one class, but a series of them? That was asking too much.
“Deal.”
Penn held out his hand to seal the deal, and Dane shook it. A little shocked and very over Penn and his BS, Wren looked at Colt and caught him mouthing a “Sorry” at Dane. Dane shrugged and smiled. Poor kid, he couldn’t help it if his dad was a dick.
Knowing the kids were waiting, she gave Dane a long up-and-down look, which wasn’t, let’s face it, any hardship. “You can’t dance in flip-flops, and your clothes aren’t suitable for dance class. Loose is a lot better.” She took in Colt’s combat pants and rangy T-shirt. “You’ll do.”
She gave Penn her iciest look, the look that stopped superstars in their tracks. “I am wasting time out here. Let’s move on, shall we?”
Penn’s eyes didn’t move off Dane. “I’ll wait here to see if you return or not.”
Colt straightened his shoulders and managed to meet his father’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure I’ll still be straight when I get home later, but you never know.”
