A Moment To Dance by Jennifer Faye Read Free Book Online

her to him. She stared up at him with the most entrancing blue eyes. His gaze slipped down past her pert, little nose to her lush, pink lips.
    She pulled free of his hold. “Sorry.”
    He continued to stare into her mesmerizing eyes. Their color was unique. They were as light as the summer sky, and yet there was a depth to them, as though they’d witnessed much—perhaps too much.
    He tugged at the neckline of his T-shirt. Boy, the sun was unusually hot today. Then he noticed the long shadow the house cast over them. Not even the gentle breeze did a thing to cool him down. Was he the only one who was hot and bothered?
    “Uh…no problem.” He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. What had he been thinking to let himself get lost in her eyes? “I’ve got to get back to work.”
    “Wait. This won’t take long.”
    “What won’t?” Surely she didn’t intend to push the subject of them hooking up for the contest. That wasn’t going to happen. Especially not with a woman who eroded his common sense with just one look and had him wondering about the shadows lurking in her eyes.
    Ella tilted up her chin. “How much do you want?”
    “For what?”
    “Your tickets to the dance contest.”
    He crossed his arms. “Why should I do you a favor? You won’t even promise to keep yesterday’s episode between us.”
    “I won’t lie to people, but I promise not to bring up the subject.” She sighed. “Besides, with your loud mouth, half of Whistle Stop must have heard you yesterday, and by today the other half has heard the gossip.”
    “They won’t know the details. They won’t know how I screwed up. Not unless you tell them.”
    “If I give you my word I won’t go around talking about you, will you sell me your tickets?”
    Was she blackmailing him? Nah. A woman who refused to lie wouldn’t sink low enough for blackmail. He gave her a long, hard look. He wouldn’t consider himself an expert at reading women, but he’d swear that look in her eyes was one of desperation. What had put it there? Was she in some sort of trouble?
    “Why should I sell them to you?”
    “Because you aren’t going to use them.”
    “Says who? You heard my mother. I need to get more involved with the community.”
    Ella’s cute, little mouth pressed into a firm line, as though she was trying to figure out her next move. He could easily imagine her as a child, stubborn and determined.
    “Are you serious?” she asked. “You’re really going to participate?”
    “Maybe.” He sure didn’t want to, but he had to do whatever it took to impress the court.
    He glanced back down at the teacher’s note crumpled in his hand. Maybe he was looking at this situation all wrong. Now would be the ideal time for him to swing a deal to get Ella to help Johnny with his studies. He’d certainly failed. And his mother hadn’t fared any better. Perhaps a certified teacher might have some proven techniques to get through to his nephew.
    Tony hesitated. She wasn’t much more than a stranger to him. His gut told him she was a good person, but what did his gut know? A little more than a year ago, he thought he and Jessie would be an old married couple by now, with a baby on the way. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
    Instead, Jessie had skipped out on him when he’d needed her the most, and in place of having his own baby, he now had his brother’s child to raise.
    Damn . These memories weren’t welcome.
    “Name your price for the other ticket.” Ella’s voice drew his attention back to the present.
    The suggestion of them partnering for the dance came across as a terrible idea. Letting her get closer to him would just give her another chance to observe his parenting skills. If she didn’t approve of what she saw, what would she do?
    Then again, what choice did he have but to trust her? His back was against the wall. He either found a way to turn around Johnny’s grades, or risk losing him.
    The school would have already done a