Page 122 of The Singles Club

“We’ll always have Paris.” I caressed the side of his face and stepped closer until our bodies touched. “What I want most is my dance partner.”

His arms wrapped around me, surrounding me in warmth. “I want nothing more than to dance with you.”

Justin leaned forward, and we kissed, but I didn’t see fireworks this time. There was no explosion nor any movie to compare it to.

It wasours.

A beginning of a journey where we were sure to make some mistakes and step on each other’s toes, but I knew there would be many moments we flowed, and we’d wing it until we figured it out together.

And for the first time, that didn’t scare me. I was all in.

27

Happy Holidays

Justin

Laughter and voices filled the venue, and the sweet scent of pine, ginger, and sugar rose through the air. “All I Want for Christmas is You” rang through the speakers as Vivian walked over to me. Perfect timing.

She wore a red dress that flowed with her every move. Her hair was pulled up in a twist, and I longed to kiss that beautiful neck of hers.

She slipped her arms around my waist. “How did you like the kid’s song and dance number?”

“Adorable. Everyone loved it.”

“We’ll have to get something special for Katerina and Max for helping us to choreograph.” She laughed, and there was an unmistakable glow about her. “There were a lot of young ones who had short attention spans.”

I caressed the edge of her face. “It’s nothing compared to what you and Becky did with this feature. You made a lot of single moms and their kids very happy.”

“We had a lot of help, especially from you. Thank you.”

“I loved every minute of it.” I leaned closer for a kiss but was interrupted by a tiny voice.

“Miss Vivian?” Little Grace tugged on Vivian’s dress.

Vivian knelt down to match her height. “Hey, sweetie. Have you gotten your picture taken with Santa yet?”

Grace exaggerated a nod. “Can I take a picture with you, too?”

“Of course you can.” Vivian held out her hand. “Let’s go find Crystal.”

Grace’s little fingers wrapped around Vivian’s, and then she held out her hand to me. “You want a picture with us?”

Her tiny hand in my own warmed me. “I’d love to take a picture with you both.”

Crystal sat me down in a chair next to a tall Christmas tree decorated in ornaments that the kids had made. Vivian sat down beside me with Grace between our laps.

“I want to be in the picture, too!” Mikey, one of the other kids, called out. Before we knew it, all the kids in the feature were piled around us for a group photo.

“Say ‘cheese,’” Crystal said, and they yelled it so loud I winced before letting out a laugh.

Becky came over and won over their attention with the word “presents,” and in a flash, they were up and running toward a man in a red suit with two bags by his side.

Becky smiled. “Hey, Viv. After the kids open their gifts, we’ll be ready for your speech.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“A speech?” I asked, taking her hand in mine. “I didn’t know you planned a speech.”