He managed to get his head back in control—just—by the time Polly joined him. Teasing. That was the way to go. She’d teased him about the colour of her dress. He could tease her. Play the boy next door. And it might stop him wanting much, much more.
‘Lime green, indeed,’ he said with a grin.
Except then he ruined it by being unable to resist running one finger down her long sleeve.
Polly went absolutely still. This was crazy. Why was her skin tingling? He hadn’t even touched her—just the material of her dress.
Except her imagination was running overdrive on what it would feel like if he touched her skin. And that scared her. Why was she reacting this way to him? There was no point in starting something that just couldn’t have a future. She didn’t want a fling. She didn’t think he did, either. Neither of them needed this kind of complication.
Get a grip, she told herself.
‘This is sea green,’ he said.
‘Because of the song. It kind of went together for me.’ That, and the fact that it had long sleeves.
‘Good choice. It’s lovely.’
But she had the distinct feeling that he was holding something back. ‘You’re not really superstitious, are you?’
‘No. Though I don’t go out of my way to walk under ladders, either.’
Perhaps Bianca had always worn green. Polly made a mental note to check out a few videos on the Internet, to make sure she didn’t pick anything in the future that might remind Liam of his ex-wife.
The rehearsal went well, but Polly’s nerves kicked in the second that the first couple took to the floor.
Liam laced his fingers through hers, giving them a reassuring squeeze. And how pathetic was she, wanting him to hold her hand?
‘Remember, there are no eliminations in the first week,’ he told her, ‘just the critique from the judges—and they’re all new judges this year.’
‘Have you worked with any of them before?’
‘Tiki, the choreographer, yes.’ He grimaced. ‘She always picks holes in people, so ignore whatever she says. I guess they’ve set her up as Miss Nasty; and Mr Nice will be Robbie, the soap actor who won the competition last year. He’ll be sweet and supportive to everyone because he’ll remember what it feels like, being in your shoes. The one you need to pay attention to is Scott, the dancer—he’ll give you the constructive comments, the stuff that will help you learn and improve.’
‘Got it,’ Polly said.
‘Whatever happens tonight, it really doesn’t matter. You can fall flat on your face, and it’ll be just fine,’ Liam reassured her.
It hadn’t been fine in her dreams last night. She’d fallen flat on her face and they’d changed the rules of the show—they’d kicked her out in the very first week. Not that she’d dare confide that to him. It would send him straight into Mr Snippy mode.
Polly’s nerves grew worse with every couple that went out from the Green Room to the dance floor. She knew the scheduling had been done fairly—the names had been picked out of a hat in front of all of them after the dress rehearsal. But she really, really wished that they’d been first. She wanted to get it over with. Being last was just the pits.
Finally Millie, the host, looking very glam in a little black dress and the highest heels Polly had ever seen, announced them: ‘Dancing the foxtrot to “Beyond the Sea”, it’s Polly Anna Adams and Liam Flynn!’
Polly felt sick. She was used to having an attack of nerves before going on the live set of Monday Mash-up, and in the past had always welcomed them because she thought they kept her sharp and helped her try her hardest to put a good show together. But this was nothing like she’d experienced before. She could barely move her feet.
The audience applauded as they walked onto the dance floor.
‘Relax,’ Liam said softly. ‘Pretend we’re in my studio and it’s Amanda clapping us.’
And then the first notes of ‘Beyond the Sea’ floated into the air.
Oh, help. She’d forgotten every step he’d taught her. She’d forgotten which was her right and which was her left. And were her hands in the right place?
Then Liam moved, leading her round the dance floor. Making her feel lighter than air; yet, at the same time, she felt like a sack of potatoes. She was making a mess of this and showing him up, after all the hard work he’d put into teaching her. Any West End producers watching this would scrub his name straight off their lists. She’d let him down, and she was so cross with herself for it.
The song lasted for the longest three minutes of Polly’s life.
And then finally it was over. She gave the audience a megawatt smile that she definitely didn’t feel, and to her shock Liam stood back and directed the audience’s applause to her, clapping along with them.
Why was he applauding her when she’d been so hopeless?
He slid one arm round her shoulders and walked with her over to the judges’ table.
Tiki shook her head and compressed her lips. ‘Polly Anna, your hands weren’t quite right, your movements were too jerky, and you don’t hold yourself straight enough.’
The audience booed, and Liam tightened his arm round her shoulders.
‘And the routine was too simple.’ She flapped a dismissive hand. ‘Or maybe you couldn’t cope with anything more.’
‘May I say something, please?’ Liam asked before Millie went to the next judge. At her nod, he continued, ‘Polly’s a total novice and she’s worked incredibly hard the last couple of weeks. I think that deserves some recognition. I’m sorry you don’t like the choreography—but that’s my fault, not Polly’s, so don’t blame her for that.’
The audience clapped wildly; Tiki said nothing but scowled at Liam.
Hastily, Millie moved on to the next judge.
‘Polly, Polly, Polly.’ Robbie smiled at her. ‘You and me, we both know what it’s like being on set in front of a camera and doing bits of live shows. But Ballroom Glitz is different. You’re in the spotlight, being watched by millions. It’s scary. And you smiled all the way through it, so well done to you, girl.’ The audience clapped loudly. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you shine next week.’
‘Scott,’ Millie said.
‘You’ve made a good start. You can build on that and work on the polish. Your posture needs to be stronger and you need to be less worried about where you put your feet, but that’ll come with practice. I’m looking forward to watching your confidence grow.’ He smiled. ‘Well done.’
‘Remember what I said. Tiki’s paid to be mean, Robbie’s paid to be a sweetheart, and Scott’s the serious one. He gave you some praise as well as saying what you need to work on,’ Liam said as he led Polly off the dance floor and back to the Green Room.
They’d just sat down when the judges’ scores were announced.
They’d been the last couple on; to Polly’s shame, they were also the last on the leader board. By a very long way. As she’d expected, Lina the pop singer was top of the leader board, followed surprisingly by Bryan the TV gardener. But the gap between their scores and hers was huge.
‘Sorry, Liam. I let you down.’ That, or she shouldn’t have worn an unlucky colour. If this happened next week, it would all be over. And right now she wasn’t sure she’d manage to dance any better next week. She’d done her best and it wasn’t good enough.
‘You didn’t let me down. Stop worrying.’
‘Tiki didn’t like