‘Polly, put the kettle on?’ Charlie teased. ‘Great. I’ll give you a hand.’
Polly made coffee for all of them, including Amanda, who was thrilled to meet the rest of the Monday Mash-up crew. Especially when Danny promised signed photos for her children.
‘We brought you this.’ Danny handed her a bag of fan mail. ‘I know we could’ve sent it to Shona, but we wanted an excuse to see you.’ He looked at Liam. ‘We weren’t coming to check you out.’
‘No?’ Liam asked, knowing full well they were and raising an eyebrow.
Danny gave him a rueful smile. ‘OK. A bit. Fliss—Polly’s bestest friend—can’t, because she’s a teacher and she can’t get the time off during the day.’
‘Did she put you up to this?’ Polly asked.
‘Not answering that one, Pol.’ Danny ruffled her hair and turned back to Liam. ‘We saw the way you stuck up for her on the show, so we know you’re good to her.’
Mike ruffled her hair. ‘I like the hair, Shrimp. It suits you.’
‘We really miss you on the set. It isn’t the same without you,’ Charlie added.
Polly grimaced. ‘I couldn’t stay, in the circumstances.’
‘I know. We’re all so angry with Harry. He’s such an idiot,’ Danny said.
‘Don’t give him a hard time. He couldn’t help falling in love with her.’ Polly couldn’t quite bring herself to say Grace’s name.
‘I can’t believe you’re taking this so calmly,’ Charlie said. ‘Well, he’s not putting her in your place.’
Polly flinched. ‘Is that what he’s suggesting?’
‘We said we’d leave if he even thought about it,’ Mike said. ‘At the moment we have a series of guest presenters. People have auditioned for your job, but none of them’s been like you.’
‘Give them a chance,’ Polly said. ‘You need time to build the chemistry.’
Chemistry, Liam thought. He had a nasty feeling that was happening with him and Polly. And it rattled him. She was making him think differently. Making him feel again.
‘We want you back, Pol,’ Danny said, looking serious.
She shook her head. ‘Not going to happen.’
‘New job?’ Charlie asked.
‘Not even the sniff of an audition, right now,’ she admitted. ‘But I can’t work on Monday Mash-up again.’
The boys stayed there for long enough to do some dancing for the cameras on Step by Step, and to tell all the viewers to vote for Polly.
‘We’d better let you get on,’ Danny said when the camera crew had gone, and the three of them gave her a hug and kiss goodbye.
‘They’re nice lads. I can see why you miss them,’ Liam said. ‘But come on, you, back to work.’
She knew he’d seen the glimmer of tears in her eyes and guessed exactly why they were there. But there was also an additional guilty layer: the fact that she was missing the crew, but she wasn’t missing Harry. And shouldn’t she be missing the man she’d been going to marry?
On Friday, Polly was enjoying their last real practice of the routine. She loved the music. She’d always thought of herself as the girl-next-door type; but the way she was dancing with Liam made her feel sexy. More attractive than she’d felt in years. She lost herself in the dance, to the point where she ended up overbalancing on a spin. Liam caught her before she fell and pulled her against his body to steady her. ‘OK?’
‘OK,’ she whispered.
Except she was aware of every drop of blood thudding through her veins, the way Liam was just that little bit too close, to the point where she could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She could feel the moment that his breathing changed, became faster and shallower, and glanced up at him to see that he was staring at her mouth. A moment later, she was staring at his. Thinking. Wondering.
They were a whisper away from kissing. Just as they’d been at the club.
She felt hot all over. Maybe it was the music or the dancing, she tried to tell herself, but she knew that wasn’t strictly true. It was Liam making her feel all hot and bothered. And she couldn’t drag her gaze away.
But then Amanda opened the studio door. ‘Sorry to interrupt. There’s a phone call for you, Liam. It’s Barney, that guy from the Broadway show.’
Liam set Polly on her feet. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’
‘No worries. It sounds important.’ Hadn’t he said he wanted to work with a Broadway cast?
‘It is, a bit. Thanks.’
Polly took advantage of the moment to splash her face with cold water. Yes, Liam Flynn was gorgeousness personified, and a really nice guy to boot, but she couldn’t get involved with him. Even if it wasn’t too soon after Harry, there were other things in the way. Liam wanted to work on Broadway when Ballroom Glitz had finished; this phone call sounded as if he was well on his way to making that happen.
She intended to stay in London. Long-distance relationships didn’t work—she’d seen too many showbiz couples break up because of it. She wouldn’t expect Liam to give up his dreams for her; but she wouldn’t want to give up the security of her life in London for him, either.
So she just had to forget about that near-kiss. They couldn’t get involved.
To her relief, Liam acted as if nothing had been about to happen when he came back into the studio, and they finished polishing the routine.
On Saturday, just before the dress rehearsal, Liam was waiting in the Green Room. He did a double take when Polly walked in. She looked stunning. OK, so he’d been there when she’d chosen the costume, but he hadn’t actually seen her try it on. The tomboyish kids’ TV presenter had morphed into a gorgeous, kittenish flirt. Especially when she practised one of the cha cha cha steps as she walked, making her hips sway. It was sultry and sexy as hell. The movement ruffled her swishy skirt, but it ruffled his composure even more.
‘I had no idea you had such fantastic legs.’ Annoyance with himself at the way he was letting her get to him made him snippy. ‘Why do you always dress in awful clothes?’
‘I don’t dress in awful clothes,’ Polly protested.
‘Yes, you do. You have those shapeless long-sleeved T-shirts—and if you’re not in baggy jeans, you’re in shapeless black trousers.’
She lifted her chin. ‘So you’re saying I’m unfeminine?’
‘No, I’m saying that you hide yourself and I don’t understand why.’ He lifted both his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘It’s none of my business, I know, and if you’re doing a kids’ show I guess you need to dress the part.’
She sighed. ‘Grace was feminine. That’s what gave Harry the kaboom.’
If he didn’t have such a tight rein on his emotions, he had a nasty feeling that she’d be giving him the kaboom. ‘If Harry saw you wearing what you’re wearing now, you’d give him the kaboom.’
‘Three weeks ago, I would’ve wanted to hear that,’ Polly said.
‘And now?’ Liam asked, his throat feeling scratchy.
‘Now,’ she said, ‘it doesn’t matter. I’ve had time to think. And you’re right. I can’t let my happiness rely on someone else. Only on me.’