“You did?”
Bailey’s honey-blonde head bobbed up and down. He wrapped an arm around her. He’d disappointed her so much.
“Well, I don’t know about you,” Jenna said, “But I think we’d all like to see the lift. Who’s with me?”
“Do it, and that’s an extra point from me,” Cynthia said.
Oh no. Now he really needed to get it right.
“Come on.” Bailey pivoted, her smile soft. “You’ve got this.”
He sucked in a breath, then nodded, and amid cheers and applause they moved to the dance floor.
“Ready?” Bailey asked. He nodded. “It had to be you, two three four, one two three four.”
He grasped her in the spin hold, then completed the maneuver as he should’ve done in the actual dance, with Bailey flying up over his shoulders and then down in a flow of white feathery skirts, exactly where she should’ve landed in their actual routine. Thank goodness it had worked this time.
As the cheers rang louder, Bailey hugged him close. “See? You nailed it.”
He nodded, his face pressed close to hers, as the judges clapped their sympathy claps, and Jenna released them to the skybox where Peter, Jenna’s cohost, waited.
Peter smiled at them. “Ready to hear your scores?”
Nope. He pasted on a smile and nodded anyway. “Bring it.”
Marco held up his paddle. “Three.”
Ouch. He kept smiling.
“Four.”
That was better.
“Two.”
How humiliating. Poor Bailey.
She hugged him again, then Peter turned to them, the cameraman right behind him. “Well, Luc Blanchard, I’m guessing nine out of thirty isn’t the score line you’d like to see.”
He tugged Bailey closer. He needed her close. Needed to feel her nearness, that she wasn’t too upset with him. “Look, I’m frustrated that I didn’t nail the lift, especially because poor Bailey here has worked my butt off this week.”
“Not enough butt, it seems,” the cheeky cohost said.
He winced. “I never expected this to be so demanding. But Bailey here is amazing. I really hope viewers will vote for us so they can see how great she is.”
“Well, viewers, you know what to do. When the voting opens up, make sure you vote for Luc.”
He smiled, tilting his head to Bailey, as he waved at the camera.
“And that’s a cut.”
The cameras fell, as did his smile. And he prayed this wasn’t the cut that meant the end.
CHAPTER 9
“I’m so sorry,” Luc said as soon as they were backstage and able to grab a moment’s privacy again. Around them, production assistants raced around barking orders as the remaining couples prepared to dance. “I’m really bad, Bails.”
She smiled at his using the diminutive of her name, like her family and close friends did. “Hey, it’s okay. Judging from what we saw the others do, you’re not too bad.” They were supposed to go to the green room where they could relax and watch the other couples on the TV monitors, but she sensed she needed to say this without others overhearing. “Remember, there are still four contestants to go, so you’re in with a chance.”
“We’re equal bottom, Bailey. Man. I never meant to make you look so bad.”
“I know. And look, the lift wasn’t perfect, but you just have to keep a smile on your dial. This might be a competition, but it’s supposed to be for fun. Are you having fun at all?”
“It was fun seeing you come out in that floaty white dress.”
She picked up the skirt and held it out. “It’s almost too pretty, isn’t it?”
He glanced at the dress then back at her. Lifted his hand as if he was going to touch her, then dropped it. Visibly swallowed. “Suits the music.”
“See? I told you. They do this for a reason, and they want you to act a certain way, so viewers engage with the story.”
He shook his head. “I hate to think what story they’re going to run with now.”
“Well, I sure hope it’s not going to be a professional athlete who feels sorry for himself.” She added a smile to soothe her harsh words.
“Wow. Gosh, you’re tough.”
