“Yeah, but I just signed up a bunch of new students, and I can’t just leave. That’s my paycheck. If I cancel classes, I lose all those students for being a flake. I can’t survive off of what the show paid me.” Thirty grand was nice and all, but it wasn’t going to last forever.
“Oh. But you need to practice your routine. You’re contractually obligated to appear in the finale show.”
I gritted my teeth. “Is Ty Randall going to be there?”
“Yes, he is. He actually hasn’t left yet. The producers had him doing some press junkets, so it’s perfect that he’s still in town.” She sounded so bubbly and happy. “Everyone just loves him.”
Yeah, that was the problem I had. I loved him, too. Too much. “I can’t come back,” I told her again. “If you can fax me the routine and send me the music file, I’ll learn it on my own.”
“But…”
“Yes?” I tried to be patient with her. It wasn’t Melody’s fault I was an ice diva.
“You have to come back and practice,” she said in a small voice.
“I’m an Olympic-level ice skater,” I told her in a firm voice. “You think I can’t learn your TV show routine? I can learn it in a day. I could learn it blindfolded.”
“Well, I know, but—”
“Just fax me the information, and I’ll fly out in time for the show. Problem solved.”
I could practically hear her frowning into the phone. “But what about your partner?”
“Have him practice with Svetlana. She’s pregnant, not dead. She can still skate enough to train with him.” And she was keeping her job, and I had been the fill in. They didn’t need me. They hadn’t even invited me to the press junkets. As soon as our team was off the show, they were done with me. I hadn’t forgotten about that.
Why do them a favor if they weren’t going to do me one?
“I guess we could get Svettie to train with him,” Melody said uncertainly. “I need to run this past my boss. Hang on.” I heard her cover up the phone, and a muffled conversation ensued. I even heard a few words about ‘she’s being difficult,’ which made me laugh quietly to myself. They hadn’t even seen difficult yet. After a long moment, Melody came back onto the phone. “Okay. I’ll email you instructions for the routine and a plane ticket. You have to be out here the night before for dress rehearsal and last-minute costume fittings, okay? Not negotiable.”
“Got it. I’ll have everything learned by then.”
“Okay,” Melody said, sounding relieved. “You have my number if you have any questions.”
“Will do,” I said, and I hung up.
Well, shit. I stared out at the ice, not really paying attention as one of my middle-aged students dropped to the ice, laughing, and his garbage can fell on top of him.
I had to go back to Hollywood because the show wanted to parade us out one last time. It just went to show how completely non-essential I was to them. They’d kept Ty there after he’d been voted off and sent him on a press tour. I was just the hired mannequin, so they’d sent me back to Ohio.
Worst of all, they’d wanted me to spend two more weeks around Ty Randall, so by the time I went home for good, I’d be a complete and total mess, instead of just mostly a mess like I was right now. I reached down and touched the bottom of my skate, feeling the sequin from my bridal costume.
I’d worn this the last time I’d been in Ty’s arms. Well, sort of. I’d actually been in a t-shirt and panties, but I judged my life by skating costumes, and this one would always make me think of Ty. Me and him. Bride and groom.
Tears pricked my eyes as I tossed my phone back into my bag and headed back out to the ice. I skated over to my fallen student, offering him a hand and swiveling to the side to keep my balance when he accidentally tried to pull me down with him.
The last thing my heart could take was two more weeks around Ty Randall. One night with him had fucked me up good.
The ache in my chest, though? It told me that I wanted those two weeks more than anything. But I knew it wasn’t smart.
This was safest. This was the quickest path to recovery. This was the way to forget sexy, irresistible Ty Randall and the fact that he’d wanted nothing but no-strings sex.
“Let’s try to go around the ice again, shall we?” I asked my students and straightened the garbage can.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Where the hell is Zara? She’s the only reason I agreed to stay on for this dog and pony show they want to do for the finale. — Ty Randall, to his manager
~~ * ~~
Two weeks later
My stomach was fluttering with nervous dread as the car pulled up to the Ice Skating with the Stars studio-slash-ice-rink. The parking lot was empty—the big show wasn’t until tonight, and the finale show wasn’t until tomorrow. The only ones here would be the skaters and choreographers practicing for the show.
I thanked the driver and hefted my bag over my shoulder. In it were my skates, a change of clothing, and my makeup bag. I hadn’t packed more for LA since I wouldn’t be staying long. Get in, get out, try not to let my heart get more wounded in the process.
The auditorium was nearly deserted, just as I’d suspected. Five people were on the ice, dressed in their costumes for the finale. It wasn’t hard to pick out Ty amongst the others. He wasn’t the tallest, but when it came to builds, he was impossible to miss. I’d recognize that brawny pair of shoulders anywhere. A faint smile touched my mouth as I looked at his costume. Black pants, tight black t-shirt. I knew what mine would be—a sleeveless peachy pink dress with a full skirt.
Perhaps the producers could see into my heart and sense how much I was aching. That was the only reason I could see that they’d gone with ‘romance’ as a routine, picking more movie soundtracks. The skate from the eliminated contestants was a montage of famous films that involved dancing, and Ty and I had been stuck with Dirty Dancing. I was dressed as Baby, and from his outfit, he was clearly Johnny. We’d be doing a truncated version of the final routine from the movie to the song “Time of My Life.”
It was wildly romantic. It made me ache like mad every time the music keyed up. He had given me the time of my life. To make matters worse, in that movie? Baby and Johnny went their separate ways. No happy ending for them. I thought of that every time the music keyed up. They’d parted at the end of summer and went their separate ways.
Just like me and Ty.
My gaze lingered on Ty as he skated a circle, still practicing his outside edge. His moves were as clean and crisp as when I’d left, which meant he’d been practicing with someone. Annemarie skated up to his side, dressed in a spangly flapper costume from the movie Chicago, and put a hand on his shoulder, saying something to him. I stiffened, and my back went up when he replied and Annemarie tossed her head back, laughing as if he were the funniest thing on Earth.
Well. I could guess who he’d partnered with. Ignoring the sour pit of my stomach, I headed to the back and the costume-fitting area.
“Good, you’re here,” said the wardrobe assistant. “Come try on your costume, and let’s get you out there so you can practice with the others.”
“Oh. But you need to practice your routine. You’re contractually obligated to appear in the finale show.”
I gritted my teeth. “Is Ty Randall going to be there?”
“Yes, he is. He actually hasn’t left yet. The producers had him doing some press junkets, so it’s perfect that he’s still in town.” She sounded so bubbly and happy. “Everyone just loves him.”
Yeah, that was the problem I had. I loved him, too. Too much. “I can’t come back,” I told her again. “If you can fax me the routine and send me the music file, I’ll learn it on my own.”
“But…”
“Yes?” I tried to be patient with her. It wasn’t Melody’s fault I was an ice diva.
“You have to come back and practice,” she said in a small voice.
“I’m an Olympic-level ice skater,” I told her in a firm voice. “You think I can’t learn your TV show routine? I can learn it in a day. I could learn it blindfolded.”
“Well, I know, but—”
“Just fax me the information, and I’ll fly out in time for the show. Problem solved.”
I could practically hear her frowning into the phone. “But what about your partner?”
“Have him practice with Svetlana. She’s pregnant, not dead. She can still skate enough to train with him.” And she was keeping her job, and I had been the fill in. They didn’t need me. They hadn’t even invited me to the press junkets. As soon as our team was off the show, they were done with me. I hadn’t forgotten about that.
Why do them a favor if they weren’t going to do me one?
“I guess we could get Svettie to train with him,” Melody said uncertainly. “I need to run this past my boss. Hang on.” I heard her cover up the phone, and a muffled conversation ensued. I even heard a few words about ‘she’s being difficult,’ which made me laugh quietly to myself. They hadn’t even seen difficult yet. After a long moment, Melody came back onto the phone. “Okay. I’ll email you instructions for the routine and a plane ticket. You have to be out here the night before for dress rehearsal and last-minute costume fittings, okay? Not negotiable.”
“Got it. I’ll have everything learned by then.”
“Okay,” Melody said, sounding relieved. “You have my number if you have any questions.”
“Will do,” I said, and I hung up.
Well, shit. I stared out at the ice, not really paying attention as one of my middle-aged students dropped to the ice, laughing, and his garbage can fell on top of him.
I had to go back to Hollywood because the show wanted to parade us out one last time. It just went to show how completely non-essential I was to them. They’d kept Ty there after he’d been voted off and sent him on a press tour. I was just the hired mannequin, so they’d sent me back to Ohio.
Worst of all, they’d wanted me to spend two more weeks around Ty Randall, so by the time I went home for good, I’d be a complete and total mess, instead of just mostly a mess like I was right now. I reached down and touched the bottom of my skate, feeling the sequin from my bridal costume.
I’d worn this the last time I’d been in Ty’s arms. Well, sort of. I’d actually been in a t-shirt and panties, but I judged my life by skating costumes, and this one would always make me think of Ty. Me and him. Bride and groom.
Tears pricked my eyes as I tossed my phone back into my bag and headed back out to the ice. I skated over to my fallen student, offering him a hand and swiveling to the side to keep my balance when he accidentally tried to pull me down with him.
The last thing my heart could take was two more weeks around Ty Randall. One night with him had fucked me up good.
The ache in my chest, though? It told me that I wanted those two weeks more than anything. But I knew it wasn’t smart.
This was safest. This was the quickest path to recovery. This was the way to forget sexy, irresistible Ty Randall and the fact that he’d wanted nothing but no-strings sex.
“Let’s try to go around the ice again, shall we?” I asked my students and straightened the garbage can.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Where the hell is Zara? She’s the only reason I agreed to stay on for this dog and pony show they want to do for the finale. — Ty Randall, to his manager
~~ * ~~
Two weeks later
My stomach was fluttering with nervous dread as the car pulled up to the Ice Skating with the Stars studio-slash-ice-rink. The parking lot was empty—the big show wasn’t until tonight, and the finale show wasn’t until tomorrow. The only ones here would be the skaters and choreographers practicing for the show.
I thanked the driver and hefted my bag over my shoulder. In it were my skates, a change of clothing, and my makeup bag. I hadn’t packed more for LA since I wouldn’t be staying long. Get in, get out, try not to let my heart get more wounded in the process.
The auditorium was nearly deserted, just as I’d suspected. Five people were on the ice, dressed in their costumes for the finale. It wasn’t hard to pick out Ty amongst the others. He wasn’t the tallest, but when it came to builds, he was impossible to miss. I’d recognize that brawny pair of shoulders anywhere. A faint smile touched my mouth as I looked at his costume. Black pants, tight black t-shirt. I knew what mine would be—a sleeveless peachy pink dress with a full skirt.
Perhaps the producers could see into my heart and sense how much I was aching. That was the only reason I could see that they’d gone with ‘romance’ as a routine, picking more movie soundtracks. The skate from the eliminated contestants was a montage of famous films that involved dancing, and Ty and I had been stuck with Dirty Dancing. I was dressed as Baby, and from his outfit, he was clearly Johnny. We’d be doing a truncated version of the final routine from the movie to the song “Time of My Life.”
It was wildly romantic. It made me ache like mad every time the music keyed up. He had given me the time of my life. To make matters worse, in that movie? Baby and Johnny went their separate ways. No happy ending for them. I thought of that every time the music keyed up. They’d parted at the end of summer and went their separate ways.
Just like me and Ty.
My gaze lingered on Ty as he skated a circle, still practicing his outside edge. His moves were as clean and crisp as when I’d left, which meant he’d been practicing with someone. Annemarie skated up to his side, dressed in a spangly flapper costume from the movie Chicago, and put a hand on his shoulder, saying something to him. I stiffened, and my back went up when he replied and Annemarie tossed her head back, laughing as if he were the funniest thing on Earth.
Well. I could guess who he’d partnered with. Ignoring the sour pit of my stomach, I headed to the back and the costume-fitting area.
“Good, you’re here,” said the wardrobe assistant. “Come try on your costume, and let’s get you out there so you can practice with the others.”
