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.“Where were you that night?”“Dancing at a private party.”She’d left her son with a man she knew might not stay sober—to go work.On the surface it was such a damning statement, as damning as “he was a doctor and never realized his own daughter was sick.”“It was my job,” she said.“I’d made a commitment and needed to keep it.But I’ve never stopped feeling guilty about it, asking myself, what if I’d stayed home that night?”“I’m surprised you didn’t give up dancing.”“I thought about it, but it’s what kept me sane.Through the worst of it, I could turn on the music and dance and forget, at least for the space of one song.Without that refuge, I think I would have lost my mind.”“I’ve always wondered how someone survives a tragedy like that,” he said.“I think part of me died with them that night.The part that trusted easily and believed everything always works out.But I didn’t want to become a sad, bitter woman who lives in the past.Life goes on and I have to move forward, too.To do otherwise feels like it would be dishonoring their memories, somehow.”“You’re remarkable,” he said.She shook her head.“The grief has a way of am bushing me.I’ll be fine one minute, then something will happen and it’s like it’s brand-new all over again.”“Like the picture of Taylor in the hospital.”She nodded and blinked rapidly, her eyes shining.He slid his hand across the table and twined his fingers with hers.She gripped him tightly, holding on, and again he felt the pull of attraction.He wanted to comfort her—to make love to her and, in doing so, to comfort himself.He wanted to protect her, and to protect himself and Taylor from the kind of tragedy Darcy had suffered.She’d lost everything, and he had come to the very brink of the pit she was climbing out of.Being with her forced him to face the reality that he only imagined he was in control of his life.She proved he wasn’t.The idea repelled him and made him want to turn away.But the woman herself compelled him to stay, the tension between them winding ever tighter, until all he could do was hold his breath and wait to see what the next words—or the next kiss—would bring.CHAPTER SIXONE KISS DID NOT a relationship make.Darcy reminded herself of this whenever she thought of Mike during the next week.Granted, it had been a spectacular kiss and the memory of it left her feverish.But nice as it had been, she regretted she’d let down her guard so much.Mike was a great guy, but she’d never intended to reveal so much about her marriage—and her role in Riley’s death—to him.“What’s up with you?” Jane asked Tuesday night, when Darcy flubbed a move in the dance she was teaching Jane’s class.“You seem distracted.”“I just have a lot on my mind.” Darcy glanced at the clock.“I think we’ve worked enough for one night, ladies.Keep practicing at home.Only four weeks until our show.”Jane lingered after the others left.“Hannah says the girls’ class is going really well.She can’t wait for Wednesdays and she’s driving me crazy, changing her mind about her costume every five minutes.”“Hannah’s really patient with the younger girls.”Jane beamed at this praise for her daughter.“I’m glad you started the class.You obviously really enjoy it.You look…I don’t know, happier, lately,” Jane said.“I thought maybe you’d met someone.”Darcy silently cursed her tendency to blush so easily.Mike was someone, all right, but how to explain her relationship with him when she didn’t know how to define it? Mike was a friend, who knew things about her no one else did.But since when did she kiss a friend the way they’d kissed the other night? And since when did a mere friend punch out a guy for getting a little overenthusiastic about her dancing?She still couldn’t believe Mike hit that guy.It seemed so unlike the quiet, reserved doctor.Mike obviously had hidden emotional depths—depths she’d glimpsed again when he’d kissed her so passionately.“I’m not dating anyone, if that’s what you mean,” she said.“The offer’s still open to introduce you to Eric’s friend.”Darcy debated taking Jane up on it.It might be good for her to date someone.Someone without children.Going out with someone didn’t mean she had to make a commitment to them, right? “I’ll think about it.”She missed the days when she was young and her first thought at the promise of romance was of all the good times that lay ahead.Too much had happened to allow her to be that innocent again.Love could make a person happy beyond belief, and losing that loved one could damage her forever.That’s what Darcy was really afraid of, that she was too damaged to love again, that her heart was too broken for anyone to put it back together.BY WEDNESDAY Darcy was jittery with nerves, torn between wanting to see Mike again and determination to avoid him.She still hadn’t decided what to do, when the phone rang just as the girls were finishing their class.“Darcy? It’s Mike.I need to ask a favor.”“Sure, Mike.What do you need?” She was surprised by how calm she sounded.“I’m tied up here at the office this afternoon
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