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.’
This time, they were on third on the show. And Polly started smiling as soon as the music started. This time, the dance was over far too quickly.
The applause astounded her. As did the praise from the judges.
At the end of the show, they were in sixth place on the judges’ leader board. Millie came over to her with a microphone. ‘How do you feel, Polly?’
‘Utterly thrilled that we’re not bottom this week!’ Polly said, beaming. ‘I loved learning the cha cha cha.’
‘And you hope that you’ll be here next week?’
She nodded. ‘I really want to stay in, because next week is the waltz. I’ve always wanted to do that—whenever I’ve watched the show, the dancers looked so romantic in those floaty dresses.’
‘If you want to see Polly Anna and Liam doing the waltz next week, phone up and vote for them!’ Millie ordered the audience.
While they were waiting for the phone lines to close, the professional dancers did two numbers, and there was a chart act playing their last hit and the newest single.
Polly tried not to let her nerves get the better of her. This week was the first elimination. Even though they’d managed to stay out of the bottom two on the leader board, if the public hadn’t responded to them and they ended up in the bottom two once the votes were taken into account they would be in the dance off.
‘And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for—the results,’ Millie intoned.
All the couples walked onto the stage and waited in their allotted spots, with a light fixed on each of them. Polly’s heart was pounding so hard, she was sure the audience would be able to hear it.
Liam stood behind her with his arms wrapped round her. He dipped his head so he could whisper into her ear, ‘Stop worrying. It doesn’t matter if we end up in the dance off. You’ve done really well tonight and you know you can do it.’
‘And the first couple who will be going to the dance off tonight, in no particular order, are Jane and André.’
The next two names were a blur.
‘Also going through next week—Polly Anna and Liam!’
For a second, Polly couldn’t take it in.
They were through.
They were through! She whooped and mouthed ‘Thank you’ to the cameras, then spun round and kissed Liam as the spotlight above them switched off.
Liam’s arms wrapped round her, holding her close.
And then his mouth moved against hers. Teasing her. Coaxing her. Tiny, nibbling kisses that made her press herself against him and tip her head back, changing the angle between them so he could part her lips and deepen the kiss.
Kaboom.
So this was what it felt like. As if her blood were fizzing through her veins. As if a thousand starbursts had lit up the sky. As if she were floating. And her senses were filled with Liam. The softness of his skin against hers, the citrusy scent of his shower gel, the warmth of his arms wrapped round her, the sweetness of his mouth.
She’d never, ever felt like this before, wanting the kiss to last until the end of time because it was so utterly, utterly perfect.
But then Liam stopped kissing her and Polly was horribly aware of a low catcall coming from Kyle, the footballer who was one place above them on the leader board.
‘You two had better hope the cameras didn’t catch that,’ he said.
Oh, no. If that had been shown on national TV, the gossip rags would be going crazy. She and Liam had both had more than enough column inches about them for the wrong reasons.
She pulled back. ‘Whoops. Guess
