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Sighing, she walked over to the srabbed a bottle of water, uncapped it, and chugged half as she headed for the ratty plaid couch that had seen better days

Seth lingered near the door, watching her with disapproval "Dinner is a bottle of water?"

"Dinner was fish sticks and French fries three hours ago I won’t be hungry for a couple s and stared up at the cracked plaster ceiling, letting out an aggravated breath "Why do you keep co by, Seth? You don’t need to check up on ht"

"I’m not here to check up on you"

"Oh really? So Missy called off her guard dog?"

"Nope Moroan She loved her former boss to death, but Missy Masterson, God bless her soul, had no idea what she’d unleashed when she’d asked her son to keep tabs on Miranda

At first, she’d appreciated the gesture--the , and it was always difficult to adapt to a new city, especially when you didn’t know a single person there But now that she was er needed Seth Masterson to hold her hand

In fact, that was the last thing she wanted Because another discovery she’d made about the ooeyshe’s done, I’ just fine"

Miranda took another sip of water, then set the bottle on the table by the couch and bent down to unlace her black sneakers The club owner ht demand the ferudge the bar for three hours and already her feet were killing her

As she kicked off her shoes and began tothegleam, and then he left his perch by the door and approached the couch His strides were long, predatory

"Not doing as fine as you claim, huh?" he taunted

She rolled her eyes "My feet hurt My life, on the other hand, is just fine"

The couch cushions bounced as he flopped down beside her Instantly, the familiar scent of him wafted in her direction Aftershave, a hint of pine and the faint traces of smoke Of course he was a s her thu the ache in her feet didn’t bode well for the rest of the night She had four hours left in her shift Four hours of running up and down that bar catering to the Friday-night crowds And to until late afternoon Her poor feet were definitely going to revolt if she kept this up

"What’s wrong?"

Seth’s voice interrupted her thoughts She glanced over, frowning "Nothing’s wrong"

"You just groaned A weary, life-sucks-ass type of groan"

She blinked "I did?" When he nodded in confir how I have to be at the studio at ten in theto hateen pointe all day is no piece of cake"

"No, I ienuine, not a hint of condescension in his voice, and Miranda’s eyebrows rose "Really? You’re not going to roll your eyes and tellabout real pain? You know, ’cause I’ot nothing but the utmost admiration for dancers Once when I was a kid, I sat there watching my mom soak her feet after three back-to-back perfor that what her feet looked like that night is comparable to any battle wound I’ve co She didn’t doubt it People often had an idealistic view of dancers as beautiful, ical creatures, but one look at a dancer’s feet and that bubble of perfection was liable to burst Calluses, blisters, cracked toenails, red, flaking skin…hardly beautiful or ical

For a moment it surprised her that Seth knehat actually lay behind the curtain, until she ree at the iconic Paradis Theater on the Vegas Strip His mother had been the star of the show for twenty years before retiring, and noorked as the head choreographer Missy also happened to be Miranda’s rown up without a rateful to have sorandmother died and left her that sed her to buy the dance school in San Diego, and it was the best decision she’d ever et back to work" She leaned forward to slip into her sneakers, only to juht She found herself going still It had been so very easy to shrug out of that young guy’s grip in the hall, but here, with Seth, she couldn’t bring herself to push hiht it, Miranda?" His voice was rough, his expression darkening hat she could only describe as sinful challenge

She gulped Ignored the flashes of heat rippling over her flesh "Fight what?" she asked, feigning ignorance