One
Last Dance
Angela Stephens
Genre: Mature New Adult
Date of Publication:
9/23/2013
Number of pages: ~250
Word Count: 70,000
Book Description:
“One
dance, that’s all I’m asking for.”
Dreams
don’t come true. That’s one thing that Sophie Becker knows for
certain. Sophie spent the first nineteen years of her life dedicated
to her dream of becoming a dancer, but when an injury ends her career
as a performer, she struggles to find an anchor.
Now,
a few years later, Sophie has tried to move on by opening a dance
studio in the heart of Manhattan. She thinks she can hide from her
pain, but it’s impossible in the face of daily reminders of the
opportunities she has lost.
One
night, a mysterious stranger walks into her studio, threatening to
tear down the facade she has worked so hard to build up. Henry Medina
is the reclusive CEO of Medina Properties and has a troubled past of
his own. Henry is cocky, handsome and all he wants is to dance with
Sophie.
When
a dance becomes more than just a dance, will Sophie be able to handle
the intense emotions that he stirs up? Will Henry reignite the
passion in Sophie’s heart and heal her soul or will he leave her
more broken than she was when he found her?
Short Excerpt
When
she was sure Darren was gone, she followed the stranger back into the
classroom. Darren had turned off half the bank of overhead lights
when he’d exited earlier, leaving the room bathed in a dim glow.
She watched the man as he stood in the center of the room, dark eyes
scanning and cataloging everything.
Sophie
took a deep breath, willing her frantic heart to calm. “What can I
do for you, Mr...”
He
spun on his heel, the move smooth and agile, until he faced her. “It
is you. I knew it.”
Sophie’s
head spun. She would know if she’d seen this man before. “I’m
sorry? Do I know you from somewhere?”
“Buenos
Aires.”
A
shock went through her system. That was a city she knew well.
“I
saw you dance in a competition and you had more pasión
than
I had ever seen.”
He
had no accent, yet the way he said pasión
showed
he knew the language, and probably tango. Sophie
felt a jolt in her stomach and her shoulders slouched. She wasn’t
expecting another reminder of her past from a stranger. A reminder of
a time before her knee had betrayed her. Whatever he was expecting,
it was from a past version of herself. He would be disappointed by
the present Sophie. “I’m sorry, Mr.—”
“Henry.
Please just call me Henry.”
“Okay
then, Henry,” she said, shaping the syllables with her tongue and
lips. “I appreciate the compliment, but that was a long time ago.
Why did you come in here tonight?”
His
gaze rested on her mouth as she spoke his name and again she felt
that flare of heat on her face. A slow, crooked smile spread across
his sensual lips, his mouth turning up at one corner and
revealing a deep dimple. “I saw you through the window and I felt
compelled. I’ve wanted to see you dance since that night, but I
couldn’t find any of your performances. Then tonight as I’m
walking down the sidewalk I see you teaching a class. You’ve been
under my nose this whole time.”
The
stab of pain in her stomach intensified. That she could have such an
effect on a man this beautiful was so flattering, and yet realizing
that the dancer who had created that effect was no longer able to
dance devastated her. She needed to get him out of here before she
began to cry. “Henry—”
“Dance
with me.”
“I
beg your pardon?” Did he really think he could come into her studio
and dance with her because he saw her in the window? Because he had
seen her at a competition once? “If you’d like lessons, I’m
happy to give you a schedule. We have new classes starting all the
time.”
He
was already stalking over to the chair at the front of the room and
the loathsome cane propped against it. She saw him pluck something
from the seat and realized it was her iPod remote. “I don’t want
dance lessons. I want to dance with you.”
“I’ve
had a full day. And I don’t give out free private lessons.”
His
thick brows rose. “I’ll pay double your normal rate. For the
whole hour. One dance and I’ll leave.” He pointed the remote at
the iPod dock and waited, gaze steady.
He
couldn’t be serious. “Does that normally work? The ‘double your
rate’ bit?”
“I
wouldn’t know. First time I’ve used it.”
So
he was a charmer. Sophie’s thoughts went to her knee. She wiggled
her leg a bit to test its strength. It felt fine, which was strange
given the pain she had been in earlier. Her attention returned to the
beautiful man in front of her. The urgency that had emerged in his
eyes left her startled. “Well I can tell you. It doesn’t.”
His
hand dropped, but his gaze remained fixed on her, his dark eyes
searching. They travelled down her body, and Sophie thought for a
moment she felt his eyes linger on her bad knee, but they returned
quickly to her face. “No? What about this: when I saw you dance in
Buenos Aires, I felt your pasión.
I felt connected to you, like I knew you just by watching you move. I
feel that again today, and I have to know if we have that
connection.”
He
stepped toward her, stopping a foot in front of her. His eyes locked
again with hers. “So I’m going to say it again. Dance with me.
Please.”
His
close proximity brought a new warmth to her body, and Sophie was
surprised to find she had begun to grow wet between her legs. She
knew the connection he was talking about. It was something she had
felt with Christian when they had danced, and as she thought about it
she realized it was something she shared with the gorgeous creature
in front of her. Henry. She tasted the unspoken syllables in her
mouth, wondered what it would be like to scream them.
She
snapped out of her reverie and dropped her eyes down to the skin
exposed at Henry’s open collar. A shake of her leg showed her knee
was fine. “Henry—”
His
hot breath was in her hair as he stepped forward. “I will pay you
ten times your normal hourly rate. One dance, that’s all I’m
asking for.”
She
looked up and saw his expression. If eyes could be on fire, his dark
eyes were blazing. For her. “You don’t even know my rate,” she
said quietly.
He
smiled. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.” His hand came up
for her in perfect form, just as Darren’s had earlier.
One
more check of her knee. It felt good. What
the hell, she
thought. It was worth one dance: the money—she would have to make
up her private rate—and to know if this handsome man she had just
met could connect with her in a way no one had in a long time. “One
dance,” she said.
Character
Interview Darren Thompson
How do you
know Sophie?
Sophie and I
met when we were both at NYU, in the arts program.
What do
you think about Sophie’s dancing?
That girl can
dance! Even now, with her injury she can probably dance circles
around most of the pros I know.
Have you
told her that?
*sigh* I tell
her that every day, but she just hasn’t been the same after
Christian. I think she lost a bit of her confidence after that good
for nothing, piece of…
Okay okay…
let’s keep it PG here. What do you think of Henry?
Look, I’m
all for Sophie being happy and I gotta say that man’s got a cute
butt, but he’s got some serious issues to work through. I just hope
he doesn’t get Sophie involved in something that could hurt her.
Sophie’s already pretty fragile as she is and Henry needs to be
careful with her. Either he’s going to treat her right or I’m
going to go over to his overpriced penthouse and show him a thing or
two about people who hurt Sophie. I’ve got her back.
Thanks
Darren, anything else you want to add?
Stay away
from Sophie! I know how you reporters are and I won’t have you
harassing her.
About the Author
Angela
Stephens is the author of the Beautifully Broken series and the soon
to be released New Adult novel "One Last Dance". Angela
enjoys reading stories about bad boy heroes falling for funny
heroines with big hearts.
In
her spare time, she can be usually found baking, knitting or curled
up with her e-reader at the beach.
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