Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay Page B

that suck?” he asked honestly.
    “You know, it does. But I’ll take what I can get.”
    He strolled around the classroom, stopping at the wall of windows. “This is a great room. Big.” He put his hand on the glass. “Nice touch. Most studios don’t have natural light.”
    “Yeah, we’ve come a long way.” She wheeled out ahead of him. “And maybe we’ll expand. The man from the National Board believes we’ll get a lot more applications and students coming in for the summer or special workshops. We’ve already got a long waiting list. Ruth and I are thinking about buying the space next door. It’s available.”
    “Would you be able to handle that?”
    “I’d have to hire more demonstrators and instructors.”
    “You don’t teach all the classes?”
    “No, seems like the Devlin name is enough. Let’s go to my office. I need some water.” She led him down a hall.
    “Did I tell you Kara, my eleven-year-old, is into dance?”
    “You mentioned it online. I forgot where she takes, though.”
    Dana asked the question just as she reached her office. The studio had been set up to accommodate her. Every doorway was enlarged, no rugs, switches at waist level. He’d started to tell her about Kara’s dance school when a woman swiveled around from the computer where she was working.
    Dana wheeled inside with Joe behind her. “Ruth Cosgrove, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Joe Moretti.”
    Ruth’s whole face brightened. “Hello, Sergeant. I’m a big admirer of yours.”
    “I wish I could say the same.” The words were out of his mouth before he could censor himself. Damn it, he’d thought he’d changed his attitude toward this woman after Dana admonished him for blaming her and thinking about the situation for ten days, but apparently, his knee jerk reaction hadn’t caught up.
    Which from the look on Dana’s face was totally unacceptable.
    o0o
    Her face pale, Ruth lifted her chin and kept her calm. Dana didn’t. Though Joe’s skin had turned pasty, too, she ignored his reaction. “You’ll have to leave, Joe, and not contact me again. I know I just agreed to pursue a relationship with you, but I won’t tolerate comments like that to someone I love. It’s unacceptable for you to bear a grudge against Ruth.”
    He ran a nervous hand through his hair and shot her a pleading glance. “Look, I was out of line. I’m sorry.”
    “Excuses don’t matter. I can’t risk hurting Ruth. And this decision is final.”
    Openmouthed, he stared at her. She wondered how she could make him leave if he refused. He was one of the good guys. He took a step toward her and she wheeled back.
    Ruth, literally this time, came between them. “Dana, let me handle this.”
    “What? Why?”
    “Because it’s me he said that to.” Ruth faced Joe. “Could you leave us alone a minute? Stay in the hall, I want to talk to you, too, but first I need to deal with Dana.”
    “Ruth, this is my decision.”
    “No, it’s not.”
    Dana was shocked to hear Ruth’s voice raise in pitch. For as long as she could remember, she’d never heard the woman speak above normal levels.
    Slowly, Joe backed out of the room and Ruth crossed to the door and shut it. Then she turned to Dana. Her friend’s expression was conflicted.
    “Ruth—”
    “Let me speak, please. Actually, I insist.”
    “A-All right.”
    “Take some deep breaths first.”
    Because she was so upset, Dana followed the suggestion and felt a bit calmer. Ruth knew her so well.
    “You’ve been moping for days about this guy not calling you. I saw him watch you dance, saw you talk afterward. I heard you say you’d decided to date. I’m not going to sit by and let you forgo a relationship with a man you care about because of me.”
    “It’s not your choice. It’s mine. I refuse to allow anyone to speak to you that way. He blames you for my condition, Ruth.”
    Silence. Then, “To a degree, I was to blame.” When Dana began to protest, Ruth said,