Dance All Night: A DANCE OFF HOLIDAY NOVELLA Read online

  His face lit up, and he didn’t ask any more questions. Slinging an arm around her shoulders to tuck her in against his side, he smiled down at her. “I’d love to.”

  Chapter Twelve

  December 31st, New Year’s Eve

  Nik had a lot to do before the end of the year, and as Dimitri’s New Year’s Eve party approached, anxiety kicked in.

  Even after everything Jess had said at Starlight House, and how much fun they’d had teaching the dance class together, he wouldn’t feel fully settled until she kissed him at midnight. That was the symbol they’d agreed upon, signifying continued commitment.

  Guests started arriving at nine. Nik hung around by the front door, greeting everyone, but he was really waiting for Jess. The longer the night went on, the more his nerves frayed. What if she wasn’t coming? He nursed a single beer, mostly to have something in his hands, and checked his phone compulsively for texts. His mind replayed every moment they’d spent together, looking for clues as to what had gone wrong, but when they’d parted ways at Starlight House, everything had seemed settled.

  There was that word again. Settled.

  He didn’t feel settled now. Had he missed her entrance? He roamed the party, searching for her, before resuming his spot by the front door again.

  It was almost midnight and he was going out of his mind with worry when Natasha rushed up to him, looking frazzled. “Nik, I need you to go in the kitchen and check on catering. They’re having a champagne fiasco.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, frowning. The catering team was from the restaurant Dimitri owned, and he couldn’t imagine they’d dare to have any kind of fiasco in their boss’s house.

  She threw up her hands. “I don’t know. Go check!”

  “I got it, sestra. Don’t worry.” This was Natasha’s first time acting as hostess in Dimitri’s home, and she’d been more than a little stressed leading up to the party. Nik patted her shoulder and made a beeline for the kitchen.

  In the kitchen doorway, Nik froze, and belatedly remembered that the catering team was set up in the garage.

  Jess sat on the counter, legs swinging gently. She hunched her shoulders and gave him a little wave. “Hi.”

  “Hi yourself,” he said, turning her own words back on her from just a couple weeks ago. How could it have been such a short amount of time? His whole world had changed.

  He glanced at the microwave clock. 11:57. “Cutting it a little close, aren’t you?”

  She sent him a cheeky grin, her dimple flashing. “Would it be mean of me to say I wanted you to sweat a little?”

  “Yes. Very.”

  “Does that mean you were sweating?”

  “Absolutely. I’ve been hanging out by the door all night.” He held up the beer bottle. “This has been warm for two hours.”

  “Gross.” Her eyes twinkled at him with good humor. Then she pulled a chilled bottle of champagne from an ice bucket behind her and held it up. “Maybe you should have some of this instead.”

  So, this had been the champagne fiasco Natasha had referred to. “Did Tash let you in through the garage?”

  “Yeah, I texted her. Rhianne drove me and Natasha helped me sneak in.”

  He walked over, took the bottle, and drank deep.

  She laughed. “Dude, you’re not supposed to chug the good shit.”

  He swallowed and caught his breath. “I’ve been stressed.”

  “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” Her smile turned smug.

  “I think you know why.”

  Her tone softened. “Because you’ve been trying to woo a Scrooge who didn’t believe in love or Christmas?”

  “Something like that.” He moved into the space between her knees and gave her the champagne. “I’ve also been running all over Los Angeles for three days looking at real estate. We made an offer yesterday morning and it was accepted today. Lucky for me, my big brother is a movie star and incredibly pushy.”

  She paused with the bottle halfway to her lips. “You did what?”

  “Bought a house.” He gestured around them. “Can’t live with Mitya forever.”

  From outside, the countdown chant began. Thirty, twenty-nine…

  “Why don’t they just start at ten?” she asked, but her voice was dreamy and her eyes were transfixed on his.

  “Dimitri likes the anticipation. Besides, it gives people time to find someone to kiss.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” She took a swig of champagne, then passed the bottle back to him.

  Fifteen, fourteen…

  Nik set the champagne aside and cupped her cheek.

  “Jess?”

  “Mmm?”

  “Why did you kiss me back? A year ago.”

  “Oh.” Her lashes fluttered closed. “Because you asked. You didn’t just take.”

  Nine, eight…

  “Nik?”

  “Yeah?”

  She let out a trembling breath. “I want you to stay.”

  Those five words were the best thing he’d ever heard. Inside him, the final missing piece clicked into place.

  Three, two…

  “Begin as you mean to go on,” he whispered against her lips.

  One! Happy new year!

  Amid the sound of cheers and noisemakers from the backyard, Nik kissed her long and deep, with all the love in his heart. Jess clung to him tightly, her mouth soft and lush under his, pulling him closer until their hearts beat against each other.

  “Does this mean you’ll stay?” she asked when their lips broke apart, hope and her heart shining in her eyes.

  “Jeshka, I bought a house.”

  “But what about your tour?”

  “I already turned it down.”

  She gasped, eyes widening. “What? When?”

  “While we were at the cabin.”

  “Nik.” She shook her head at him, but couldn’t hide her smile. “You could’ve told me that and saved us both a lot of heartache.”

  “And you could have just told me you wanted me to stay.” He framed her face with his hands, stroking her soft skin with gentle movements. “Besides, I needed you to trust that I meant it, otherwise you’d keep worrying I was going to leave.”

  “Okay, true. But you were going to stay anyway!”

  “Yeah, just in case you needed more than three dates.”

  She snuggled in against his chest. “Well, it turns out I do.”

  “How many more?” He wrapped her in his arms.

  “Infinity dates.”

  “You got it, milochka.”

  She gave him another kiss, then tugged on his hand. “Now come on. I’ve been waiting to dance with you all night.”

  Epilogue

  January 6th

  The “fasten seatbelt” icon lit up with a ding, and Jess buckled in as the plane prepared for takeoff. “I’m nervous.”

  Nik patted her hand. “She’ll love you.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I do.”

  Her cheeks warmed and she smiled down into her lap. Over the last week, Nik had become very free with the L word, and…hell, who was she kidding? She fucking loved it.

  Being suddenly part of a couple was weird, but nice. More than nice. They spent time together at her apartment, watching old movies; at Dimitri’s house, lounging in the hot tub or practicing in Dimitri’s private dance studio; and at Starlight House, teaching classes or just helping out. They made decisions together, exploring furniture stores and building Pinterest boards for Nik’s new house. Jess wasn’t moving in with him—despite his invitation that she do so whenever she felt ready—but she thought she might when her lease was up in a few months. Nik would even be joining her in Vancouver to film the Heartflix movie. The production team had reached out to offer him a guest spot as her dance partner in the scene, although Jess wondered if Lorena had something to do with that.

  And now, they were visiting his family together.

  “Tell me more about Ukrainian Christmas,” she sai
d. “And about your mom. And your dad. And your cousin.”

  “Cousins,” he corrected. “But there are a lot of them, and I don’t expect you to remember all their names.”

  “Fine. Your parents, then. Natasha says they’re really nice.”

  “They are. They’ll be nice to you, in any case. Sometimes they still try to baby me.”

  “You’re the youngest. It goes with the territory.”

  “We’ll do a full Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner tonight,” he told her. “Just us and my parents. Tomorrow Alex and Marina—she’s the pregnant one—will come by, along with my cousin Fedya and his family.”

  “Fedya?”

  “Short for Fyodor. Everyone has a nickname.”

  “Like how you call me Jeshka.” She loved that he’d made her name sound special. She’d gone to school with so many other Jessicas, Jessies, and Jesses, by sixth grade the other kids just called her Davenport. “Or milochka.”

  He nodded. “Although maybe it’s time I gave you a new nickname.”

  “Like what?” She leaned in, eager to hear what he came up with.

  Pink bloomed on his cheeks, and her heart flip-flopped. His blushes were so damn cute!

  “Lyubimaya,” he muttered, the word musical and enchanting to her ears.

  “What does it mean?” she asked in a hushed voice as the flight attendant swept by, closing the overhead compartments.

  His gaze met hers. “Beloved.”

  “Oh.” Now her cheeks got warm. “I like it.”

  “Me too.”

  She took a deep breath, let it out slow. “Actually…I love it.”

  Maybe he got what she was really trying to say, because he caught her chin and kissed her, slow and sensual. When he raised his head, he whispered, “I love it, too.”

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  * * *

  I swear, I meant to write Kevin’s book next. But time and deadlines wait for no writer, and I somehow found myself slipping a Dance Off holiday story into my writing schedule instead.

  * * *

  When I sat down to develop the idea, Nik and Jess’s story was just there, as if it had been waiting for me to find it. Their characters took shape quickly, even though they’d only had small mentions in the previous books, and the writing flowed. Watching their love story unfold on the page before me was a delight, and I hope you felt the same while reading it.

  * * *

  Dance All Night also marks me dipping my toe into the waters of indie publishing, so thank you for picking up this title! If you feel so inclined, I’d love it if you dropped me a review.

  * * *

  The best way to stay up to date with future Dance Off news is to subscribe to my newsletter. The Extras tab on my website has the Dance Off cast page and additional scenes, if you’re looking for more to read. You can also check out the Dance All Night playlist on Spotify.

  * * *

  Again, thank you so much for picking up this story.

  * * *

  All the best,

  Alexis

  Series Info

  If you’re new to the Dance Off series, start at the beginning with Take the Lead: A Dance Off Novel (#1):

  * * *

  Gina refuses to compromise her reputation for ratings.

  Stone will do anything to hide his family’s secrets.

  Is passion enough to keep the city girl and the survivalist together?

  * * *

  Also check out Dance with Me: A Dance Off Novel (#2):

  * * *

  All Natasha ever wanted is to make it as a dancer.

  Dimitri just wants to win her heart.

  Is their off-the-charts chemistry enough to risk career-ruining rumors?

  Coming Soon

  Feel the Rhythm: A Dance Off Novel (#3) coming in 2019!

  Acknowledgments

  This book was conceived and written in a whirlwind. First and foremost, thanks goes to my amazing agent, Sarah E. Younger. I couldn’t have done this without her, and I send my immense thanks to Sarah and the team at NYLA for bringing this story to the world.

  * * *

  I also wouldn’t have gotten this done without the help of my wonderful editor, Holly Ingraham, and my fabulous copyeditor, Lindsey Faber. They’ve been with me on this series since the beginning, and knowing I had their support while publishing this novella made the whole process go more smoothly.

  * * *

  To my early readers who also happen to be super talented writers: C.L. Polk, Christina Hovland, Sarah Morgenthaler, LaQuette, Scarlett Peckham, and Robin Lovett—thank you all for the feedback. Special thanks to Susannah Erwin for the Christmas in Los Angeles details, Katrina L. and Sarah M. for their help with the Russian words used in this book, and Elizabeth Mahon for sharing her wealth of ballroom dance knowledge.

  * * *

  To my Golden Heart Rebelles, thank you for sparking the idea of a holiday novella in the first place! And to my RWA-NYC, 4 Chicas Chat, and Team RWchat groups, thank you all for supporting me as I threw myself headfirst into this endeavor. (And thanks to everyone for looking at multiple cover designs without complaining.)

  * * *

  To my readers—and I feel so grateful that I can even say that—thank you for taking a chance on me and this series, and huge thanks to everyone who has reached out to let me know they read and enjoyed the previous books. It means more than I can ever say.

  * * *

  Thanks to my family and friends for understanding when I once again disappeared to work on a book. And thanks to my boyfriend for always being there for me, and for literally building a new computer so I could finish designing the cover.

  Also by Alexis Daria

  Dance Off Series

  Take the Lead

  Dance with Me

  Dance All Night: A Dance Off Holiday Novella

  Feel the Rhythm

  * * *

  Solstice Miracle (free holiday short story!)

  About the Author

  Alexis Daria is an award-winning contemporary romance author, artist, and native New Yorker. Her debut, TAKE THE LEAD, was a 2018 RITA® Award winner for “Best First Book” and was named one of the Best Romance Novels of 2017 by The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly. Alexis has a BFA in Computer Arts, but her most fulfilling job was as a group facilitator for a women’s empowerment community, where she coached other women in following their creative dreams. She loves social media, and you can find her live-tweeting her favorite TV shows at @alexisdaria, or talking about writing and books on her blog at alexisdaria.com. Sign up for her newsletter for access to exclusive bonus content: http://bit.ly/2wquDD1.

  * * *

  Twitter: @alexisdaria

  Facebook: /alexisdaria1

  Facebook group: 4 Chicas Chat

  Instagram: @alexisdaria

  Pinterest: @alexisdaria