Free Will of Steel by Diana Palmer

you’re being shallow or vampish. Okay?”
    She relaxed. “Okay. Is this going to be hard to learn?”
    â€œVery.”
    She drew in a long breath. “Then I guess we should get started.”
    His eyes smiled down at her. “I guess we should.”
    He walked her around the dance floor, to her amusement, teaching her how the basic steps were done. It wasn’t like those exotic tangos she’d seen in movies at first. It was like kindergarten was to education.
    She followed his steps, hesitantly at first, then a little more confidently, until she was moving with some elegance.
    â€œNow, this is where we get into the more exotic parts,” he said. “It involves little kicks that go between the legs.” He leaned to her ear. “I think we should have kids one day, so it’s very important that you don’t get overenthusiastic with the kicks. And you should also be very careful where you place them.”
    It took her a minute to understand what he meant, and then she burst out laughing instead of being embarrassed.
    He grinned. “Just playing it safe,” he told her. “Ready? This is how you do it.”
    It was fascinating, the complexity of the movements and the fluid flow of the steps as he paced the dance to the music.
    â€œIt doesn’t look like this in most movies,” she said as she followed his steps.
    â€œThat’s because it’s a stylized version of the tango,” he told her. “Most people have no idea how it’s supposed to be done. But there are a few movies that go into it in depth. One was made in black and white by a Britishwoman. It’s my favorite. Very comprehensive. Even about the danger of the kicks.” He chuckled.
    â€œIt’s Argentinian, isn’t it? The dance, I mean.”
    â€œYou’d have to ask my buddy about that, I’m not sure. I know there are plenty of dance clubs down there that specialize in tango. The thing is, you’re supposed to do these dances with strangers. It’s as much a social expression as it is a dance.”
    â€œReally?”
    He nodded. He smiled. “Maybe we should get a bucket and put all our spare change into it. Then, when we’re Red’s age, we might have enough to buy tickets to Buenos Aires and go dancing.”
    She giggled. “Oh, I’m sure we’d have the ticket price in twenty or thirty years.”
    He sighed as he led. “Or forty.” He shook his head. “I’ve always wanted to travel. I did a good bit of it in the service, but there are plenty of places I’d love to see. Like those ruins in Peru and the pyramids, and the Sonoran desert.”
    She frowned. “The Sonoran desert isn’t exotic.”
    He smiled. “Sure it is. Do you know, those Saguaro cacti can live for hundreds of years? And that if a limb falls on you, it can kill you because of the weight? You don’t think about them being that heavy, but they have a woody spine and limbs to support the weight of the water they store.”
    â€œGosh. How do you know all that?”
    He grinned. “The Science Channel, the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel… ”
    She laughed. “I like to watch those, too.”
    â€œI don’t think I’ve missed a single nature special,” he told her. He gave her a droll look. “Now that shouldtell you all you need to know about my social life.” He grinned.
    She laughed, too. “Well, my social life isn’t much better. This is the first time I’ve been on a real date.”
    His black eyebrows arched.
    She flushed. She shrugged. She averted her eyes.
    He tilted her face up to his and smiled with a tenderness that made her knees weak. “I heartily approve,” he said, “of the fact that you’ve been saving yourself for me, just like your uncle did,” he added outrageously.
    She almost bent over double laughing. “No