Say It With Sequins: The Rumba: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance Novella by Georgia Hill Page B

Stoke-on-Trent and as ordinary as Lavinia was exotic, despaired. He’d won the competition last year and had been hoping to do what had never been achieved before – two successive wins. Julia thought his chances this year with Lavinia were remote to say the least.
    She turned to the older woman: “The competition is pretty fierce this year isn’t it?”
    In an automatic gesture, Lavinia captured another glass of wine off a waiter, took a sip and called him back.
    He came immediately, people tended to do as Lavinia said, Julia noticed. She had that bitchy, middle class, actressy quality that was thankfully rare in the profession nowadays.
    “Another one for my friend if I may,” Lavinia ordered. She passed the glass to Julia. “There darling, this one must be a new bottle, same wine but at least it’s so cold you can’t taste it! What were you saying?”
    “That the competition is tough. Who do you think is going to win?”
    “Well my angel, I know who desperately
wants
to win.” Lavinia smirked and nodded to where eighteen year old model and aspiring actress, Casey, was batting her enormous false eyelashes at Harri. Someone had tacked up a bedraggled sprig of mistletoe as an early nod to Christmas and Casey had half an eye on it.
    The poor man was trapped. He was visibly backing off from the torrent of giggles and nonsense that passed as conversation from the girl.
    “Met her type before,” Lavinia sniffed. “God, I think I
was
her once a long time ago. All hair and short skirts and dangerous ambition. When you’re older you learn how to hide it better.”
    “What, stupidity?” Julia said, without thinking.
    Lavinia snorted. “She’s not stupid, she’ll go far. No, you learn how to play the game with a little more finesse, a little more decorum.” Lavinia’s eyebrows rose. “Look at the length of that skirt!”
    Julia laughed again, Lavinia was always good company. “I’d wear skirts like that if I had the legs.”
    “Keep training as we’ve been doing and you will, darling. Have you ever met a chubby dancer?”
    Julia tried not to bridle at the inference that she was fat, she’d lost a stone and a half already. She’d been consoling herself with the thought that if this TV show didn’t revive her flagging acting career, at least she’d have a fit and toned body at the end of it.
    Lavinia eyed her closely. “I know why Casey’s doing it,” she said, as they watched the girl run her fingers up an alarmed Harri’s arm, “but why did you get involved in this farce, angel? I thought you were legit theatre?”
    Julia shrugged. “I am, when I can get it. In between the funding crisis and all these big name American TV stars coming over and getting the plum roles, I seem to have hit a dry spot.”
    “It was ever thus.” Lavinia gave a theatrical sigh. “Are you hoping it’ll get your face known on the box, darling?”
    Julia nodded. “And it raises money for a good cause.”
    “Ah yes, the charity.” Lavinia smiled. “Never harms one’s profile to be seen doing something good for charity.”
    Julia was silent for a moment. Lavinia had misunderstood her but she let it go. It hadn’t quite been what she’d meant. She needed some publicity, it was true, but didn’t want to support the charity simply in a cynical bid to get it. She really believed in the cause.
    They all forgot why they were really here sometimes. The children’s charity,
Pennies for Pencils,
raised money and awareness for a range of education projects, in the UK and abroad. This was really why they were all still in the studio, after a long day’s rehearsal, supposedly mingling and getting to know one another better.
    Lavinia trilled goodbye, wandered off and left the younger woman alone. Julia watched the crowd. She enjoyed people watching; she loved to see how people moved, how they related to one another.
    The show was only a week old, they’d done the pre-practice rehearsals and were about to film the first