The Swan and the Sergeant

$50,000 to appear on Dancing with the Stars.

$50,000 to humiliate myself on national television, lose my privacy, and become the laughingstock of the Marine Corps. But I can’t say no. Not even if it means I have to face the woman who once destroyed me.

Ten years ago, reality star Selena Martinez was my dance partner and my girl. Though the self-professed ugly duckling is now a beautiful swan, the girl I fell in love with is long gone. Consumed with being a celebrity, her inner beauty has been replaced by an ugly lust for fame. When our coach offers me $5,000 a week to appear on TV’s hot ballroom dance reality show, I have no desire to relive my painful past with Selena, but I made a promise to my buddy that I’d take care of his wife and kids if he died on the battlefield.

One season, ten weeks, a small sacrifice to make for the man who saved my life.

Hand me my dance shoes.

I’m in.

(A version of this book was originally published as Love Waltzes In and Swing. This edition has been completely rewritten.)