Naomi K Bembridge

The Make-believe Ballroom Naomi K Bembridge

This is the fifth in a series of five novels. Everybody likes Eddy, but that changes when he gets his 16 year old dance partner pregnant, or did he? And he's old enough to be her grand father! Dance teachers Alex and Simon agonise about what to do and ask Chris and his dance partner Shari for help. They find Eddy has a secret life and the more they find out the less they like; good old Eddy seems to have a lot to hide. He believes he is a great dancer and has huge ambition; he lives in a dream world where he's admired for his dancing and wins every dance competition. He says he's rich, but where does his money come from? Or is that too part of his fantasy world?And what about sweet and innocent Frances? She is Eddy's 16 year old dance partner, and is now his fiancée, does she honestly want to marry Eddy? Are her straight laced parents really happy about the marriage? Rumour says they are; Shari thinks not. Everyone in the dance school is worried about Frances, but they realise how little they know about her too. Frances also dreams of being a great dancer, but knows being part of Eddy's dance ambition is only a pipe dream - the baby is due in a few months and her dancing career will only exist in Eddy's make-believe ballroom. Does she love Eddy? Her answer is always yes! Her friends in the dancing school don't believe her. Chris is engaged to Cath, but do they still love each other? Shari hopes not as she loves Chris. Cath seems more in love with her dancing than with Chris. How can everything work out well when Chris and Cath are 150 miles apart and they dance with other people?Simon's wife, Virginia, faces family pressure to come home to Australia, but she is happy and wants to stay in the UK. How can she convince her mother and stop her blaming Simon, or is he really keeping her here against her will?What is real, what is fact and what is fiction in this make-believe ballroom? And how dangerous is it to look into the world of lies, fantasy and dark secrets that have created Eddy's make-believe world where what is real and what is false are so very hard to recognise?