“Do you need help?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I’m good.”
Again, a mixture of disappointment and annoyance was in his eyes.
“Well….” My voice squeaked… squeaked! Like a damn duck. Coughing, I cleared my throat, trying again. “Thank you, Theo. Honestly, the last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun—”
“I’m not going to kiss you goodbye, Felicity,” he whispered, his lips so close to mine they were all I could see.
“I understand. I—”
He held me in place. “The moment you realize you want me to kiss you, that you want to kiss me back, call me.”
He got back in his car, pulled out, and then drove off without looking back at me.
“You’re an idiot, Felicity Harper.” There was Mark, dressed in jeans and red V-neck shirt, shaking his blond head at me.
“I know.”
He didn’t have to say anything more; he just took my things and walked up the stairs into our condo.
The fact that I waited for one more second, wondering if he would turn around again, proved how big an idiot I really was.
Why? Why won’t I let myself be with him?
The condo was the same, like nothing had been moved out of place, not even a single pillow, yet it felt completely different.
“Drink wine, eat kettle corn, and remember, Felicity, he’s just a guy.” Cleo came out of the kitchen, her hair dyed back to her natural brown for the first time in a long time, holding up the wine for me.
“Heartless.” Mark frowned at her.
“Over-emotional pansy.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
I smiled, though I didn’t really feel it. “You guys will never change, will you?”
“Nope. Come on, The Notebook is about to come on—”
“Guys, I’m tired. I’m just going to rest.” I walked up to my room. Dropping my bag on the floor, I crawled into my bed. My brain ached so badly it felt like the room was spinning, and I was going to be sick.
Theo
Stopping at the red light, I gripped the steering wheel. I didn’t get her at all. She liked me. I liked her. What the hell where we doing?
“Darcy,” I answered via Bluetooth on my phone.
“We have a problem, Theo,” Walt said on the line.
“What type of problem?”
“How close are you to Mercy Hospital?”
I was already making a U-turn. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“It’s not me, Theo. It’s Violet. Did you know she had a bad knee?”
“What the hell do you mean, bad knee? She took a physical before signing the contract.” I sped down the highway.
“Whoever it was lied, or she faked her documentation. She has both an ACL and Meniscus tears. She had surgery last year, but from what the doctors are saying, she should never have been allowed to dance. But she’s been taking oxycodone for the pain and dancing anyway.”
In my mind I replayed every time she’d fallen during practice, all the complaints he had made about her dancing, the fact she’d left her dream stage to dance in the States. It all made sense.
“Theo, there is no way she will make it through another week of practice, let alone perform at the Gala—”
“I’m here, Walt. I’ll talk to her. What room is she in?”
“4601.”
Hanging up, I parked, cut the engine, and stepped out, staring up at the hospital. I wasn’t sure what to say her, or more importantly, how she would react. Violet Montgomery cared about one thing: her career. She had been dancing since she was four years old. She’d said it was all she wanted to do in life, which was why I wasn’t 100 percent shocked when she left me. I was stuck in L.A. and she’d wanted to dance in Paris.
Inside, Walt was waiting by the nurse’s station, still dressed in sweatpants, his dance shoes, and a T-shirt.
“How did she get here?”
“We were going through a set for the evening, and her leg gave out. She was crying out in so much pain, we called the abundance. When she saw them, she said she didn’t want to come, but I forced her anyway.”
We stopped at her door.
“Do you need me to—”
“I got this. Just start working with the understudy.”
“I should be the one to tell—”
“Walter,” I said sternly.
Sighing, he nodded. “Just tell her I’m sorry.”
I slid open the door, expecting her to be in bed. Instead she was holding a crutch and digging into her bag. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a bun, and she wore glasses instead of her contacts.
“Walt, did you see my meds? I’ll be good to go once I get—”
“You can’t dance, Violet.”
Her head snapped up. “Theo? What are you doing here? It’s not that serious. I’m fine—”
“You’re done, Violet. It’s over.”
“What are you talking about? I—”
“VIOLET!”
She jumped, startled, her whole body shaking. She threw the bag to the ground.
“You can’t stop me from dancing, Theo! I’m—”
“We know! I’m so sorry, Violet, but you can’t dance. Not for the company, not for anyone. It’s over—”
“Fuck you!” she screamed. “Fuck those two-bit idiot doctors who don’t know a goddamn thing! I am fine! I am Violet Montgomery, prima ballerina assoluta! I’ve danced in The Mariinsky Theatre, the Paris Opera House, and with the New York City and Royal Ballet. It is not over until I say it is over.”
The tears that rained down her now red face hurt me, and I knew it killed her to shed them.
“It’s over when your body says it’s over.”
She shook her head at me and faced her bag, still packing to leave. “No. I don’t end this way.”
I wrapped my arms around her. She stood still before breaking down into sobs.
“What am I if I’m not a dancer, Theo? I gave up everything for this. All I am is my dancing. I can’t stop now—”
“You aren’t your dancing. You are a person, someone who will always land on her feet.”
She backed out my arms, wiping her eyes. “Why did I break up with you?”
“Violet, let’s not go there.”
“We could work now.” She smiled. “The family you wanted, that house. We could move into it now, and I could be like your mom. Throw the best parties for your work friends—”
“I never wanted you to choose me because you had no other options.” I held her hands before she could touch me. “Right now just focus on healing. Don’t worry about the contract. I will handle it.”
“You’re leaving?”
I nodded, heading to the door. “I have to go to the office. If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Are you still with that waitress?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Isn’t that your type?”
I almost wanted to say yes, but she was wrong. “You weren’t complicated. You wanted to dance, so you went and danced. Now you can’t dance, and you want something to go back to, but we can’t. I can be your friend but nothing more.”
I closed the door on her, both literally and figuratively. I cared about Violet but not in that way.
Walt stood just outside, his arms folded.
“I thought I told you to start working on her replacement?”
“I know who I want to replace her.” He pushed himself off the wall, facing me. “Felicity.”
“No,” I said, already headed toward the lobby.
“Theo, you saw her—”
“We saw her do a three-minute piece. She doesn’t have the training or the time—”
“She’s one of the best dancers I have ever had the pleasure to work with.” He jumped in front of me. “No, she doesn’t have the title or background like Violet. But she learned that routine in seconds after only seeing it once and nailed it. We still have a week. Imagine how great she would be if we train? If Dancing w
ith the Stars can take random celebrities and make them dancers, I sure as hell can take a former Juilliard dancer and put her on stage!”
How did he know? “Who told you she was used to attend Juilliard?”
He looked at me like I was stupid, and I very well may have been for even listening to him.
“There was no way someone that talented and passionate in their dancing was unknown. I called one of my instructors, and you should have heard him. He could not stop talking about Felicity. He said she was a child prodigy in dance and music, and if it hadn’t been for some incident, she would be a household name.”
The very first time she played the piano at my house and then wrote it down from memory in my living room, I’d known she wasn’t just any musician. She’d been a child prodigy. She could have been a world-class pianist, but instead she’d worked as a waitress.
“I know the Gala is the one of the biggest nights for our company. I get how much pressure you are under. Hell, I get it more than anyone else. This is my very first one. I have gone over every move on every corner of that stage a thousand and two times. I wouldn’t do anything to put all of our hard work at risk. Which is why I want it to be great, and Felicity—”
“Fine.” He was almost begging, and I wasn’t the person he needed to convince. “If she agrees, then fine. But she won’t do it, Walt, so don’t set all your hopes and dreams on her.”
He frowned, his shoulders falling. “What do you mean, she won’t do it? Can’t you ask her? She made that song for you—”
“I just happened to hear the song. It wasn’t for me. Did your instructor tell you why she left?”
He shook his head. “No. He just called it ‘the incident’ and that was it. Why? Do you know?”
It had been the moment that fucked her up for life. It was the reason she didn’t want to be close to anyone. It was the reason she thought she had no right to be happy and would do anything possible keep herself grounded, even though she was meant to fly.
That moment was the wall between her and me.
“Theo?”
“When she rejects you, move on and get to work. I’m serious.” I didn’t want to talk about this with him. I had no idea what to say to Felicity anymore.
Felicity
8:14 a.m.
“You disappear with a billionaire for a week, and all I get is it was fine?” Rosemary followed me behind the counter. I hadn’t really thought of us as friends, so I wasn’t sure why she thought I would share anything with her. I hadn’t in the past.
“It’s nothing. We’re over.”
You’re being cold. I heard Theo’s voice in the back of my mind. Urgh. I just wanted to fast-forward to the point where he was a distant memory.
No I don’t. Urgh, I couldn’t even lie to myself now.
“Felicity?” She snapped her fingers in my face.
“Huh?”
“I told you being a sugar baby wasn’t all that bad,” she leaned in and whispered.
I froze. “What? When did you talk about that?”
“I don’t know, a month ago or so? Why are you acting all shocked? You were the one who caught me on the site.”
I had to have lost my mind because I couldn’t remember having that conversation.
She frowned at me, her eyebrow raised. “How many guys are you seeing?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Table three.”
I spun around, and there was Walt, his brown hair pulled back in a bun. The moment he saw me, he smiled, wildly waving me over.
“I’m often proud of myself for not being jealous of you.” She handed me the coffeepot.
I walked to the table where Walt was sitting. Compared to Theo, he kind of looked childish to me. I was doing this now. Comparing everyone to Theo.
“I don’t need coffee, but can you please sit?” Walt asked, and he was so serious it was kind of weird.
I sat down. “What’s wrong, Walt?”
“I need your help.” He took a deep breath. “Violet can’t dance. Her knee is messed up pretty badly. So I’m here to beg you to dance for our gala, even though Theo already said there was no way in hell you would—”
“Walt, I—”
“Felicity, you are an amazing dancer. Gifted. I will never ask anything of you again. I know I don’t even have the right to ask you about this but God, I really want to do this with you. Yes, it will be a lot of work. But don’t you miss it? When you danced before, it was like coming up from the bottom and taking a deep breath of air, right?”
He was talking so fast, I felt the urge to take a breath right now. It would have been funny had it not been for what he was asking me to do. “Walt—”
“Don’t say no.” He cut me off. “Close your eyes, imagine how you felt after we danced, your heart racing, and think about feeling that again every day for the next week.”
“Walt—”
“And—”
“I swear if you interrupt me one more time, Walter Darcy, I won’t do it at all,” I snapped, and he grinned.
“You’ll do it?”
I nodded. “I’ll try my best. But you should know I only danced contemporary and for the most part stopped competitively dancing years ago. I’ve only danced once or twice a week in my apartment since then.”
“We will try and rework the moves so it isn’t so heavily based in ballet. It’s going to be grueling. The moment you agree to this, you can’t half-ass it, but I swear if you work for it, you won’t regret it, Felicity. ”
“I’ll do it. I just need to speak with my boss. Where should I meet you?”
“You’ll get a call to come to Darcy Entertainment for the paperwork. After that you start.” He got up. “Not that I’m not happy you are doing this, but why? Theo said there was no way in hell you would do this.”
Normally, I would have shut him down. I didn’t dance anymore, but I wanted to. Acting, riding on the back of motorcycle, hiking, flying in a hot-air balloon…. Theo had expanded my world so quickly, in such a short amount time, I wanted more. For the first time, I needed to do more with myself than serve coffee, answer phones, and pick up after teenagers. It’s like I’d been living on pause, and he hit the play button.
“Felicity?”
“You were right. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I did it again,” I lied. The truth was too embarrassing.
“I’ll get everything settled. See you at noon.”
I waved as he rushed out, already dialing his cell phone. I knew it was Theo, and for a moment I wondered if he would call me just to ask what the hell I was thinking. But honestly I didn’t know. I wasn’t thinking, I was acting. Maybe taking baby steps, like dancing again, being the old me again, I’d be able to let go of my past.
“You aren’t coming back here, are you?” Manny stood, arms crossed, staring through the window at Walt, who got into his Mercedes.
“I just need—”
“Another week?”
“Two….”I drifted off, backing away and preparing for him to yell at me again.
But he didn’t yell. He looked at me calmly and said, “Go, Felicity.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes, just like that.” He moved around me. “You’re always studying but never bother going to school. You’re always working and never spending any money. I’ve wanted to know what the hell you are going to do with your life. If you have any dreams. Seems like you’re starting to. When you’re done, if it’s not what you want, you can come back.”
I’m sure my mouth fell open. Even Rosemary looked at him in shock. But he ignored us, taking the empty trays to the kitchen.
“Was I gone for one week or one year? Because Manny is whole new person,” I said.
“He got a part in a TV drama. He’s walking on his own cloud right now. But either way, you know he’s right. This is awesome. Neither of us knew you danced.” She took the pot from me, placing it on the table, and grabbed my notepad, signaling for my apron. “Don?
??t forget about us when you’re on Broadway or something.”
“I don’t know about Broadway. I have no idea how I’m going to survive. I haven’t danced in eight years.”
“Why?”
I didn’t have to answer when my phone rang. Theo. Standing straighter, turning from Rosemary, I cleared my throat and answered. “Hello?”
“Is this Ms. Felicity Harper?” someone asked.
My shoulders fell. “Yeah.”
“This is Mr. Darcy’s secretary. We’ve been informed you will be dancing for Darcy Entertainment. When is a good time for you to come in and go over the contract?”
“Umm, I can be there in the next hour or so?”
“See you then. A badge will be waiting for you in the lobby.” When she hung up, I stared at the number. Why had his secretary called from his personal phone, and why did it bother me so damn much?
“Was that Mr. Darcy?” Rosemary giggled. “I guess it isn’t over."
1:49 p.m.
“He’ll be right with you.” His secretary placed a cup of tea in front of me, giving me a polite smile. She was a brunette with bright blue eyes and a nice hourglass figure. She wore a black pencil skirt, which hugged every curve, and a white shirt. When she bent over to rearrange the things on his desk, I saw the tops of her breasts.
“Scarlett,” he said behind me. I felt the urge all of a sudden to fix my hair and maybe check if there was anything in my teeth. “Please hold my calls for half an hour. This won’t take long.”
“Do you need anything—”
“No.”
She nodded, walking to the door. It closed with a small click, and he unbuttoned the top of his suit jacket, taking a seat behind his mahogany desk.
“Your secretary is pretty.” Goddamn it. Really, Felicity? That is the best you can think of to say to him?
“Yes, she is.” He lifted the document in front of him. “You didn’t bring a lawyer?”
“I don’t have one.” I wanted him to look at me! But instead he spoke as if I were no longer important to him. Like I was no one.
But it was my fault. I did this. So now I would have to deal with it, regardless of how I felt.
“It would be best if you got a lawyer—”