Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“You ruin all the fun.” Gavin smirked and then absolutely wrote porn on the side of the box.
“I think Tanner is ready for me to hand over the evening shifts at the café.” She built another box, and I busied myself with the next drawer so I didn’t get yelled at too. “Which means Juniper won’t need a babysitter after school.”
“Or I can stay by myself!” Juniper called out from the living room.
“Oh, that’s definitely not happening.” Caroline shook her head.
“Or you could accept some help,” I suggested, spotting her car pull up outside. One thing about that woman? She was punctual as fuck.
“I’m not dragging Mom and Dad back here.” She pointed the tape gun at Gavin. “And I’m not giving up the café. It’s a love-hate relationship, but it’s mine—and did you seriously put that on the box when I specifically told you not to?”
“I’m not saying you need to bring Mom and Dad back. And I’m definitely not saying you should depend on that one.” I gestured at Gavin.
“Rude,” he muttered.
“Facts,” I retorted, backing out of the office slowly. “I’m saying that there’s room in your life, in Juniper’s life, for more people to love and support you, if you’ll let them. Chances are you’ll discover you’re doing them a favor too.” I reached for the door handle.
“And who would you like me to depend on, Hudson?” Caroline asked, leaning into the doorway.
I opened the door. “You have no idea how perfect your timing is.” Or how much it hurt to see her. But this was the right thing for everyone, and she’d promised not to tell Allie what I was doing.
“I do try,” she said, tucking a curl behind her ears and balancing a box of packing supplies on her hip as she walked in. She set the box down on the floor and headed straight for Caroline, holding out her hand. “Hi, Caroline. It’s been a while.”
Caroline glanced at me, then took her hand cautiously. “Hi, Anne. I thought you’d gone back to New York with your sisters.”
“Actually, I decided to stay and get my very small, very rusty legal practice off the ground right here.”
“Aunt Anne!” Juniper came flying out of the living room, raced right by me, and slammed into Anne’s side.
“Hi, Juniper.” Anne hugged her right back. “Ugh, I’ve missed you.”
Juniper immediately launched into telling Anne all about her first week at Madeline’s and how she wasn’t sure her new teacher could ever compare to Eloise but she’d give her a shot, and I hung back and watched as Caroline laughed.
Yeah, they were going to be all right, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Allie
ReeseOnToe: OMG. You look divine! I can’t wait to see the show in two weeks!
“Good morning, Allie!” Jennifer, one of the new corps members, waved happily as she passed me in the hallway. “Hi, Sadie!”
“Good morning, Jennifer,” I replied, wrapping Sadie’s leash over my wrist, then pulling the frayed edges of my worn black hoodie over my hand as I pushed against the current of dancers headed to class.
I should already be in there, warming up, leading from the front as Vasily expected, but his one condition for Sadie’s presence was that she remain in Kenna’s office when I was in the studio, which worked out fine because Kenna loved her.
“Don’t be late,” Everett said, darting a kiss on my cheek as he rushed past.
“She’s always fucking late,” Charlotte muttered, shooting me a glare as she followed, a gaggle of her gossiping minions trailing after. “Doesn’t matter when you’re a Rousseau, I guess.”
I stiffened my shoulders, but presented a pleasing smile, as Vasily would expect one of the leading members of his company to do. Being back was easy, normal, and I fell into the routine as easily as I fell into the masks I’d left here nearly five months ago. In fact, I’d been back six weeks and it felt like I’d never left at all.
Which was part of the problem.
It was the same, but I wasn’t. Where I’d once seen perfection and excellence, now all I saw was dirt and deceit. This place was plated gold, and now that I’d scratched its pristine surface and seen what really lay beneath, it had lost its shine.
Or maybe nothing shone quite as bright without Hudson flashing his grin every now and again. I breathed through the immediate sting of pain that came whenever I thought about him, which was about every minute or so unless I was dancing. I’d spent more hours in the studio trying to hide from my heartbreak than I had training to get back here.
Eva appeared next, darting out of the corps dressing room as I approached. Worry immediately lined her forehead. “Do you want me to take Sadie to Kenna so you can go?”