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“She’s got balls. Giant, brass ones. I’ll give her that but not much else,” I muttered.
“Oh, I’ve got something to give her all right,” Serena snarled from behind me. “A swift kick on her behind on her way out the door.”
My dance mistress marched over to where Irina stood and flashed her a smile which looked obviously fake to me.
“Such magnificent choreography,” she cooed.
Irina’s face lit up with pride. “Thank you, Mistress.”
“And so different from your usual style.”
“You’ve always encouraged us to push our own boundaries,” Irina explained.
“It really is a major accomplishment,” Serena offered, and Irina practically preened with excitement at the compliment—only to find herself crashing back to reality when Serena continued. “For the dancer who actually choreographed the piece, who we both know was most definitely not you.”
You could have heard a pin drop in the silence following her announcement before Irina started to sputter. “What? Why would you even suggest such a thing? Of course I did!”
Serena switched her focus to Hayes. “The girl is lying.”
“I am not!” Irina screeched.
“I’m not sure how you thought you’d get away with stealing Juliette’s work, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is her piece.”
“Why? Did your little teacher’s pet tell you it’s hers in a desperate attempt to remain relevant since she can’t dance anymore?” Irina hissed.
“No, Irina. Because I’ve seen part of this dance as she’s worked on it over the last two months. She’s come to me for advice and asked for my feedback, just like I’d expect any dancer new to choreography to do. Can you say the same? Is there anyone who’s seen you work on this piece?”
“Yes, just this past week—“
Serena didn’t let her finish. “Do you think I’m dumb? That I don’t know a dance I’ve already seen? That it’s purely coincidence you worked on this piece during the one week when Juliette was absent?”
“Is this true, Irina?” Hayes asked.
“I—I—I don’t—” she stammered.
“Leave,” he ordered, pointing one long finger towards the door.
“And take your things with you because we have no room for a dancer capable of such duplicity in our company,” Serena added.
“My notebook,” I interjected, realizing that’s why it hadn’t been in the lost and found when I’d called. “Please make sure she doesn’t pack it along with her stuff. I’d like to get it back.”
Irina stormed towards the door, and I barely managed to get out of her path before she passed me.
“Fifteen-minute break, everyone,” Hayes called out, drawing my attention away from the door. “Juliette, please schedule an appointment with me for this week to discuss possibly using your piece in an upcoming show.”
The dancers filed out of the room, whispering about the drama amongst themselves.
“Wow,” Lisa murmured as she sidled up next to me, apparently headed in the same direction. “I don’t know whether to say congratulations or I’m sorry for all the drama. Are you okay? I mean, I know we haven’t really gotten the chance to get to know each other very well, but you are pregnant with my friend’s husband’s best friend’s baby. That sounded way less weird in my head than it did out loud.”
A giggle bubbled up my throat, breaking off when I let out a startled yelp at the sound of another voice behind us.
“No wonder my ears were ringing,” Nancy joked. “I thought I was going to surprise my friend and see if she could maybe do lunch today, but lunch for three sounds even better.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” I tried to decline.
“You could never be an intrusion,” Nancy assured me. “Not when Kevin and I are thrilled to see Declan head over heels in love with you and so excited for the baby.”
“Head over heels in love?”
“Yeah,” she sighed, with a dreamy look in her eyes. “Kevin and I were talking about it the other day while we were shopping for your wedding gift. He told me the first time he saw the two of you together, he finally understood why Declan had been such an antisocial grouch for so long. Kevin isn’t exactly the most insightful person ever—I mean, well, he is a guy after all—but even he said it was nice to see his best friend finally meet his perfect match.”
“I’m such an idiot,” I murmured, my head swirling with all the memories of my time with Declan. His gentleness and protectiveness. How possessive he was of me when we were around other men. The time he’d mentioned waiting four months for me while I’d been gone on my international tour. The look in his eyes when we made love. The proud way he’d slid his grandmother’s ring onto my finger when he’d proposed. It was all because he loved me.
“Lisa, can you do me a huge favor and make sure Serena gets my notebook from Irina? And tell her I’m s
orry but I had to leave unexpectedly?” I asked. She nodded, and I pulled Nancy to me for a quick hug. “I’d love to do lunch with you, just not today.”
I barely took the time to grab my purse before I raced out of the building and hopped into the first cab I found. A quick text to Declan confirmed he was in his office, so I headed straight there as soon as the cab dropped me off at the hospital entrance. I didn’t bother knocking, just stormed in and threw myself into Declan’s lap when I found him in his chair behind his desk.
“Jules, baby, is everything okay?”
“More than okay,” I assured him, peppering his face with kisses. “Amazing. Astounding. Wonderful. I can’t even come up with a word good enough to explain how okay everything is.”
“Good morning at the dance studio?”
“You love me,” I breathed out.
“Of course I do.” He looked at me curiously, one eyebrow raised and his head tilted to the side.
“And I love you.”
“Damn straight you do.”
“I love you,” I repeated, enjoying how the phrase rolled off my tongue. “So very much, but I’d love you even more if you could say those three little words back to me.”
His eyes widened with surprise. “I’ve never actually said it, have I?” His arms tightened around me. “Fuck, how is that possible when I love you so damn much? From the moment I saw you on stage that first night, I’ve known you were meant to be mine, Juliette. I’m the luckiest bastard alive because here you are, expecting my baby and with my ring on your finger. I can’t wait for our wedding day, for you to become my wife. It’s all I’ve wanted from the beginning, as crazy as it sounds.”
“Oh, Declan,” I sighed, tears streaming down my face.
“I love you, Juliette Moureaux soon-to-be-McGowan.”
His speech was beautiful, but he’d gotten one thing wrong—I was the lucky one.
