Page 38 of A Sinful Gravity

"You've lost weight." Chloe's eyes were full of tenderness and concern.

I blinked, my tone proud. "Well, you're looking at the Royal Ballet's principal dancer."

"It must be exhausting. But I knew you could do it." She squeezed my hand.

"It's manageable." I shrugged casually. "Plus, I have Laila with me."

Laila sat beside me, happily eating the fries the server brought, occasionally glancing up at Chloe.

Chloe couldn't help but mirror her, tilting her head.

"What are you looking at, baby?"

With permission granted, Laila tilted her head. "Auntie, do you dance too?"

"No." Chloe pulled out her phone. "I paint. I organized all these exhibitions."

"Wow! Can you teach me to paint sometime? I promise I'll study hard!" She was clearly captivated by Chloe's work.

"Of course." Chloe put a sausage on her plate. "Do you like dancing, Laila?"

At that, Laila puffed out her chest. "Yes! I love dancing the most! Teacher says my turns are super stable, just like Mommy's!" She hopped off her chair and demonstrated a perfect dance move.

Chloe laughed until tears came. "Amazing! When your mom dances, she makes the whole world cheer for her. I bet you will too!"

Laila nodded proudly, climbed back to the table, and ate obediently, her mouth stuffed full.

Chloe stared at her for a moment.

"Luna." She lowered her voice. "She's too adorable. Can I steal her?"

"No."

"What if I just take her?"

"Still no, Chloe." I laughed.

Chloe sighed. "Fine. At least I'm her godmother."

I watched them, holding my coffee, taking a sip, feeling something like relief I hadn't felt in ages.

We ate quietly for a while, then she looked at me seriously.

"Tell me. Have you really been okay all these years?" Chloe's voice went careful, like she was afraid of breaking something.

I gave her a reassuring look. "Yeah. Principal dancer, constant touring, Laila's healthy." I paused, my voice dropping. "Just that when rehearsals go till midnight, no one brings me water."

Seeing Chloe freeze, I quickly added, "Kidding. Really, it's good. A million times better than six years ago."

"Oh." I pulled an invitation from my bag. "Come to my performance in a couple of days. You have to!"

Chloe relaxed, the gloom lifting as she took it excitedly. "Amazing! I'm honored to see the great dancer perform!"

"They offered us incredible terms this time. The stage is absolutely lavish." I sighed. "Otherwise I wouldn't have agreed."

Chloe paused. "So besides the performance, do you have other plans while you're here?"

"No," I said. "Just the performance. One month, then I'm gone. Next stop's Chicago."