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The way my Alphas looked at me when I wore this color didn’t hurt either. If you looked closely, the back exposed part of the lovely little sketched firefly tattooed on my ribs, beneath my shoulder. High enough that some clothes showed it, and low enough that almost all ballet costumes didn’t.
My rings were back on my finger, and I preferred it that way. It felt strange not having them on. Not that it mattered. My Alphas were still mine, and they were headed right for me.
Ash appeared behind me, now dressed in a dark button down and slacks that made me want to jump him even more than his ass in his costume tights.
All the rest of my Alphas were in tuxedos, and I’d already informed them that I would be nesting with their clothes. Something about seeing them in suits made me want to claim them in every way possible.
None of them minded as long as I gave the suits back.
Eventually.
“Firefly.” Roman scooped me up and inhaled me. Pride and awe radiated through our connection. “So beautiful.”
“You’ve seen me dance before,” I whispered.
“It’s different.”
I curled my fingers into his lapels. “Thank you.”
My hair hung loose around my shoulders, so when a hand slipped in it, close to the scalp, andpulled, I let myself fall back into Jace’s chest. “Are you trying to tell me something?” I asked.
His purr roared against my back. “You were amazing, and you look absolutely edible, baby girl.”
“Now, now, she gets you all the time. Give me a chance to say hello.”
No need to look to know who said it. “Hi, Grandma.”
She turned me to face her and put her hands on my shoulders. “You, my darling girl, were exquisite. Much better than I ever was.”
“That’s not true.” I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, it is, and I won’t hear anything to the contrary.” Slipping her arm through mine, she walked me toward the tables filled with finger foods and a mountain of champagne. “When are you all coming over for dinner? I want to get to know them better and I need to speak to Roman about a sculpture for the gardens. The last time wasn’t nearly enough.”
“Soon, I promise. We’ll have a little more time after this weekend.”
“Good. Otherwise, I might become one of those crazy old ladies no one wants to visit, and that would be a tragedy.”
We’d always visit, but like hell was I going to be the one to tell her she’d reached crazy status alongtime ago. I was going to say something else, but our new creative director flagged me down and grabbed Ash.
Grandma saw them heading my way and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Duty calls. I’ll see you soon.”
Genevieve Nicholls was an absolute legend in the ballet world. How Gabriel and the board convinced her to come here for us was a mystery, but I loved her.
She worked us hard, but was fair, kind, and knew everything about what had happened with Ian. She put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Wonderful performance, Sloane. Truly lovely.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sure you’re already familiar with this, but given that you didn’t get to do it on your principal debut, I thought I’d walk you through it.”
I smiled. “I appreciate that.”
She wasn’t wrong. I did know many of the donors and board members from my time at the company, but I rarely interacted with them. Being walked through it was completely fine with me.
Ian wouldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t have done shit. But the last time I’d checked, there were people across the dance world telling the truth. Plenty of dancers with stories that went against his glowing reputation. If he ever worked in the entertainment industry again, I would be shocked.
The next hour was a whirlwind of speaking to people, being congratulated, and making small talk with the people who made our world go round. Many of them were excited to talk to me in the wake of Giselle, and were truly lovely. Ash was never far away, having his own conversations.
A few times we were able to talk together, when the donors were aware of the fact that we were together. But it was more efficient to split up.
