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“When I heard Rose had entered her troupe in the competition I had wondered whether you guys would be attending to support them. I know how close you all are with Rose and her men. I can’t wait to see George and Sebastian dancing too.”
“Me either,” Asia replies, her face lighting up as she talks. “Rose has been teaching George and Sebastian ballet for the last few years. They love it. I think Luka–shit, I mean,Ivan, has had a massive influence on them. They want to be ballet dancers just like he was."
"Wait a minute, are we talking abouttheLuka Petrin? Luka Petrin as in the greatest male ballet dancer of all time?" Clancy says, her eyes widening at Asia as she sits forward in her seat.
"The one and only,” Asia confirms, looking sheepish, “But I really shouldn’t have let that slip. He’s known as Ivan Sachov these days.”
“No shit!” Clancy replies, clapping her hands together in glee, her red curls bouncing around her face as she jiggles in her seat. “This isamazing! River is gonna shit a brick when he finds out.”
Asia pulls a face. “Whoa,” she says, looking a little panicked.
“Shit, what?” Clancy asks, picking up on Asia’s worried vibe.
“According to Rose, after his late wife died, Ivan kind of lost himself a bit. So whilst it’s cool for River to know, please don’t let it go any further. He doesn’t want the press to hound him or Rose for that matter. This is important to them and to my little brothers.”
“Shit, of course not! I’ve never said a word about the dodgy patrons of Tales, you can totally trust me,” Clancy says.
“Clancy is very trustworthy,” Grim confirms, “If not a little excitable.”
“I swear, your secret’s safe with me,” Clancy deadpans, lifting her fingers to her pursed lips and miming a key turning in a lock.
Asia’s shoulder’s relax. “I appreciate it, Clancy.”
“But I can meet him, can’t I? I swear I’ll be on my best behaviour,” she adds.
“I’m sure that’ll be fine,” Asia agrees.
“I can’t bloody wait,” Clancy blurts out, unable to contain herself. “Meeting Luka, watching you and the guys perform, and your cute little brothers dance. It’s going to be an epic night…” Her voice trails off as she looks at Grim and pulls a face. “Erm, can I have the night off boss?”
Grim chuckles. “I’m closing Tales that night. There’s no way I’m missing it.”
Clancy throws her arms around Grim’s shoulders, hugging her tightly and planting a kiss on her cheek. “You really arethebest boss.”
Grim’s cheeks redden. “Pack it in, I have a reputation to uphold,” she scolds, but I see the gleam of appreciation in her eyes. Grim might’ve been brought up around dangerous men, but she’s a woman’s woman through and through, and we all adore her for it.
"I'd love it if you couldallattend, Cynthia and her guys too if she can?" I ask, looking between Christy and Grim who know her best, and can extend the invite. “Get the whole gang together?”
Over the years we’ve spent time together at events and special occasions, and whilst I’m not as close with Cynthia and her men, they’re like family to Christy and Grim, so by extension that makes them important to me too.
"I'm sure she'd love it," Christy says. "I'll call her tomorrow."
“Do you think Hudson, Louisa and the guys would want to come too?” I ask Grim.
“They’re away until after the fight, but I reckon they’d enjoy a night out when they get back. I’ll ask them.”
“What about Malakai and Connie?” Asia asks. “It’d be good to see them too.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “If they could make it that’d be great.”
“Sure thing. I’ll give Malakai a call too,” Grim agrees.
"Great," I reply, unable to hide the smile spreading across my face. "I'm really looking forward to this. It just feels... right, you know?"
"Girl! I am so happy for you. I know you've been wanting to perform with the guys again for ages now. What finally changed?" Clancy asks.
"A few things actually. I noticed that we'd all lost a bit of our spark. It kind of crept up on us."
Grim cocks her head to the side. "You never said anything. I've been with Beast forever, I know plenty of ways to keep the spark going in a relationship."
