by Ashley Blake
“Sweetheart, that’s not what you told me. You said you saw them in the corner and her hand was on his shoulder. Did you actually see them kiss each other?”
“No, Nana Bunny, but…”
“Abigail, men are very simple creatures, if they don’t like what they have they go find what they want somewhere else. Once they have what they want, most of them are satisfied. This young man, Zane, sounds like you are what he wants. You haven’t told me anything that leads me to believe he has been dishonest with you. I know he was in that rock and roll world before, so maybe that jaded you a bit. But darling, you might want to give him a break and give him a chance to explain. You said he had something more to tell you?”
“Yes, he said I didn’t let him finish but by that time I was so mad I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say.”
“Maybe you should have coffee with him, dear. Hear him out and then decide what you want to do.”
I took a sip of my tea and let her words sink in. My Nana Bunny was so wise and I knew she was right. As soon as I found my cell phone I was going to give him a call.
“Thank you for listening Nana Bunny, I feel a lot better.” I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you.”
She smiled at me and held her frail hand to my cheek. “Anytime dear and I love you too. What do you say we go join the others?”
I smiled at her. “Sounds good.”
~*~*~
Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful the night before and I was really happy that my partner in crime Barbi had finally arrived. The next day we all went ice skating which was a family tradition for us. None of us were very good so it was extra fun to race each other.
Barbi and I had just beat Claire and Skylar racing around the rink when I heard that familiar deep sexy voice call my name. I got chills all over and it wasn’t from the cold. I looked over near the entrance and there was Zane looking gorgeous as ever. I was completely frozen in place as I felt my heart skip a beat. Just as I was about to skate over to him I heard my father’s voice boom across the rink warning Zane that if he didn’t leave my dad was going to throw him out. Zane scurried away but before he did he yelled out that he loved me, he was sorry and he would call me later.
To say I was on cloud nine was an understatement. Maybe Nana Bunny was right, I was what he wanted and he was coming to get what he wanted. I would have to find my cell phone when we got back to the house because I didn’t want to miss his call.
Later that night, exhausted from searching high and low for my phone I went to the kitchen to get a snack. Skylar seemed to have the same idea and I was actually happy to see her because it gave me the perfect opportunity to apologize to her.
We had a really nice talk and, thankfully, she accepted my apology. It was weird but I felt really comfortable telling her about Zane and she opened up to me about her feelings for my brother. We chatted for a good while and then we both turned in for the night. I was going to bow out of morning family activities so that I could practice for a few hours.
The next morning I was practicing in the dance studio when Claire came in to watch me, again. I stopped what I was doing and turned to look at her, my hand on my hip.
“Claire, why do you insist on watching me practice?”
“I just want to help, Abby.”
My words were biting. “Maybe I don’t need your help.”
Were those tears in her eyes? Yep, those were definitely tears.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she held my gaze.
“Can we please just stop? I miss you Abby, I want my sister back.”
Okay, that totally threw me off guard and it was the last thing I expected. I walked over to her and put my arm around her.
“Well, don’t cry.”
She laid her head on my shoulder and put her arm around me.
“This has gone on for way too long. It’s time to make up.” She lifted her tear stained eyes to mine. “I’m sorry for everything.”
I smiled at her. “I’m sorry too.”
She finally smiled and wiped away her tears.
“Why were we even fighting?”
“I guess I finally got to the point where I want to have a lead part and I still keep losing to you. Since you always got the lead I felt like your ego took over and you got a pretty big head.”
“Abby, I’m really sorry if I came off that way, I did not mean to be that way toward you at all. I guess I felt like you were pulling away from me so my defenses went up and I probably acted cold toward you to protect my feelings. I always want the best for you. I have told you a million times that if you really apply yourself you can get the lead roles because you have more natural talent than me. I know you can do it and I would love to see that happen for you.”
I gave her a big hug, she hugged me back and we didn’t let go for what seemed like forever. She pulled away and had that look of excitement in her eyes that told me I needed to brace myself for one of her kooky ideas. Except this time the idea was not so kooky.
“I have a brilliant idea. You’re staying here for the next few days, probably until Thursday, right?”
“Yeah, how did you know that?”
“Well we do have that twin thing going on.”
I giggled and playfully swatted her on the arm. It felt good to be in that place with her again.
“No, seriously, how did you know that?”
“I assumed you were going to use the studio to practice this week since auditions are on Friday. When we’re out here no one from the dance company can interrupt us, we won’t be distracted, and we can focus 100% on practicing. I am planning to do the same thing.”
“You’re practicing here too?”
“Yep, in the room next door.”
“Claire that is so perfect!”
“Abby, I have an idea and I don’t want you to get mad.”
“Okay, I won’t, I promise.”
“Let’s practice together at the beginning of each day and you can see what I’m doing and perfect it. I always get the lead so if you are better than me, which I know you will be, you will be the lead.”
I wasn’t sure about that at first but then I shoved my ego aside and realized what a huge help it would be.
“Okay, sounds like a plan. Claire, thank you, I mean it.”
She winked at me and smiled. “You’re welcome sis. I’m going to go change and I’ll be right back.”
I was transitioning to en pointe from my relevé when Claire returned. She sat on the floor and tied her pointe shoes and tried to be nonchalant with her next question, but I knew she wanted the deets.
“So, Zane is back, huh?”
“That is such a long story, Claire, I’ll tell you later.”
She warmed up at the bar and glanced at me with a devilish grin.
“We have time right now, so start at the beginning. Come help me stretch and I’m sure you need to stretch some more, too.”
I wasn’t going to be able to dodge my sister so I did what she said and started at the beginning. By the time I was done she told me she agreed with Nana Bunny and I should have coffee with Zane to let him explain.
“There is something there between you guys Abby. Don’t let him get away twice.”
Later that evening our butler brought me my phone that had fallen out of my purse and slid under the passenger seat in my dad’s car. I had several missed calls and voicemails from Zane so I decided to call him back.
“Abby, thank goodness you finally called me back. I didn’t think I would ever hear from you again.”
“Sorry I missed your calls, I lost my phone and our butler returned it to me today. How was your Thanksgiving?”
I was nervous to hear what he was going to say because I felt awful thinking that he had to spend it alone because of our fight.
“I went to Logan’s parent’s place with him, it was cool.”
“I’m glad you weren’t alone and I’m sorry you had to do that because of me.”
“H
ey, it’s okay.”
“Wait, so you drove back out to the Hamptons on Friday?”
“Yes, I wanted to see you.”
“How did you know I was going to be at the rink?”
“I went to the address you had given me and the butler told a really nice old lady that I was there to see you. It seems your Nana Bunny is on my side, she told me where to find you.”
I smiled to myself not surprised at all that she would do something like that.
“That’s my Nana Bunny! Sorry about my dad, you can imagine he wasn’t too thrilled when he heard what happened.”
“Yeah, that was crazy. He really does not like me.”
“No, it’s not that, he just doesn’t like to see me upset.”
“Neither do I, Abby. Can we get together when you get back to the city?”
“I was going to suggest the same thing, we need to talk.”
“I agree. Your audition is Friday, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s have lunch on Saturday, does that work for you?”
“Sure, that works.”
“Okay, well I don’t want to bother you this week because I know you’ll be focusing on practicing for the audition, so just know that I am rooting for you. I know you can do this, Abby, I know you can get the lead, so I’m sending a lot of good vibes your way. I love you.”
I was a bit caught off guard by him saying that, but it did make me feel better about everything that had happened.
“Thanks, Zane, your support means a lot. I’ll see you Saturday. And I love you too.”
“You just made me the happiest man in the world by saying that. I’ll see you Saturday.”
The rest of the family left on Sunday so Claire and I were free to do nothing but dance for the rest of the week. I would watch her do an entire routine and then she would critique me as I repeated what she did. By the time we left on Thursday I couldn’t wait to get to the audition on Friday. Zane called me to wish me luck right before I went to bed so I fell asleep feeling happier and more optimistic about everything than I had in a long time.
Friday morning I felt really good and I went to the studio pretty early to warm up. There was a long list of people auditioning that day and Claire was going first and I was second. She came into the room, came over to me and gave me a huge hug before she went onstage.
“Are you ready?”
I looked at her, smiled and nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Okay, come out and watch me, I’m going to dance better and harder than I ever have so I don’t want you to think I am handing the lead to you. But watch me and then do it better. I know you can do this, Abby.”
What a difference from the last auditions, Claire and I were in the best place we had ever been. She was always supportive of me in the past but I had never experienced this kind of support from her. It felt really good to know that she believed in me and I knew that it was genuine. When she told me that she was going to dance harder and better than she ever had, I knew that the stakes had immediately risen to a whole new level. Claire was really good, there was no doubt about that, so I had to be that much better. The more I practiced, and really put the effort in, the more I believed that I had I really had natural talent because it kind of came easy to me. I wished her luck and went to sit and watch her.
She looked so beautiful on stage, every single move was fluid and she seemed to float on stage. She was not joking when she said she would dance harder, her performance was flawless. I watched her with my most critical eye and I knew what I had to do.
When my name was called, I felt the adrenaline flowing through my veins and I walked up on stage, took a deep breath and went into position. The music started and it was as if something amazing took over. I danced effortlessly and as I glided across the stage I knew that my dancing was perfection. I had never felt more confident and I had never tried harder. If I didn’t get the lead I would be okay with it because I knew that I had given it my all. I took my final bow and glided off the stage.
Claire came up to me and gave me a huge hug.
“You were amazing!”
I couldn’t stop smiling as I hugged her back.
“Thank you! So were you! Claire, thanks for all of your help, really, I mean it.”
“Of course, I’m happy to help you anyway I can, you know that.”
“I do know that. Hey, do you want to get out of here? Results won’t be posted until Monday and we’ve been working pretty hard so we deserve a break. Want to go shopping?”
“Great idea, let’s go do some damage!”
Zane called me later that night and it was so good to hear his voice.
“So how did it go?”
“I killed it! I felt good on that stage, Zane, and I know I did a great job.”
“Abby, that’s fantastic, I knew you could do it! So when do you find out?”
“Results will be posted Monday but even if I don’t get the lead, I know I tried harder than I ever have. If Claire gets it, it just means that she really is better than me, and I am okay with that.”
“You have a really great attitude about it which I think is fantastic. You’ll have to be sure to let me know what happens on Monday.”
“I definitely will. So what time are we meeting tomorrow?”
“I made a 1:00 reservation at Philippe, I hope that is okay.”
Philippe was one of my favorite restaurants. “That sounds great. I’ll have to meet you there because I have a few things to do in the morning.”
“Okay, I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“Me too, Zane. So have you had a good week?”
“I’ve had a great week. I have some news to share but I’ll wait until I see you to tell you what’s been going on.”
“I can’t wait to hear. Well I better get going, I am pretty wiped out. Thanks for calling and asking about my audition.”
“You’re welcome. Sleep tight, Abby, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Chapter 12
I took extra time getting ready for my date that day because I wanted to look really pretty for Zane. I felt like we were starting a new chapter and I was willing to have an open mind and trust him. I was in such a good mood, I had a smile on my face, and it felt good to feel the familiar flutter of butterflies returning to my belly as I walked into the restaurant.
My smile fell as soon as I saw Zane. Sitting next to him was a gorgeous blonde woman and they were deep in conversation. I resisted my instinct to run out and I walked over to the table, put my hand in my hip, and glared at Zane.
“I must be the biggest fool in the world.” I turned to walk out and Zane jumped up and grabbed my hand, stopping me.
“Abby, come on, don’t leave. I’d like for you to meet someone.”
The blonde stuck her hand out and smiled at me.
“Hi Abby, I’m Alana, Zane’s sister. I think you have had the wrong impression of me a few times now and I’m really sorry about the confusion.”
I sheepishly shook her hand, sat down and covered my face.
“I am so embarrassed, I apologize. It’s really nice to meet you, Alana.”
Zane put his arm around me and motioned toward his sister. “Alana is also my realtor, the woman you saw me talking to at the bar last week.”
She nodded. “Yes, I don’t know if Zane has told you but he and Logan want to open a third bar and I found a perfect location for them, but someone had already put in an offer on the place. The seller was planning to accept the following day, because they wanted a contract in place before the Thanksgiving holiday, so I got the keys and told Zane that we needed to go see the property immediately. He really did go see a property at midnight, I know you were questioning that, and I don’t blame you. It’s not normal practice so I would probably question it too if I wasn’t in the industry.”
I really felt silly and I looked over at Zane. “Why didn’t you just tell me that your sister was your realtor?”
�
�Abby, I tried, but you wouldn’t listen to me and you walked away.”
I quickly replayed the scene at the gas station in my head and looked at him, completely filled with remorse.
“I guess you did try to tell me, I can be so stubborn sometimes, I’m really sorry Zane.”
Alana jumped in. “Hey, Abby, don’t beat yourself up, I would have been suspicious too. If I had gone to my boyfriend’s apartment and saw some girl I had never met in a towel and then I also saw him talking in a dark corner with a girl at a bar, I would have definitely had doubts.”
