I must have fallen asleep, because the flight attendant woke me up for landing. I rubbed my eyes and tightened my seatbelt. But when I looked out the window, I didn’t see the Alps. I saw cars and buildings.
One building looked an awful lot like the Eiffel Tower.
“Excuse me,” I said, turning in my chair. The attendant walked back over. “Yes?”
“Are we in Paris?”
“We are, and we will be landing shortly.”
Paris? Why had Dante taken me to Paris?
It wasn’t like anyone on this plane would tell me anything, so I’d just have to wait to find out what he had up his sleeve.
We got through customs quickly to find a black SUV waiting for us. Giacomo stepped out from the front seat in one of his tailored suits, and I almost hugged him. I didn’t though, because he wasn’t a hugger. He was one of the queen’s personal secretaries, and the last time we’d been in Monterra he had helped Kat and me navigate around and dressed us in couture gowns.
Ooh, did this mean a shopping spree? I was so down for a shopping spree!
“Signorina Lemon, it is a pleasure to see you again.” I half expected him to bow, because he was always so formal.
“I’m so happy to see you, Giacomo. What’s going on?”
“I have instructions to deliver you to His Highness. He will explain.”
A shopping spree with Giacomo and Dante? I hoped he didn’t think this was going to be like some Pretty Woman montage where I modeled stuff for him. That wasn’t going to happen.
The car arrived at our destination, a very old, very beautiful building with stone columns and pillars and gold statues along the roof. “Where are we?” I asked.
Giacomo got out to open the door for me. He handed me a dress bag and told me not to open it. “Leave your belongings here, and I will see that they are taken care of. His Highness waits for you inside.”
Not caring if the crew was ready or not, I hurried in. If this was a mall, it was the most beautiful mall in the world. I entered through the one open door into a cavernous lobby, with multiple sets of stairs, and huge, gorgeous, twinkling chandeliers everywhere. My shoes echoed on the expensive floors, and I looked up to see that I was surrounded by murals on the walls and ceilings.
My heart leapt with excitement when I found him. Dante stood on the landing in the middle of the staircases, and I climbed up to meet him. He was wearing a tuxedo and looked criminally handsome.
“What is this? Where are we?” I asked.
“Come with me. I have a surprise for you.”
Chapter 22
People may not always tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you.
I followed him down a hallway, and then another, until he opened a set of double doors. We walked into a theater decorated in reds and golds. A luxurious red velvet curtain hung over the stage, and there were at least five levels of balconies on either side of the stage.
We walked down the center aisle and he stopped. “This is your surprise.”
An empty theater? I heard a violin chord, then the sounds of other string and brass instruments being warmed up. So not totally empty, there was an orchestra in the pit.
“Thank you?”
He laughed. “You said you never got to do your solo as Clara. Your mother contacted your former ballet instructor, and she e-mailed me the sheet music for the part.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. And you still haven’t told me where we are.”
“We’re in the Opéra National de Paris, and some of the most famous ballet dancers in the world have performed here. Now it’s your turn. You have your costume, a dressing room’s been prepared for you, and there is a stage director backstage who will give you your cue to enter.”
I gasped and put my fingers over my open mouth. And, predictably enough, the tears were back. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious.
“I can’t do this. I can’t just get out there and do a dance that I haven’t rehearsed in almost ten years.” My voice shook.
He put his hands on my shoulders, making certain that I was looking at him. “You told me that you still remembered every single step. There’s hardly anyone else here, so you don’t have to worry about being embarrassed. I just wanted you to have your chance to dance your solo.”