“You were . . .” He stopped, as if searching for the right word in English. “Poetic.”
My heart stilled. “Poetic?”
He took a step toward me, making me cling tighter to my flowers. “Since I’m not allowed to tell you how beautiful, or amazing, or talented you are, it was poetic.”
My hand went to his chest of its own volition, and he put one of his hands over it. Right above his heart. “This was the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. I’d forgotten just how much I love ballet. Thank you.”
He looked at me for a moment, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t dare. Finally he said, “I know that you thought it was better to settle and be real and to let go of your dreams. But sometimes it is better to still dream.”
I looked at this man, really looked at him. This wonderful, beautiful, amazing man who had just let me erase one of my deepest regrets. Who wanted me to dream.
I loved him.
I truly, deeply, completely loved him.
And not just as a friend.
The realization stunned me, and I actually felt a bit dizzy. My skin flushed and I had to look away from him so he wouldn’t see what I was feeling. I was in love with him, and probably always had been. Even if I had fought it with every fiber of my being. Heck, I’d even gotten engaged to someone else to keep from admitting it.
Because I was still scared to trust him.
“Did you do something like this for any of the other girls?”
He put a finger under my chin, lifting my face up to look at him. “That’s why I had you come first. I’m not doing this for anyone else. No one else matters to me.”
The words were beating against my chest, wanting to be let out. They flew their way up, to the tip of my tongue.
Tell him!
I opened my mouth, and Serafina came bounding over. “Let’s go home! We’re all having dinner tonight.”
The moment passed. This wasn’t the time or place to say anything, and I still needed to work some things out. I reluctantly pulled my hand away, and he just as reluctantly let me go.
“Sure thing.” I smiled at her and then turned to Dante to ask him to have the stage manager get my things, because I was pretty sure I’d get lost backstage if I had to figure it out on my own.
“Darl—” I stopped. I’d nearly called him darlin’. I’d never called him that.
It seemed like my traitorous heart was trying to tell him what I felt against my wishes.
I hoped he hadn’t heard.
He had. He wore the biggest grin I’d ever seen. “You almost called me darling.” He didn’t leave off the G the way I normally did. “You only say that to people you care about.”
My eyes went wide. “No, I was trying to say Dante.”
“I heard it. Or maybe you confuse words in English sometimes too.”
Yeah. I confused them the exact same way he confused them. On purpose.
I felt pinned beneath his gaze. “I know what you said, and you know what you said, and that’s good enough for me.”
I opened and closed my mouth, like a live fish about to be fried. “I need to change and get my things.”
“I’ll find the manager for you.” He left me alone on the stage with Serafina. She did a couple of leaps and twirls until she was standing next to me.
She put her hand in mine. “You did almost call him darling. I heard it.”
I frowned at her. “Whose side are you on?”
“Dante’s. I want you to be my sister too.”
I didn’t get to talk to him much on the plane ride to Monterra, as Serafina had an unlimited number of stories to tell me. Which was good, because she made an excellent chaperone. While I’d basically ignored Dante’s texts after last Christmas, I had texted constantly with his two youngest sisters, Chiara and Serafina. They had a lot of messages for Kat, whom they adored, but she didn’t want to talk to them or see them because anything that reminded her of Nico was too painful. So I was the one they chatted with, and we’d become even closer as a result.
She finally wore herself out when we got into the waiting car. She fell asleep within seconds, her poor little head falling to one side. I tried to move it to a more comfortable position, but she just kept flopping forward. I gave up.