Page 26 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

From the way his jaw clenches, I know he means it. I squeeze his hand slightly whilst nodding.

“Deal,” I reply, unable to stop the small smile that lifts one side of my lips.

Travis looks at me for a moment before nodding once and concentrating back on the road as the light turns green, and he starts heading towards the theatre.

I don’t know what occurred between him and Christian, when or why. But all I know for sure is that Travis is wary of him, and I’m sure there is a good reason for that. I make a mental note to see if Jaz knows anything. Christian doesn’t hide anything from her, and I know if she asked about it, he or one of his brothers would have told her everything.

“Hey, Kitten. How many performances do you have left after tonight?” Ryan asks as he leans forward and places his hand on my shoulder.

“Three weeks worth. Why?” I turn around to find him grinning at me.

“Do you have a break then from classes and practising?”

I nod whilst frowning at him.

“Another three weeks.”

I can almost see the clogs turning in that head of his as he smiles and nods once before leaning back in his seat and letting go of my shoulder.

“What are you planning?” Travis asks, looking at his brother in the rearview mirror.

“Nothing, just trying to get ideas on time scales and so on,” Ryan replies, pulling his phone out of his coat pocket.

I’m about to ask who he’s messaging when Travis comes to a stop, and I see my car beside us.

Jumping out, I rush over to it. Checking for any damage or signs it’s been broken into. It looks like everything is intact; nothing seems different except.

“Damn it, a ticket!” I exclaim as I start trying to pull it off the windscreen. I hadn’t even thought about the fact my ticket would have run out. I only paid until midnight. I dread to think how much this is going to cost me.

“Leave it. I’ll sort it for you when I get back to the house,” Ryan says as he moves me away from the windscreen. “Get what you need out of the car and head inside to get ready. Everything will be sorted by the time you finish tonight,” he promises. I lift onto my toes and press a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you. There is a jar of money in the kitchen. Take what it is from there. It’s just spare cash for takeaways and stuff.”

Ryan nods and hands me the keys to get my things out. I gather my things before turning around to see him climbing in behind the wheel, with Travis saying something quietly. Ryan nods and closes the driver's door, and opens the window. “See you all back at the house. Break a leg, Little Kitten!” he calls as he backs the car out of its space and drives off as I wave to him.

I look back to Travis and find him watching me with a look in his eyes that I can’t quite place.

“Have you got your phone now?”

I nod and reach into my bag, where I threw it a moment ago.

“The battery has died, but I have a charger, which I keep in my bag.”

“Then go and get it charged and call me if you have any issues. I’ll be finished in time to pick you up. I’ll wait for you in the foyer once everyone has left. Call me if I’m not there, but I won’t be far away.”

I nod and turn to walk away, but he calls my name and stops me.

“Try to forget the last twenty-four hours, if only during the performance. Do what you love and what makes you happy.”

Why do I have a feeling he isn’t just referring to the dancing. He hasn’t mentioned what happened between Ethan, Ryan and me, but I’m sure he knows.

“Thank you.” I rush back and press a kiss to his cheek, giving him a small smile before turning around and heading to the stage door, trying to push all that’s happened to the back of my mind so I can do what I love, just as Travis said.

16

Travis

I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than Verity when she’s dancing. Why have I never watched her before, besides the occasional clips she has sent me or on social media? She is elegant, graceful, confident and beautiful. Her head’s held high and proud as she moves across the stage. I might not know much about ballet, but she looked perfect to me.

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