Page 73 of Carpenter's Christmas Bride

“It’s complicated, no?” he asked. “Let me ask you something else then. What would you say if I told you I’m leaving New York?”

“Dmitri,” she breathed, unable to picture it. Her friend lived and breathed ballet.

“I found a beautiful old theatre with great office and rehearsal space,” he told her. “There’s ground level space for teaching public classes too. And the city provides support and incentives for the arts. I’m going to start my own company.”

“How?” Kenzie asked him in amazement.

“I know how to economize,” he said, shrugging. “And I invested well. I even have a special donor, ready to help. All I need is a company of great dancers, and experienced staff. I admit that it’s my ulterior motive for being here.”

“You want me?” Kenzie asked in disbelief. “But I’m hurt. You wouldn’t even know what you were getting.”

“Of course I know what I’m getting,” Dmitri told her. “I’d be getting one of the most creative, passionate, and hardworking dancers in the business—and the best partner I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, Dmitri,” Kenzie said helplessly, then paused a moment, trying her best to hold back the tears. “But what if I can’t dance? Or what if I can but then I get hurt again?”

“I don’t need you to dance,” he said simply. “Don’t get me wrong, you can dance whenever you’d like, you can even help me set up the season and choose your roles. But when you can’t dance, or just don’t want to, you’ll be teaching, choreographing, and handling some of the PR for the company. You could be co-artistic director, if you wanted.”

“Me?” Kenzie asked.

“Of course you,” he said, smiling. “You love ballet, and you make new friends easily. People love you the moment they meet you. I couldn’t have a better partner.”

“Partner,” she echoed, her chest aching.

“You don’t need to bring anything to the table but yourself,” he said quickly. “But you need to bring yourself pretty far. The theatre is in Minneapolis.”

“That is far,” she said.

“The cost of living is much lower than in New York,” he said. “We’ll be able to live with dignity—no more sharing a basement apartment with three other dancers.”

“Wow,” she murmured.

“Think about it, Kenzie,” he said, his voice low and passionate. “I really want you to come with me.”

A familiar grunt of disapproval from behind her broke the spell.

She turned to see Aidan Webb standing there, his expression so sad it was almost unbearable to see. He was holding Walt’s hand.

“Kenzie,” Walt said happily, unaware that his father was so upset.

“Hi,” Kenzie said awkwardly, uncertain where to start.

“We have to go,” Aidan said, turning and marching out, with Walt scrambling along by his side.

“Wait,” Kenzie said.

But it was clear that he wasn’t going to wait, and now everyone in the café was staring.

“I have to run for a sec,” she muttered to Dmitri.

“Oh, I’ll be here,” he said, an amused look on his face. “Suddenly, everything makes a lot more sense. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

Was she that obvious?

She didn’t really have time to worry about it. She needed to get to Aidan right away.

22

AIDAN

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