Page 57 of Master of My Heart

She hurried to the studio but stopped in the doorway when she saw Martin talking to a man who could be none other than Aiden Lang. His long, dark hair shimmered and hung loosely around his jawline. Martin demonstrated a pantomime as Aiden’s amber eyes watched intently. When he laughed, his whole face lit up and he got little wrinkles around his eyes. His white t-shirt was loose, but she saw the definition in his arms when he held them up over his head.

Martin saw her standing in the doorway and motioned her over.

“Am I late?” she asked nervously, dropping her bag in the corner and pulling her pointe shoes out.

“Not at all.” Martin smiled. “Aiden arrived early, so we went ahead and started.”

Aiden turned around and smiled at her. Without meaning to, she opened her mind to read him and felt his desire. His face was friendly and didn’t betray his deeper emotions, but she knew he wanted her.

She looked down at the floor as she hurried across the room. His gaze disconcerted her. At lunch, she’d decided she would try and act cool when she met him. She didn’t want to seem foolish. But now, looking into his eyes, she felt flustered and nervous.

“Sabrina, this is Aiden Lang,” Martin introduced. “Aiden, this is Sabrina Mansfield. She’ll be your Clara.”

She glanced up at Aiden and gave him a small smile. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said softly.

He smiled at her, his eyes curious. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sabrina. I hope we perform well together.”

She nodded, looking at the floor.

Aiden chuckled. “I didn’t think ballet dancers were shy.”

Martin put his arm around her shoulders. “She only moved to Boston a few weeks ago and is still getting used to all of us.”

“Hmm. That’s hard.” The sincerity in his voice made her look up at him. He gave her a sympathetic smile. “Moving to a new city can be tough.”

She nodded as she studied Aiden’s face. There was something off inside him, but she couldn’t figure out if it was good or bad. Being able to read a man’s emotions wasn’t always an advantage, she decided.

“All right. Shall we?” Martin asked. “Let’s start from the beginning of your entrance, Aiden.”

*****

“Now remember, Aiden. You’re creating this dream world for Clara, your dear goddaughter, in the hopes that she’ll bring your nephew home. Make it magical. She’ll jump, and you lift her through the jump.”

Sabrina still found it strange, having someone so close to her as she danced. She’d gotten used to Jayson over the last couple days, but Aiden was different. He wasn’t a professional dancer, either, so they spent a lot of rehearsal with Martin helping him learn to dance with her. But she found it helpful because she, too, was re-learning to dance with a partner after so many years. Maybe that was why Martin had them starting early. There weren’t a whole lot of acts where they danced together, but they did interact a great deal.

“Try again, Sabrina,” Martin encouraged.

Sabrina ran gracefully toward Aiden. He grabbed hold of her waist as she leapt, lifting her higher than she could have gone on her own. He spun her around, then set her down as elegantly as she went up.

“Good!” Martin exclaimed. The music stopped and he looked between the two of them. “Feel better? More natural?”

Sabrina nodded.

“It makes sense, now that I’ve got it,” Aiden said. “We work together to do the lift.”

“Exactly,” Martin said with a grin. “I know you’ll do fine. We have plenty of time.”

*****

Sabrina walked down the stairs, slowing her steps as she looked out the glass doors, seeing darkness beyond. It wasn’t that she was exactly afraid of the dark, but she wasn’t overly fond of walking alone at night. She’d done it a couple times since she’d been here and everything had been fine. But it still spooked her a bit. It felt like someone was watching her the whole time.

She needed to get a phone. Then she could call Jayson and ask him to come get her. Maybe. She felt silly, being afraid to walk home alone.

“Sabrina! Hey, Sabrina.”

She turned to see Aiden hurrying down the stairs toward her. He stopped when he got to the same step as her.

“Hey. I was wondering if you had dinner plans tonight.”

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