Page 104 of Gracefully Yours

Rubbing her nose against mine, I happily stayed just like that, with her cradled in between my legs, in my arms. And even after she’d fallen asleep, and I’d carried her to the car, all I could think was, is there anything more perfect than this?

Was there anything more I could want out of life?

CHAPTER25

Charlotte

Our routine as fake-married newlyweds blurred the lines between us to the point where I couldn’t distinguish them anymore. Between dance classes, dress commissions, and trying to conceive, the past month had been a blur since the wedding.

Certainly not my feelings for my best friend slash fake husband.

My eyes lingered over the empty dance studio. I’d stayed late, working out the kinks of a new routine I’d been working on. Some days, this felt like enough. Teaching the next generation of dancers, coming up with new choreography for performances, and some days I missed thatrush.

Observing my movements in the mirror, I did another turn. A blonde bun sat tightly on top of my head, keeping my hair in place. Gracefully, like the moves were second nature to me now. In some ways, they were. I’d been in ballet since I was six, and I’d always felt at home in the studio.

Butwasit enough?

What was thatmoreI’d been searching for?

I went to do another spin when my eyes caught on someone leaning on the door frame, arms crossed as he watched me.

Daniel.

His lips turned up into a smile when he realized I’d seen him.

“Hi,” I breathed out, dropping my form and bending over to grab my water from my bag.

“Hi, beautiful.”

“What are you doing here?”

“What, I can’t come watch my best friend dance?”

“Daniel…” I whispered, as he came to stand in front of me. He pulled a bouquet of lilies and other mixed flowers out from behind his back. “You didn’t have to.”

“I know.” He smiled. “I wanted to. Happy one month.”

Thoughtful didn’t begin to cover it. He was looking at me with so much conviction, so much care, and those butterflies erupted in my stomach again. Was it just because we were trying to have a baby that I felt like this?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I whispered.

“Like what?”

Like this is real.I looked away, blushing. “Like I’m beautiful.”

“Because you are.”

“What?” I was a sweaty mess, my hair falling out of my bun, wearing a sports bra and leggings.

“You’re beautiful, darling. And why can’t I look at you like that? Because you’re mine,” he said. “Even if our marriage isn’t real, Char, you’re mywife, and you’re the most stunning woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

His wife.There were the butterflies again. Lately, they happened whenever he called me that. Not even darling sent the same rush running through me.

His eyes narrowed in on my ring finger—currently devoid of his ring. I gave him a sheepish grimace. “I didn’t want to lose it during class. It’s too pretty.”

Truly, it was too much. And too expensive. As an engineer with a good salary, it wasn’t surprising that he got me a nice ring for our fake marriage. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something might happen to it.

I pulled it out of my dance bag, where I’d safely zipped it up into an inside compartment, and held it up to him. “See? It’s safe.”

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