Page 69 of When Hearts Awaken

An ache settles in my chest before an unsettling anger burns in my gut, and that is enough to jar me back to reality.

He took care of me because I’m their lead dancer in the ballet tour to save the reputation of his company.Don’t think too much of it.

And the betrayals from Camden and Alexis still cut deep.You don’t want any emotional entanglements, remember?

The brunette is now trailing her fingers over her cleavage and making moon eyes at him and, to his credit, he keeps his gaze on her face. I narrow my eyes in distaste.

“You were wonderful tonight.” A large hand slides around my waist.

I jump and stifle a scream when I see Steven’s dark brown eyes peering down at me. “Holy shit, warn a girl next time.”

He frowns. “I did. I called your name. I thought you heard me.”

A muscle in my cheek twitches—a half-assed attempt at a smile. “Oh, I was thinking about my next performance. There are some things I need to fix.”

Steven stares at me for another beat before his shoulders soften. “Well, Grace tells me you’re too hard on yourself, and she’s right. To my untrained eye, you were perfect.”

He smiles and presses a brotherly kiss on my hair. He glances over to the far corner, where Grace is drinking champagne with Olivia and laughing. His eyes soften and fill with affection. “She’s so proud of you, you know. She tells me she only knows random facts and how to crunch numbers, but she doesn’t have an artistic bone in her body, and she definitely isn’t changing lives with her art.”

A lump thickens in my throat. He turns to me. “Grace told me she had a dream about your mom last night—that she was so happy and proud of the woman you’ve become. All your grit and sacrifices paid off, and you’re the most beautiful swan she has ever seen.”

But it’s fake though. The swan is a disguise. I feel like an ugly duckling underneath the feathers and tutu.

“Thank you, Steven. Grace is lucky to have you,” I whisper, my voice hoarse.

He squeezes my shoulder and nods toward his wife. “Going to get a dance out of her before we leave. Have fun tonight, Tay. You deserve it.”

I watch him as he strides toward my sister and pulls her in for a brief but intimate kiss. A flare of envy strikes me in my chest, and I unwittingly look for a tall blond man wearing a charming mask, but I don’t see him anywhere.

I wonder if the sexy brunette took him somewhere for a quick romp.

The thought causes a pang in my heart I refuse to analyze.

A waiter comes by with a tray of drinks and I watch him pour water from an unopened bottle, satisfied it hasn’t been tampered with, before taking a glass. Walking around the room, I do my best to channel my inner Belle, who grew up in the glitz and glamour of high society functions.

I smile at patrons and make small talk with a few who approach to congratulate me on a successful debut. They quickly scurry away after our conversations die down fast—I’m a dancer, not a socialite. Small talk is not my forte. I prefer moonlight and quiet, not humans as company.

My toes ache from dancing and the four-inch gold strappy heels I have on. A headache threatens to form at the base of my spine. I see Lisa with Dev, chatting with some stuffy-looking old men with gray hair, no doubt networking, which is what I’m supposed to be doing. Couples whirl on the dance floor and I just want to take a breather—somewhere I can hear myself think.

“No! I said, no!” a soft voice says.

“That wasn’t the deal, we said…” The words trail off when I turn around, trying to locate the source of the argument.

Maddy darts out the door, her face splotchy and eyes shining with tears, a man trailing after her. The hairs rise on the back of my neck as alarm churns through me.

Quickly, I set down my drink and follow them out of the hall down a long corridor. Their shoes click and clack on the marble floors and I try my best to keep up and not make too much noise behind them.

I make a right and enter a dark, empty circular room, but they’re nowhere to be seen.

Fuck. Where are you, Maddy?My thoughts flash to the shadows of men crowding me that night, taking what didn’t belong to them.

No one would miss you, little beauty.

Predators target the weakest prey, and there’s no one weaker than a poor girl with no one to miss her at home.

I can’t let anything happen to Maddy.

Panic seizes me as I quickly rush around the room, past the tables and various boxes and furniture they have set up in here. Moonlight streams in from the tall windows, rendering the shapes inside the room as looming shadows.

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