Page 16 of When We Break

“Me, too. Where are your mom and dad?”

“Right here,” Dani says with her sweet smile, and I stand to kiss her on the cheek. “Bridger’s on his way from the fire station.”

“He had to work,” Birdie informs me. “But he’s still coming.”

“Of course, he is,” Dani assures her. “In fact, I just saw him parking his truck.”

“You’re going to be awesome,” I tell her.

“I know. I know the routine perfectly, and we’ve practiced a lot.” She moves on to Blake, who’s already grinning at her.

“You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, cupcake.”

“She’s adorable,” Bee says as she steps up next to me, but something across the room catches my eye, and my heart stutters. Skyla is talking with Erin Wild, laughing at something the other woman says, and my world tilts sideways. “There’s Skyla. I was just looking for her. She looks so calm and collected.”

“Does she have kids?” I ask my sister, not daring to take my eyes off the woman for fear that she’ll disappear. I wish I could hear what she’s saying. Shit, she could recite her grocery list, and I’d hang on every word.

“No, why?”

“Why would she be here if she doesn’t have kids?” I can’t fucking look away from her. She’s laughing, her stunning face lighting up, and I’m jealous.

I’m fucking jealous because I want that laugh.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Bee props her hands on her hips. “Really? For fuck’s sake, do youeverlisten to me? I told you that Skyla runs this dance school. She owns it. She was a ballerina in New York City for a really long time, Beckett. I don’t even want to know what you don’t hear me say. It’s like talking to a damn wall.”

Didmy sister tell me that, and I didn’t hear her? Very possibly. Bee talks about a lot of things often. I’ve grown accustomed to drowning her out half the time.

Not that I’d ever tell her that. I value my life.

“You tell me a lot of things,” I reply, and I can feel Bee roll her eyes next to me.

Now, I’m damn glad that Blake made sure I came today.

Skyla’s red hair falls in soft, sleek curls around her shoulders. She’s wearing a green dress almost the same color as her eyes, and I feel pulled to her in ways I’ve never experienced with anyone else before.

Sure, I want to get my hands on her, feel her beneath me, soak myself in her, but I want to talk to her. Listen to that amazing lilt in her voice. Ask questions and find out what makes this incredible woman tick. But also, how in the hell did a New York City Ballet dancer end up in our small town?

“She’s pretty,” Bee says softly. I can feel her eyes on me.

“Understatement.” I cross my arms and watch Skyla laugh again, and I feel it in my gut. Now I can see that she has a dancer’s lithe body. She’s stunning. “But she said no, so the answer is no.”

“She told me.”

I glare down at my sister, who hums, still watching her friend. “She needed advice. She has reasons, Beck, but I can tell she likes you, so maybe don’t give up, okay? You’ll have to be patient with her.”

I can be fucking patient if she’s the reward at the end of it.

We take our seats, and as we quiet down, Skyla takes her place on the small stage and smiles at all of us. She’s rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet in that way I’ve noticed that she does as if she’s moving to music in her head.

She’s adorable.

“Hello, friends,” she begins. She has an incredible smile. Her eyes skim the crowd and find me, and that smile doesn’t falter, but I see the surprise in those green orbs before she moves her gaze away.

She has reasons, Beck, but I can tell she likes you, so maybe don’t give up, okay? You’ll have to be patient with her.

She’s not immune to me. I can work with that.

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