Page 5 of Daddy's Perfect Ballerina

“Ezra owns a huge construction company, and Henry’s worked with hima lot. They’ve been friends for like ten years! You’re crushing on a client? Kinky.”

Glaring at him, I respond with, “Pot, kettle.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he brushes it off. “We’re talking about you now. Miley is in your class? She’s a sweet little bit; I’ve met her a couple of times. Ezra Jones, really? That’s your fancy? You’ve been holding out on me, Leo.”

“Well, I haven’t exactly told anyone about my pointless crush,” I grumble. “It’s not like we’d ever… anyway, no use dwelling on it.”

“Pointless?” he questions. “You don’t think he’d be into you?”

Um, what? No, I don’t think the married guy is into the idea of hooking up and falling madly in love with his daughter’s ballet teacher.But I don’t say this, hoping to avoid sounding even more pathetic than I feel.

I shake my head, tucking my lips into a flat frown.

Like he can’t imagine why I’m so sure, Noah crinkles his nose. The confused look doesn’t linger for long, being replaced quickly by a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“Hey, let’s go see if we can hear them from outside the door.”

My mouth drops open. “Hey, let’snotdo that.”

He pouts. “Why not? We can be very sneaky.”

“Can we?” I challenge.

“Totally,” he answers too easily, waving off my concern. Grabbing my arm, he pulls me up to my feet. “Come on, super spy. We have to see if it’s the same Ezra. What if there’s another Ezra Jones with a daughter named Miley in this little city of ours?”

“Oh, and they just both happen to own construction companies?”

“Now you’ve got the spirit. It’s entirely plausible. Come now, we must investigate.”

“I—” I try to protest, only to be yanked forward by my wrist, and guided out of the room into a long hallway. “This is a terrible idea,” I tell him, feeling my stomach twist with nerves.

“Shhh,” he hushes me, approaching a big white door with a silver handle. He promptly sticks his ear against the wood and smiles at me, pointing at it for me to do the same.

I will not, I mouth.

Chicken, he mouths back.

Fuck it.Glaring at him, I take the challenge and rest my ear softly against the door. Soft voices filter through it, muffled by the barrier but still understandable. Butterflies flutter around my stomach, sending chills to roll down my legs at the sound of his voice. It’s him all right, andshithe sounds good.

“Enough about business,” Henry says. “Have you asked—out yet?” he asks, his voice muffled too low for me to catch every word.

“No, like I’ve told you, I can’t.”Ugh, what?“We can’t all get what we want as easily as you get it.”What are they talking about!?

I push my ear into the wood harder, listening more closely.

“There may be an opportunity you’re unaware of.”

There’s a pregnant pause. “What are you up to?”

“Why would I be up to something? Does that sound like me?”

“It sounds alarmingly like you. You meddle.”

“Ah, but I’m meddling because it’s what you need.”

There’s a bark of laughter. “And you know all about what I need, do you?”

“I know you need to teach your little ballerina a lesson about eavesdropping.”

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