“Not on stage or professionally. I couldn’t ever do that.” She became haunted, and that deep connection we had that had been cemented years ago hit me.
“Same. I only paint and draw for me.”
“Oh, do you know what this means?”
“Um, not really?” And I didn’t; honestly, I was confused because the look on her face had gone from solemn to excited in two seconds.
“You can meet my Pasha. He is going to take a job at the London School of Ballet.”
“Oh, yeah, sounds great.” It really didn’t, but I didn’t want to crush her hopes.
Then, lightning fast, she once more grew solemn. “What do we do now?” she asked, frightened, as if I had answers.
Her question hung in the air between us.Whatdidwe do now?How did we move forward? In my heart, I knew I wanted to get to know her. I just wasn’t ready for everything to come out. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be, and all I could do was hope she’d understand.
I took a deep breath. “I don’t want my brother or the other guys to know that I…that…we—”
“Don’t you worry about a thing. I promise, like solemnly swear before God and man, that I’ll never tell a single soul about anything. I’ll die before I tell, if that’s what you need.”
Relief coursed through me at her words. I believed her, and it opened up a whole new world for me. I was so curious about her and what happened to her during our time apart.
“Can I ask what happened to you after?”
“Owen, the guy who rescued us, he raised me. He died a few years back. I’d been on my own for a while.” She pulled her knees up like she used to do all those years ago.
“And you?”
“I made up a story. Told everyone I was taken by a woman who had recently lost her daughter. I told them that I resembled the girl and that I was taken care of. I also told them she got sick and was dying, that’s why she returned me.”
“You made that up by yourself?” she asked, her voice holding a tone of admiration.
Nodding once more, I suddenly felt exhausted. I hadn’t talked this much in a really long time, and emotionally, the realization that my brother’s best friends’ girlfriend was Spring made my head spin.
Now that I knew she was the girl they were raving about for months on end, coupled with their declarations of love, I wanted to ask her a hundred questions. But I, of course, didn’t.
“I’ll follow your lead, Isabella. If you want me to stay away, I will. If it hurts too much or makes the nightmares more intense, tell me. I’ll do whatever you need. I don’t want to hurt you. Please, tell me what to do.”
The plea in her eyes was too much for me to bear. I didn’t know what I wanted at the moment. I would need time to process everything.
“Okay, tell me how you met the Kings.” I brushed my hand next to hers, and we interlocked pinkies, but this time, we didn’t let go.
Her face lit up, and I listened to her as she shared how she had come into their lives and their whirlwind romance. It was clear she was head over heels in love with the three of them. Shaking my head, I couldn’t even wrap my mind around having one boyfriend, let alone three. But I pushed those thoughts from my head.
Her phone pinged, and she glanced at it, then silenced it. It pinged several more times, then rang. She rolled her eyes, and I laughed, then went silent as she answered it.
“Hi, my King. No, I promise I’m behaving. I know, I remember what you said. I’m not overwhelming her. Okay, maybe I am.” She blushed. “I will. Love you too.”
I rolled my eyes, trying to guess which King brother she was talking to. From her conversation, I guessed Aleksandr. He did always seem like the possessive type. She finished her conversation and stood up.
“He said we should head back. You’re probably tired of listening to me babble.”
I gave her a look, held up my fingers, and made the gesture for a little. I dusted my bottom off and stood, and we began the trek back.
“What do we do now?” She stopped me.
“Beats me. I need time to process. If we are buddy-buddy too quickly, it might make everyone suspicious.”
“Makes sense. I’ll give you space. I’m not very good at it…but I can try. I just have one thing to tell you.”
