Page 50 of Loved By You

“To ballet?” she repeats, still sounding confused.

“Yeah,” I say like it's no big deal.

“Youwill take Lexi to her ballet class?” she says again, like she can't quite believe what I'm offering.

“Why not? You can stay here with Elle. I've cleared my schedule for the day. What do ya say, Lex? Want me to take you?”

“Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhh,” she cries, spinning on the spot.

I laugh. “Okay, go get your shoes. Let's go.”

“Jack, are you sure?”

“Of course, as long as you're okay with it. I'll keep her safe and I won't let her out of my sight,” I reassure her, worrying I've overstepped.

“I know you will. I trust you completely.”

Oh, thank fuck.

Warm pride fills my chest. She trusts me.

“Alex would never take her, no matter how much she asked.” And that statement right there is like a sledgehammer to the heart. How could he not want to take his own daughter to her activities? He really is the biggest prick going and doesn't deserve to be their dad.

“She’s the coolest kid I know, Ri. I love hanging out with her.” I lean over the counter and place a chaste kiss to Ria’s lips. Then I freeze, realizing what I’m doing, but she doesn't pull back. It felt so natural and right to kiss her goodbye and I hope there is a day I get to kiss her hello and goodbye forever.

I pick up my baseball cap and put it on before I grab my keys. “But I’m taking her in my car. Not a chance I'm driving your death trap.”

I turn towards the doorway, “Okay, Princess… Let’s go,” I call.

I've never driven a kid in my car. I drive so slowly I wonder if we are actually moving, but I have precious cargo, so there’s not a chance I'm taking any risks.

When we pull up outside the ballet studio, I get out and walk to the back of the car and get Lexi out. Thankfully unbuckling her seems a hell of a lot easier than buckling her in the damn thing. I swear my assault pack I wore in Afghanistan had less straps and belts than this carseat.

I lift her out and place her on the ground where she does a little twirl. She's dressed in a pink tutu and matching ballet slippers. Ria has put her hair up in a bun on the top of her head and finished it with a pink bow.Shit, she looks cute. She reaches up and holds my hand and leads me towards the dance studio.

I open the door to a smaller waiting area to find at least twenty little girls huddled together. Lexi lets go of my hand and skips over to them.

The room falls silent and all eyes are on me. I feel like a prized pig at the county fair. On show for everyone to have a good look at and decide how much I'm worth before they place their bets. I glance round the room to find I’mthe only male.

Well, this is awkward.

One woman stands and walks over to me. She's blonde, a bit taller than Ria, caked in makeup, looking like theLululemonstore threw up on her.

“Hey, I'm Ria’s friend, Margot. You must be Jack.” She extends her arm and reaches for my hand with her perfectly polished fingernails and the giant rock on her wedding finger catches my eye. I shake her hand and reply hesitantly wondering how the heck she knows who I am.

“Errm, yeah, I'm Jack, nice to meet you.”

“I hear poor Elle is sick. Ri texted me to say you would be bringing Lexi so she couldn't make our coffee date. Lexi plays with my daughter, Emery. She's over there.” She points to a little blonde girl who is talking to Lexi and I smile.

“And this is Shannon, Maddie, Britney and Paige. We’re the ballet moms.” She points out the women one by one who look like carbon copies of her. Ria doesn’t fit in with these women at all, but they seem nice enough. The only one who breaks the mold is Paige, who looks like she can still move her face, unlike Margot here, who I can't work out if she's twenty-eight or forty-eight due to all the Botox.

“You can sit with us.” She grins, and the way she strokes my arm makes me uneasy.

Just as I go to take a seat, the dance teacher appears in the doorway, ushering the girls to form an orderly line and enter the studio.

“Parents, if you want to line up behind the girls we can then head on in and get the class started,” she shouts in order to be heard over the chaos in the room.

Line up? Where are we going?

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