Page 55 of Secrets in Love
“Yes. It is. But we still have that small problem called Christian.”
Evie rolled her eyes, began peeling children from her body, and pointed us all to a row of chairs in the foyer. “Thank you, Mother Superior. Why don’t you and the rest of the Von Trapp’s wait here while I find Jody.”
“Yes, Miss Evie,” I sang in chorus with the kids as she pushed me in the chest and into a seat.
“So, ballet, eh?” I nodded to the three kids that sat beside me. Two of them nodded back, looking perplexed. The third picked his nose.
“Why are you so tall?” the nose picker asked.
“I dunno. Why are you so small?”
“‘Cause I’m four.”
“Good answer, kid.” I roughed up his curls, which reminded me of Iris’s. I couldn’t wait to see her, but to be honest, I’d been wholly preoccupied with seducing her aunt. The questions continued.
“Why do you talk funny?”
“Well, to me, I don’t talk funny. You do. And it’s because I’m from Australia, like Miss Evie.”
“Do you have a pet kangaroo?”
“No, just two wombats and a koala. Evie used to have a kangaroo, though. She rode it to school instead of a pony. You should ask her about it someday.”
The kids entertained me for the next few minutes until an alarming-sounding voice called out, “There you are!” and a pair of long legs approached. They, and the body attached, stopped before me, hands on hips and lips pursed. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you three. I turn my back for one second, and you take off.”
“We went to the toiwet.”
“Hmm. If you went to the toilet, why are you sitting in the lobby with…”
She looked me up and down with a deserved suspicion. After all, I was a strange man surrounded by kids in a dance studio I’d never set foot in before. “Nate.” I jumped to my feet and, for some reason, gave her a scout salute. Not suspicious at all. “I’m Nate. I’m Evie’s boyfriend…uhh, well, not boyfriend yet, but I will be soon…possibly…hopefully… I’m not a weirdo.”
“No, but you are a bloody idiot,” Evie’s voice echoed down the hall, and I made a mental note: Idiot number thirteen. I could hear her laughing, but she stopped as soon as she saw the kids. “Oops. Ignore Miss Evie’s potty mouth. Sorry, Jody.”
“I’m sure they’ve heard worse,” Jody said before returning to me. “So, you’re the Nate this one hasn’t shut up about.” A blushing Evie elbowed her in the ribs. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Jody.”
“Pleasure’s all mine.” I flashed her my most charming smile and got a slight thrill from Evie’s squinty-eye reaction. She was so freaking jealous. Remembering my quickly forgotten plan from yesterday, I got my flirt on, sliding closer to Jody and giving her a cheeky wink. “So, Jody, what does your boyfriend think about you working around all these fit young men?”
“Mywifeis fine with it, so you can save your pretty, surfer-boy winks for this one.” She nodded to Evie. “C’mon, you kids, let’s get back to class before we lose anyone else. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be back to talk with you.” She disappeared and left us alone.
“What do you think of this place? It’s pretty special, isn’t it?” Evie asked, sitting beside me. She tapped my leg three times as she looked around and left it sitting mid-thigh.
“It is, Lil Gidget,” I replied while staring at her hand on my leg. “I can see why you and Finn chose it for Iris. But that doesn’t mean I want you working here with—”
“Christian!” Evie jumped to her feet. The man himself stood before us, and dammit if he wasn’t just as she described—HotBoss indeed. I hated him even more than I did seconds before and claimed my spot at her side. My nails dug into the flesh of my clench fists in a vain attempt to stop myself from flattening the clown. Something that would have already happened had we not been where we were.
“Evie. I’m so glad you’re here. Jody told me you were coming in, and I wanted to see you.” He moved to take her hand, but Evie pulled away and almost hid behind me. It was the first time I’d ever seen her frightened.
“Jody said you wouldn’t be here,” she said, her voice strong, but after years of knowing her, I could hear the slight nervous shake.
“I wasn’t supposed to be. I had a meeting downtown, but I overheard her on the phone with you yesterday and left it early. Honestly, she didn’t know I was coming.”
“Why did you come?” I snarled, stepping into his face. “Keen to hurt my girl again?”
“Your girl? Evie, who is this bumpkin?”
“This bumpkin is the guy that’s gonna kick your ass; that’s who he is.” I couldn’t help myself. I nudged him in the chest hard. I fully expected him to lose his footing. He was a woozy dancer-boy, after all. But he was a dancer-boy built like a brick shithouse and didn’t move an inch. My aggression seemed to fire up Evie, and she jumped between us.
“Stop it now, you idiots.”
