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“Yeah, I know. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted him to… I don’t know. Follow in your footsteps. Take over the family business.”

“Oh.”

“I didn’t mean to encourage him onto a different path, if that’s not something you wanted. I should have thought about that, or maybe asked you first.”

“It’s all right,” Eli assured her. “I’m not expecting him to go into tech. I don’t even know if I would want him to. It hasn’t made me that happy.”

“You don’t like your job?” Maddie frowned.

“It’s a job.”

“I just assumed it meant a lot to you. You put so much of your time into it.”

“I know. It’s what I’m good at, and I do care about doing well in my career. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, and what my company does for people. But it’s not as if it’s something I’m so passionate about that I feel like my son needs to go into the same line of work. I’d rather he do whatever makes him happy, and if that turns out to be cooking, that’s fine with me.”

“I think that’s great of you,” Maddie said. “It’s good that he has that kind of support.”

“Did you have that kind of support?” Eli asked her. “I mean, did your parents get behind your dream of being a dancer? Or did they want you to do something else?”

“They were doubtful about it at first,” Maddie said. “They didn’t know if I was going to be able to make a career out of it. But once they heard enough positive feedback from my instructors, they did get on board. They were proud of me, and they supported my dreams.”

“You all must have been devastated when you were injured. What happened?”

“I fell,” Maddie said simply. “I had a bad landing after a leap, and I knew immediately that something was wrong — I felt it.”

“That sounds awful.”

“There are some things you just can’t recover from and go on dancing at that level,” Maddie said. “I’ll always be able to dance for fun, but… I had my sights set on being a professionalballerina, and I’m just not anywhere near that level now. My body won’t do the things it would have to do.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Maddie said. “I’ve done my best with it. And if I’m able to open up a dance studio, that will make up for everything.”

“You’re trying to open a dance studio?”

“That’s the new dream,” she said. “Now that I can’t be a dancer myself, I want to teach young dancers. Help mold the next generation.” She grinned. “Maybe that’s a little silly.”

“I don’t think it’s silly,” Eli said earnestly. “I think remarkable. A lot of people who had been through what you have would probably turn their back on dance.”

“I could never do that,” Maddie said. “It’s the greatest passion of my life. Whatever else happens, dance will always be a part of me. I’ll never be able to let that go.”

CHAPTER 9

ELI

“You’re home early,” Maddie observed.

“I was able to get away.” Eli set his briefcase on the end table in the foyer. It felt much later than it was. He was used to walking into the house at ten o’clock or later, but tonight it was only eight thirty. “Is Charlie still up?”

“He’s not, I’m afraid,” Maddie said. “He’s been going to bed a little early these past few days.”

“Oh, really? How come?”

“Active days, I think,” Maddie said. “He’s been giving me the impression that he didn’t do as much on a daily basis with his last nanny.”

“That’s probably true,” Eli said. “I mean, I didn’t spend as much time with Katie as I have with you, and we didn’t talk that much about what they were doing together. But I know they didn’t cook together, and you and Charlie have made something of a routine out of that.”

“It’s true,” Maddie agreed. “We made a risotto today.”