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Leo pointed at the ring on my finger. “You know what that means in our world?”
Albert looked confused. “Don’t we live in the same world?”
Leo and the other man laughed darkly. “No, not even close.”
Albert flushed. “I’m into men, not women, so you should have pointed at your ring, not hers.”
I bit my lip. Albert was treading perilous waters.
Leo shook his head and exchanged a look with the other bodyguard. I was flustered by the time I was finally allowed to enter the changing rooms to put on my leotard and skirt. When I caught my reflection in the mirror, emotions bubbled up. I hadn’t felt the heavy dose of nostalgia in a long time. I squared my shoulders and headed back outside. Leo was right in front of the door while my other bodyguard stood beside the front door.
The other customers had left for the classroom, and I followed the sound of their voices into the bright room. I allowed my gaze to take in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors and barre where most of the dancers stretched. The last time I’d been in a roomlike this had been before my accident, but I felt a strange sense of belonging and homecoming I hadn’t expected as if this was the final missing puzzle piece.
Natalya came my way with a very small, tense smile. “You mentioned in your email that you have years of ballet practice.”
“A long time ago.”
She nodded. “How about you stretch too so you are warmed up for class? We’ll see how much of your past lessons you remember. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing.”
I gave her a smile, then said in a very low voice, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience with my bodyguards.”
Her gaze flitted to Leo, who leaned beside the door and regarded everything with utter boredom. “Maybe your bodyguards will eventually realize we don’t pose a danger.”
My bodyguards weren’t the people I had to convince. Samuel would be an incredibly hard nut to crack, I feared.
Fifteen minutes into the dance training, I was already out of breath, and muscles I hadn’t used in a while ached from exertion. Even my arms, which I used frequently to lift out of my wheelchair, obviously needed time to get used to the intensity of training. Despite feeling out of shape, I felt a sense of right and of reuniting with a part of myself that had laid dormant. As I let my wheelchair glide to the music, I realized that I’d truly missed dancing and that it was still a part of me that I wanted to explore in this altered fashion.
That night, when Samuel and I packed our bags for our trip to Indianapolis the next day, I broached the subject. “Everyone’s very friendly at the dance studio, and I would love to continue.”
Samuel looked up from his drawer with ties. “Leo mentioned you seemed in your element, but the dance instructor wasn’t too happy about their presence.”
I nodded. “I think Leo’s presence intimidated most of them. Don’t you think having two bodyguards is overkill? I’m sure itwould be fine if Leo stayed in his car in front of the studio. There’s only one entrance.”
“No,” Samuel said, his tone brooking no argument.
I opened my mouth, but he gave me a hard look. “My sister was kidnapped right under my nose. If we’d had more bodyguards with us, that wouldn’t have happened.”
“But why would anyone kidnap me?”
“Because you’re my wife. You’re Danilo’s sister. There are two Underbosses in your immediate family. It would make the Bratva’s, the Famiglia’s, and the Camorra’s day to get their hands on you.”
“You really think the Camorra would try something like that again? And the Famiglia has never targeted women.”
“I don’t trust any of them. We once thought nobody would step as low as to attack a bride on her wedding day.”
I nodded slowly. No girl in the Outfit would ever live that day down. “Okay. If that’s what it takes for me to keep dancing.”
“It is.”
I decided not to push Samuel. I didn’t want to risk him changing his mind about me taking ballet lessons.
The following afternoon, we took a private jet to Indianapolis with Renato in tow. He and Samuel spent most of the one hour and forty-five minutes chatting quietly.
Renato certainly looked like he could charm the pants off a girl. I still didn’t like the idea of him marrying Giorgia, even if that meant I would have my best friend in Minneapolis. I’d haveto talk to Danilo and Giorgia about this—not that I thought I could change anyone’s mind. This was probably already a done deal.
I closed the romcom I had been reading when we landed in Indianapolis, then peered out of the window at the familiar sight. I had lost count of the times I’d been at this airport. In the first few years after my accident, my mother had taken me to specialists all over the world in the hope of giving my legs their previous functionality back. I had been relieved when she’d finally given up. It had been a sort of closure I’d needed to really start feeling comfortable in my new skin.
Samuel and Renato rose from their chairs and came toward me. Renato glanced at my book, then shook his head. “A book like that is what makes life for men today difficult. Women expect too much.”